Brussels - The European Union's executive Friday welcomed a deal between the European Parliament and member states limiting to six months the period over which illegal immigrants can be detained.

The accord, brokered by the Slovenian presidency of the EU and clinched this week in Strasbourg after years of disagreements, also regulates their deportation, re-admission to their country of origin and access by non-governmental organizations to EU detention centres.

"We welcome this compromise," said a spokeswoman for the European Commission, adding that it demonstrates that the EU is able to reach an agreement on "key issues, even if these are sensitive."

EU countries currently have widely diverging rules on the detention of illegal immigrants, ranging from a 30-day limit in France to indefinite detention in Britain and six other states.

The European Parliament is expected to vote on the EU directive on June 4. But its approval is by no means assured because of reservations by the second-largest political bloc in the hemicycle, the Socialists.

Millions of third-country nationals live in the EU without official papers, and illegal immigration has emerged as a major political bone of contention in France, Germany, Britain, Italy and elsewhere in Europe. (dpa)