European Union, Vatican voice opposition to US travel ban

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini gives a press conference on the European Commission's contribution to an EU summit in Malta, in Brussels on January 25, 2017. (Photos by AFP)

The European Union and the Vatican have voiced their disagreement with a controversial travel ban recently issued by US President Donald Trump against seven Muslim-majority countries.

“We disagree with the executive order Trump issued on January 27, as many do in the US”, said European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini while addressing a European Parliament debate on the restrictions on Wednesday.

Trump issued the executive order to impose a 90-day entry ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia, block refugees from Syria indefinitely, and suspend all refugee admissions for 120 days.

While welcoming clarification by US officials that EU citizens will not be affected by the ban, even if they hold the nationality of one of the seven announced countries, Mogherini stressed that this fact will not alter the bloc’s final assessment of the order.

“The EU will not stop anyone who is entitled to our international protection; that will continue to be our position… We celebrate the fall of the walls and building bridges,” she added.

People protesting US President Donald Trump's travel ban greet travelers at the Bradley International Terminal at LAX Airport on January 30, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.

She concluded by calling on Trump to further international cooperation in the field of migration and other important issues on the global stage.

A majority of the European Parliament members present in the debate also referred to the restrictions as being arbitrary and against the main values of democracy, such as freedom, non-discrimination and solidarity.

Vatican voices concerns over ban

Meanwhile, a high-ranking official in the Vatican’s secretariat of state, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, voiced worries over the ban.

"Certainly there's concern. Because we are messengers of another culture, that of opening, but also about the capacity of integrating those who arrive in our society and our culture," he said.