VOA标准英语2008年-EU Ministers Reach Agreement on Immigration Pac

European Union ministers reached broad agreement on a common immigration and asylum¹ policy during a meeting in France. Lisa Bryant reports for VOA that France, which holds the rotating EU presidency², wants the proposal to be formally adopted in October.
　
EU justice and interior ministers meet to discuss new immigration rules, among other security issues, in Cannes, southern France, 07 Jul 2008

Authored by the French government, the proposed immigration and asylum guidelines aim to set common European standards for legal and illegal immigrants. They would toughen policies against illegal immigration - for example, making sure those caught are expelled while basing legal immigration criteria³ on the needs of individual European Union states.

France also wants to establish common European asylum policies.

A number of European interior and justice ministers meeting in the resort city Cannes hailed the French proposals, with Greece's interior minister saying he hoped it would be finalized⁴ by the end of France's EU presidency in December. The Interior minister of Spain, which has voiced reservations about parts of the French proposals, said he was "satisfied."

The proposed guidelines have been amended⁵ to take into account European concerns. French calls for European nations to reject mass regularization of illegal immigrants, which Italy and Spain have done in recent years, has been watered down, as has a French demand that immigrants sign a so-called "integration⁶ contract."

But immigrant rights groups like CIMADE are critical of the immigration pact⁷. Sonia Lokku, the head of the non-governmental organization's international cooperation department, says the proposals are based more on European security concerns than on human rights or Europe's economic needs.

"Europe needs immigration a lot," she said. "It has been made clear for geographic⁸ reasons but also for economic reasons. There are lots of reasons for a country such as Spain, for instance, to have mass regularizations. Because they realize that migrants contribute a lot to the economy once they are at the peak of their growth.

"And once they are regularized and once they become documented migrants they also pay taxes, they contribute to the social security system, to the pension system and so on. So it is really a win-win situation," she continued.

In recent years, a number of EU countries have been cracking down on illegal aliens, alarmed by the tens of thousands of would-be immigrants arriving on their shores each year. At the same time, immigrant rights groups like CIMADE argue that an aging Europe will need more immigrants in its labor⁹ force in the future.

　

 

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

4 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

6 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

7 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

8 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。