WRITTEN QUESTION P-3264/01

by Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(19 November 2001)

Subject: Wave of illegal immigrants entering Greece and the role of Turkey as a candidate country

A steady stream of illegal immigrants is entering Greece from Turkey. This recently culminated in an incident in which some 800 Kurds on their way to Italy were abandoned by Turkish smugglers off the island of Zakynthos. As always in such circumstances, the warm hospitality shown by local inhabitants can do little to solve the critical problems facing illegal immigrants.

Given that conditions following the attack of 11 September will exacerbate the situation, what measures does the Commission intend to take to address this abnormal state of affairs? What steps are being taken to monitor and evaluate Turkey's policy for preventing illegal immigration? Will special financial and political aid be made available to countries already facing serious problems in receiving and taking care of large numbers of immigrants, such as Greece?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(18 January 2002)

There is serious concern about irregular migration flows in Turkey, which have been steadily increasing. The authorities have acknowledged the existence of 94 514 illegal immigrants in 2000, as compared to 11 362 in 1995. In the first five months of 2001, the number of apprehended illegal immigrants was 29 684, which represents a 28 % increase compared to 2001. Turkey is also a destination and transit country for trafficking of human beings. Women and girls, mostly from Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, are trafficked to or through Turkey. As stated in its Regular Report of the Commission on Turkey for 2001(1), Turkey does not meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and has not yet adopted specific legislation concerning trafficking in human beings. According to Government statistics, the authorities arrested 850 members of organised gangs of traffickers in 2000.

The phenomenon referred to by the Honourable Member demonstrates how important it is for the Union to develop policies on the prevention of and the fight against illegal immigration and in particular against irregular maritime arrivals. Such policies need to be developed in partnership with the countries of origin and transit and should also contain initiatives concerning the internal policies of the Union.

In its dialogue with Turkey, the Union is underlining the importance of combating illegal migration and some progress is being made. With a view to the reinforcement of external border controls, a process of co-operation and co-ordination between the various Ministries and bodies involved has begun. A number of actions have been taken to strengthen border management, in particular to prevent and deter illegal border crossings.

In order to prevent and combat irregular migration, the conclusion of readmission agreements is an important tool and Turkey is making serious efforts in this respect. In the context of the Union Action Plan for Iraq, the Union made a proposal to Turkey to improve co-operation in transit matters. In recent talks, the Turkish authorities expressed their willingness to increase the co-operation on the voluntary return. On 10 September 2001 Turkey signed, a readmission agreement with Syria. Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka China, Romania and Bulgaria, all countries of origin, have been approached about draft readmission Protocols. On 8 November 2001, a protocol on readmission has also been concluded between Turkey and Greece. The Commission, however, considers that more needs to be done and considers that the signing of a readmission agreement between Turkey and the Community would be a step in the right direction.

It should be noted that irregular migration is also identified as one of the important subjects in the framework of the Barcelona process. Partners agree that multilateral efforts are needed to address irregular migration towards the Union. The need to develop such a policy was underlined during the Euro-Mediterranean conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, held in Brussels on 5 and 6 November 2001. This subject, including a number of concrete proposals on preventing and fighting illegal migration, is also part of the draft regional programme on Justice and Home Affairs. Partners hope to adopt this program during the next Euro-Mediterranean conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs to be held on 22 and 23 April 2002 in Spain.

At the level of the Union various initiatives, aimed at preventing and combating illegal migration, have been launched or are being prepared. In particular, the Council reached political agreement in June 2001 on a Directive defining the facilitation of unauthorised entry, movement and stay and a accompanying Framework Decision on the strengthening of the penal framework to prevent the facilitation of unauthorised entry and residence, which sets a frame for the prosecution of facilitators. Moreover, the Council also adopted a Directive supplementing the provisions of Article 26 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement(2) in order to further define the obligations of carriers.

In 2001 a number of projects have been selected for Turkey under the newly created budget line aimed at cooperation with third countries (countries of origin and transit) in the area of migration. Projects aimed at the strengthening of the asylum system in the country, including the training and support of the Turkish authorities were selected and will be implemented in 2002. It is expected that these projects will also make a contribution at reducing the numbers of people who irregularly try to reach the Member States.

The Commission, however, considers that more needs to be done at Union level. It is with this aim that the Commission has presented a Communication on a Common Policy on Illegal Immigration on 15 November 2000(3). It is the intention to initiate in-depth discussions on this future policy of the Union on preventing and fighting illegal migration. In this Communication six areas are identified for possible action: visa policy, infrastructure for information exchange, co-operation and co-ordination, border management, police co-operation, aliens law and criminal law and return and readmission policy. The main message of this communication is that, based on existing instruments and measures at national level further progress should be achieved aiming at the creation of synergy effects of national efforts by adding the European dimension. In particular, the Union should promote actions in, and support actions of, countries of origin and transit, taking into account the Union policy on human rights. These actions should comprise intensive information exchange, knowledge transfer and financial support for justified control efforts.

(1) SEC(2001) 1756.

(2) OJ L 187, 10.7.2001.

(3) COM(2001) 672 final.