Vitorino: Political rights crucial for non-EU citizens

Date: 12/09/02

By Martin Banks

NON-EU citizens should be given the right to vote and stand in local elections after they have lived in a member state for five years, according to António Vitorino, the justice and home affairs commissioner.

He says that granting political rights to long-term residents is crucial if migrants are to integrate properly with the indigenous population.

Speaking at a conference in Brussels on Tuesday (10 September), the Portuguese commissioner identified integration as the 'greatest challenge' for EU asylum policy.

He said legal immigration and access to the labour market was a key element in achieving this. Migrants, however, must not be used as 'cheap labour,' he warned.

'This creates unfair competition and is often accompanied by poor living conditions for the migrants concerned, leaving them open to social and racial discrimination.'

But he also acknowledged that successful integration was a 'two-way' process: 'Immigrants must be prepared to adapt to the lifestyle of the host society which, in turn, must welcome and respect diversity and actively facilitate the integration process.'

Failure of integration can lead to alienation, discrimination and 'ghettoisation', the commissioner added.

The two-day conference, attended by representatives of more than 100 groups, was organised by the European Economic and Social Committee.

Non-EU citizens should be given the right to vote and stand in local elections after they have lived in a Member State for five years, according to António Vitorino, European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs.