MEPs have bound the future EU Commissioner for Home Affairs to treat migration as a priority.
Giving Sweden's Foreign Minister and commissioner-designate Cecilia Malmstrom the green light to take up the post, they insisted in their official assessment letter that she make a number of commitments and pursue a concrete programme of action on the issue.
Following her three-hour grilling before members of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee last week, many MEPs who spoke to The Times said they considered her answers with regard to tackling illegal immigration as "vague".
However, political groups represented on the committee have now agreed that the Swedish nominee should be bound by certain objectives that she would be expected to follow during her five-year term.
"On the basis of the commissioner-designate's statements, the committee expects that she will endeavour to establish an EU legal and illegal migration and asylum policy as a priority and compliant with the objectives outlined in the Treaty and in the Stockholm programme," the chairman of the committee, Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, wrote in his confidential letter to EP president Jerzy Buzek.
"The committee shares the legislative priorities outlined by the commissioner-designate and expects a strong commitment and the presentation of appropriate legislative and budgetary proposals fleshing out the principle of solidarity between member states and to strengthen efforts on stronger co-operation with third countries, notably on readmission agreements and to reduce incentives for migration," says the letter, seen by The Times.
Sources close to the committee said the main political groups spent two days discussing their assessment due to the divergent opinions on her performance.
Contacted by The Times, Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil, the only Maltese on this committee and the EPP's coordinator responsible for the drafting of the assessment letter, refused to give details on what went on during the discussions, saying they were confidential.
"However, I can assure you that the EPP insisted that the new commissioner should be bound by certain important commitments with regards to illegal immigration," he said.
Last week, following Ms Malmstrom's hearing, the EPP - the largest political group in the EP - said it was not satisfied with the way the new EU commissioner-designate would handle the immigration dossier and was expecting more concrete proposals.
Dr Busuttil had described as vague her answers on the need of solidarity with southern EU member states like Malta facing the burden of illegal migration.
Under the new Lisbon Treaty, the EP shares full legislative powers with the member states in the area of home affairs.