MANILA, Philippines -- The return directive of the European Union on illegal migrants does not mean a crackdown on them, EU Ambassador to the Philippines Alistair MacDonald said Friday.

In a press conference, the head of the EU Delegation to the Philippines said the policy directive approved by the European Parliament last June only sets the minimum standards for the return -- either voluntarily or by forced deportation -- of foreigners who have overstayed their visas.

The top European diplomat in the country affirmed the earlier statement of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos that its implementation depends on the 27 EU member-states.

"The picture is still the same. The irregulars will still run the risks of being exploited by their employers and of being caught by the authorities,? he said.

?The directive only provides a binding common legal framework for EU member-states? on the return of illegal migrants to their home countries, he said.

"There will be no expulsion. If anyone is to be expelled, it's up to the individual EU member-states who to expel...The underlying message of the directive is that it is better to be a regular migrant than an irregular migrant," he added.

MacDonald said all 27 EU member-states are required to enact their own individual legislations to make the directive enforceable. He said this would happen once the EU-wide directive is formally adopted in September or October after the legal linguists go through the paper to ensure consistency with other laws.

The ambassador noted that this policy directive on illegal migrants is just one "strand" in the still evolving migration policy of the EU.

He said the other strands are to encourage legal migration -- and to give the same benefits, rights, and privileges to migrants that Europeans get -- and to craft a law on asylum.

Overall, Filipino migrants in Europe do not constitute a big number. Citing December 2007 figures of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, MacDonald said there are some 954,000 Filipinos in Europe, 285,000 of whom are permanent residents, 556,000 are temporary, and 113,000 are irregular.

MacDonald also noted that of the estimated 18.5 million foreigners in Europe, Filipinos comprise only about 5 percent.

And over the last three years, he said, a total of 655 or less than 0.1 percent of the Filipino population in Europe were removed from Europe.

MacDonald agreed with Conejos's assessment that Filipinos are loved in Europe, "that's why we want to protect them by having them in Europe legally."