Under the proposals to be discussed by EU interior ministers in Cannes, European Union leaders would pledge to boost the fight against illegal migration and expel more illegal migrants, and confirm commitments for a common asylum policy by 2010.

France has made harmonising the bloc's immigration policy a priority of its six-month EU stewardship that began this month and wants leaders of the area's 27 states to adopt officially the "European Pact on Immigration and Asylum" in October.

"I think we are very close to an accord," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Tuesday. "There are only a few problems of semantics to resolve."

EU diplomats say there should be little difficulty agreeing the text, which has already been watered down from France's original proposal in January, but are concerned about how it will be received outside the bloc.

South American leaders have slammed new EU rules that allow authorities to detain illegal immigrants for up to 18 months and ban them from re-entry for up to five years.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez said the law recalled "times of xenophobia" and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Europe had "legalised barbarity". He has threatened to stop selling oil to European states if they apply the new law and to cancel investments in Venezuela by European countries.

"One of the issues is going to be presentation," said an EU diplomat. "The potential for it to be misinterpreted is high."

EU MIGRATION DILEMMA

Millions of Latin Americans live in Europe, many from poor Andean countries and war-weary Colombia.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso defended the EU rules on Friday, saying they were more generous than the arrangements Latin American states had among themselves.

EU officials argue the bloc must get tougher on illegal immigration to convince voters to be more accepting of legal immigrants needed to make up for the bloc's ageing population.

French Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux has said concerns about immigration were one reason Irish voters rejected the EU reform treaty last month.

The French paper also calls for EU and bilateral agreements with countries of origin on control of illegal migration, including provisions for those countries to take migrants back.

France opened the way for a deal by dropping a proposal for "integration contracts" for migrants, including provisions requiring those wanting to settle long-term in the EU to learn the national language and values of their host country.

Hortefeux said the pact would contain a commitment not to carry out mass regularisation of illegal migrants in future, although there was a debate with Spain about the wording.

Spain has insisted any pact cannot rule its massive 2005 "regularisation" of 700,000 illegal immigrants as against the law.

The European Commission estimates there are up to 8 million illegal migrants in the bloc. More than 200,000 were arrested in the first half of 2007, and fewer than 90,000 were expelled.