The maverick right-wing leader hopes to draft an EU strategy on asylum seekers and refugees which would see an end to amnesties for illegal immigrants, a right for governments to detain individuals for up to 18 months, compulsory Europe-wide 'integration contracts' to be signed by new arrivals and a 'blue card', based loosely on the American 'green card', for highly qualified migrants.
'We want to bring people in who will serve a country and its growth and help them integrate ... So [immigration] flows need to be controlled,' said Dominique Paillé, of Sarkozy's majority UMP party.
guardian.co.uk
'Blue card' plan for EU migrants
