Luxembourg -- European Union governments agreed Thursday on a long-awaited common set of rules governing the detention and deportation of illegal immigrants.

The Return Directive approved by EU interior ministers in Luxembourg "provides for common standards and return procedures as well as clear, transparent and fair common rules," EU officials said.

"It takes into full account the respect for human rights and the fundamental freedoms of the persons concerned," they added.

The agreement caps three years of wrangling among member states. It must now be endorsed by the European Parliament in a vote scheduled to take place on June 18.

Slovenian Interior Minister Dragutin Mate, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU, said a meeting with parliamentary rapporteurs had made him confident that the latest draft of the directive would be backed by a majority of lawmakers.

"Thanks to this directive, returning those we want to get rid of will be easier in the future," German Secretary of State Peter Altmaier said.

The Return Directive limits to six months the period over which illegal immigrants can be detained by the authorities of member states.

But it has been criticized by civil rights groups because it allows the authorities to extend the maximum detention period by a further 12 months in special cases.

Commissioner Jacques Barrot, the EU's top justice official, said such extensions would normally be limited to six months and would only be allowed in "exceptional" circumstances.

He also noted that as many as nine EU member states currently set no detention limits at all.

The directive also regulates the deportation of illegal migrants to their country of origin and clarifies rules on the access by non- governmental organizations to EU detention centers.

Once expelled, illegal immigrants will not be allowed back into the EU for five years. Such rules do not affect asylum seekers.

 1 2 Next >