NO TO THE outrageous DIRECTIVE!
No to fortress Europe!

[Barbed Wire Britain Network to End Refugee and Migrant Detention (BWB) was a signatory of the ‘No to the Outrageous Directive’ appeal launched last November by Cimade in France and other organisations across Europe.

BWB now issues the following call, following the meeting held recently hosted by John McDonnell MP at the Grimond Room, Portcullis House in Westminster. For more on the campaign and the petition, see:  http://www.outrageousdirective.org/


The ‘Return Directive’ to be voted on by the European Parliament on 17th or 18th June 2008 provides for European Union member states to:

· Detain non-EU migrants for up to 18 months
· Detain and deport migrants including vulnerable people, unaccompanied minors (under 18 years of age) and pregnant women
· Expel unaccompanied minors and other migrants to a country where they have neither family nor legal support
· Ban an expelled migrant from re-entering any part of the EU for up to 5 years.

The UK government will probably ‘opt out’ of this legislation if it is passed. In some respect (long-term detention and expulsion for up to 10 years) the UK is doing this already, and worse.

But if the European Parliament passes this legislation, it will make it harder than ever to improve UK government policy on immigration in the future.


1. Write NOW to KEY members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to demand they vote against the Return Directive. See LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN overleaf, where you will find model letters and email addresses of the leaders of the main Groups of MEPs and of your own MEPs.

2. Demonstrate at 12 noon on Monday 16th June outside the London office of the European Commission at 8 Storey’s Gate, SW1P 3AT. See MAP overleaf [only on attachment: Storey's Gate runs North off Victoria St just before Parliament Square]. A letter of protest will be handed in. Bring placards, banners.

*
Letter writing campaign to Members of the European Parliament:

With the vote on the Return Directive imminent (June 18th) we must ensure that MEPs know our views. Use the model letters below.

You can write (as an individual or in the name of an organisation) to:
- Manfred Weber, rapporteur of the Commission on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affaires (which amended the European Commission’s draft directive in some ways for the worse, e.g. extending duration of permissible detention from 6 to 18 months)
lettre à envoyer à M. Weber/ letter to send to M. Weber -  manfred.weber@europarl.europa.eu
- Joseph Daul, President of the European People’s Party group of MEPs
lettre à envoyer à J. Daul/ letter to send to J. Daul -  joseph.daul@europarl.europa.eu
- Graham Watson, President of the Liberal/Democrat Alliance of MEPs
lettre à envoyer à G. Watson/ letter to send to G. Watson -  graham.watson@europarl.europa.eu
- Martin Schulz, President of the Socialist Group of MEPs
lettre à envoyer à M. Schulz/ letter to send to M. Schulz -  martin.schulz@europarl.europa.eu

Please also write to your own MEPs. With two clicks on the following link you can get a list of the email addresses of the MEPs for your region of the UK: Site du Parlement européen:  http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public.do?language=fr