EU Parliament votes on sanctions for employers of illegal immigrants

As part of its move towards a common immigration policy, the European Union Parliament is putting forth a piece of legislation designed to impose penalties on employers of "clandestine" immigrants.

From the EU Parliament website:

The European Union is gradually creating a common immigration policy with two aims: to prevent illegal immigration and encourage legal migration.

In recent months, Parliament has worked on the return directive, which harmonises the rules on the expulsion of illegal immigrants, and the "blue card", designed to smooth the entry into the EU of skilled migrant workers who match the needs of the labour market in the Member States.

The "sanctions directive", the third piece of legislation in this area, seeks to penalise employers of illegal immigrants and thereby discourage clandestine working. The legislation is being adopted under the co-decision procedure between Parliament and Council, so MEPs have an equal say with the ministers of the Member States.

A compromise negotiated between EP rapporteur Claudio Fava (PES, IT) and the Council presidency was approved by a large majority in committee on 21 January, paving the way to a first-reading agreement on the directive. The agreed text will be debated at the Strasbourg plenary on 3 February and put to the vote on 4 February.