WRITTEN QUESTION E-2594/02

by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) to the Council

(18 September 2002)

Subject: Illegal immigrants entering Greece via Turkey breach of the partnership agreement

Greek observers note that Turkey is constantly in breach of the accession partnership agreement, one consequence of which is a steady stream of illegal immigrants entering the Greek islands where they are held (e.g. on Leros, Patmos) in squalid conditions, both in terms of accommodation and diet. Their situation is compounded by the Greek authorities' lax attitude towards complying with deadlines under the deportation procedure. Consequently, since naturally Turkey also refuses to allow the illegal immigrants to return, they remain illegally in Greece and, therefore, on the territory of the European Union.

In the light of this situation, will the Council say:

1. what its position is concerning this influx into the EU of illegal immigrants from Turkey and what measures it will take given that Turkey should, as an applicant for accession to the EU, comply with the terms of the partnership agreement;

2. what action it will take to ensure that the Greek authorities respect the deportation procedure deadlines for the illegal immigrants and what stage has been reached with the readmission agreements between the EU and Turkey in respect of signing and compliance, and

3. what provision it will make in regard to the protection of the human rights and living conditions of the illegal immigrants both in their countries of origin and of temporary residence, such as Greece?

Reply

(18 February 2003)

1. The fight against illegal immigration is one of the priorities for European Union action, as recently affirmed and stressed in the conclusions of the Seville European Council on 21/22 June 2002.

In this area a considerable number of instruments, such as the Comprehensive plan to combat illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings and the Plan for the management of the external borders of the European Union, have already been adopted. The implementation of these plans and the identification of new effective actions and measures to forestall and control this trend are currently being examined in the competent Council bodies.

2. As regards more particularly the case referred to by the Honourable Member in his question, the Council is fully aware of the problems posed by the steady influx, in particular into Greece, of illegal immigrants coming from Turkey. The issue is constantly being raised both at political (EC-Turkey Association Council in April) and technical levels, as Turkey, under the medium-term priorities of the Accession Partnership, is asked

to adopt and implement the EU acquis and practices on migration (admission, readmission, expulsion) so as to prevent illegal migrations. At a special meeting on illegal immigration of the EC-Turkey JHA subcommittee in July, Turkey agreed to cooperate on the preparation of a joint action programme to combat illegal immigration. Technical work with a view to setting up such a programme early in 2003 has started.

3. In Council conclusions adopted on 16 April 2002, Turkey was quoted as one of the third countries for which the Commission was invited to submit a brief for the negotiation of a readmission agreement. In the conclusions of the Seville European Council, the Commission was asked to approve these new briefs as soon as possible (conclusion No 30). The Commission recently submitted to the Council new briefs regarding four third countries, including Turkey. These briefs will be examined by the competent Council bodies with a view to adoption. At the meeting on 15/16 October 2002, the Council considered that these agreements had proved to be an extremely useful and effective instrument and decided to re-examine this issue at its meeting in November 2002.

4. When adopting Community acts for the expulsion and repatriation of illegal immigrants, the Council will comply with obligations resulting from Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union. For their part Member States are bound in the exercise of their expulsion powers - by the relevant rules of international conventions on the protection of human rights and other fundamental principles in relation to persons within their jurisdiction. Where deadlines have to be met in the framework of expulsion procedures, these are laid down autonomously under the national law of each Member State.