A group of 25 Irish church organisations has called on the Government to oppose any tendency at EU level "to over-emphasise restrictive practices towards asylum-seekers and refugees."
The group said in a statement that certain aspects of EU proposals to create an "area of freedom, security and justice" raised "major issues in religious, moral and human rights terms."
The group, which is headed by the Irish Commission for Justice and Peace, includes CORI, the Society of Friends, the Irish Council of Churches, the Church of Ireland Board of Responsibility, the Methodist Council for Social Responsibility, the Dublin and Munster presbytery of the Presbyterian Church, and Trocaire.
The proposals are contained in the EU "Action Plan of the Council and the Commission on how best to implement the provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam establishing an area of freedom, security and justice".
The group asks whether EU leaders plan a defensive and inward-looking Europe "or one that fully accepts its moral and political responsibilities . . . to protect and build up the human rights of millions beyond its borders".
