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2nd LD Writethru: Dual citizens with EU passports not affected by U.S. travel ban: Mogherini

Xinhua, February 2, 2017 Adjust font size:

The U.S. State Department has clarified that European Union (EU) citizens will not be affected by the U.S. travel ban even if they hold dual citizenship with a country listed in U.S. executive orders, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Wednesday.

She told members of European Parliament here: "We welcome this clarification, but let me be absolutely clear this does not change our overall assessment about the executive order."

"No one can be deprived of his or her own rights because of the place of birth, their religion or their ethnicity," she added.

"This is written in our constitution, both in Europe and America. This is who we are, this is our identity, this is something we cannot forget," Mogherini said.

She pledged that the EU will not turn its back on anyone who has the right to international protection because: "This is where we stand; this is where we will continue to stand."

"It will not be moral, it will not be just, it will not be legal, and it will not be in our interest," she said, "because this kind of measure has the potential to increase tension and mistrust among peoples and nations."

Under an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump last Friday, refugees from all over the world will be suspended from entering the United States for 120 days while all immigration from so-called "countries with terrorism concerns" will be suspended for 90 days.

Countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The total population from these countries exceeds 130 million. Endit