European lawmakers deeply concerned over US travel ban

The lawmakers in charge of Development and Foreign Affairs of the European Union (EU) voted for a joint resolution on Tuesday, expressing deep concerns over the U.S. decision to ban entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries.

The U.S. administration's ban could "seriously undermine current global efforts towards a fair international sharing of responsibilities for refugees", said the resolution.

The U.S. decision "fuels anti-immigration and xenophobic discourses", and could "seriously undermine current global efforts towards a fair international sharing of responsibilities for refugees", it said.

The lawmakers called on the EU to speak with one voice to defend the international protection system and the legal security of all affected population.

In the resolution approved by 43 votes to 16, with 9 abstentions, EU lawmakers also criticized the new deals that the EU are negotiating with third countries to help them manage migration flows.

The deals, called Partnership Framework or migration compact, lack transparency and have not been debated before adoption, the lawmakers denounced.

Therefore, the lawmakers want to be fully involved in developing migration compacts as well as in their implementing process.

After the resolution, the European Parliament will debate the U.S. administration's decision on migration restrictions on Wednesday.

Under an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump last Friday, refugees from all over the world will be suspended from entering the United States for 120 days while all immigration from so-called "countries with terrorism concerns" will be suspended for 90 days.

Countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The total population from these countries exceeds 130 million.

source: Xinhua