Asylum seekers in Sweden, who bring their cases to one of the three Migrations Courts in this European country, are seldom heard. Only a third of the cases brought to the courts last year allowed the asylum seekers to be heard. In other cases, the Swedish immigration courts make their decision based on written material and testimonials.

A proposal for establishing a European Asylum Support Office was discussed by interior ministers during a public session at the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on 26 February. The new agency would be a centre of expertise to step up and coordinate practical cooperation among member states on various asylum matters.

Mercosur tells EU your immigration law is unfair, we were generous when European migrant workers were traveling to South America to find jobs.

The European parliament has passed tough new immigration guidelines that sparked protests on the part of human rights groups and some lawmakers. For VOA, Lisa Bryant has more from Paris.

The European Union has announced it is planning to introduce a blue card for skilled immigrants, to fill 20 million job vacancies over the next 20 years.