The treatment received by the Latin-American immigrants in Europe should be one of the themes of the Third General Assembly of the Eurolatin Parliament (Eurolat), which will be held in April in Madrid, Spain’s capital. Eurolat may have a specific committee on migration. The assembly can also produce a document on globalization and the world crisis.

That information comes from the Deputy Eduardo Barbosa (PSDB-MG), who took part on Friday (27), in Antigua, Guatemala, in a preparatory meeting of the Governing Board of Eurolat for the general assembly. Barbosa is one of the vice-presidents of the organization.

In the last months, the reports of discrimination and abuse against Latin-American immigrants in Europe have been frequent. The problem was worsened by the global financial crisis, which increased unemployment. In England, for instance, some groups protest against the filling of work positions by foreigners.

History
Eurolat was established in 2006 with the mission to intensify the cooperation among European and Latin-American congresspeople. It started with biannual meetings, since 1979, among representatives of the European Parliament and of the Latin-American Parliament (Parlatino), Andes Parliament (Parlandino), Center-American Parliament (Parlacen) and the parliamentary committee of Mercosul.

The general assembly of Eurolat operates as a debate forum on issues related to the relationship among Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. According to Eduardo Barbosa, it counts 75 representatives from the European Parliament and 75 from Latin America. Each country takes part with two representatives – in the case of Brazil, one deputy and one senator.

Eduardo Barbosa affirmed that Eurolat should not only drive the parliaments closer, but also follow up on the agreements of cooperation among countries from Europe and Latin America.

From the Report/JPJ
Translation – Positive Idiomas Ltda