WRITTEN QUESTION E-1293/03

by Claude Moraes (PSE) to the Council

(4 April 2003)

Subject: Progress on the Seville European Council proposals

Can the Council give its view of progress on the Seville European Council proposals on dealing with illegal immigration and the formation of a European border guard or border police around the external EU border?

Reply

(22 July 2003)

The Council attaches great importance to the follow-up to the conclusions of the Seville European Council, in particular with regard to combating illegal immigration and border control.

With regard to combating illegal immigration, a number of important instruments have been adopted by the Council. It is worth mentioning in particular the Comprehensive Plan to combat illegal immigration and trafficking of human beings in the European Union(1), adopted on 28 February 2002, and the Return Action Programme, adopted on 28 November 2002. These instruments, which have a general scope, aim at defining a common strategy at the level of the Union in the areas of fight against illegal immigration and return of illegal immigrants, by identifying a number of actions and measures to be adopted and implemented in this field. A number of such specific actions and measures are currently being considered by the competent Council bodies.

It has also to be recalled that the Council has adopted mandates authorising the Commission to negotiate readmission agreements between the European Community and 11 third-countries (Morocco, Russia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Albania, Algeria, China, Turkey, Hong Kong, Macao and Ukraine). The agreements with Hong Kong, Macao and Sri Lanka have already been initialled by the Commission and the Council should shortly adopt the relevant Decisions for their conclusion.

With regard to the gradual introduction of a coordinated and integrated management of external borders, the Seville European Council referred to concrete measures which the Council, the Commission and the Member States, within their respective spheres of responsibility, were invited to implement. The European Council also asked the Council, in cooperation with the Commission, to submit a final report on the implementation of these measures to the European Council in June 2003. The implementation of these initiatives is linked to a concrete timetable.

The progress reports which were presented to the Council bodies show that important progress was realised in implementing the above-mentioned measures with a view to strengthening border controls and combating illegal immigration. Following the adoption of the Plan for the management of the external borders by the Justice and Home Affairs Council in June 2002, Member States have initiated new projects, operations and ad-hoc centres, 17 in total. Joint operations were carried out at the external land, sea and air borders both in 2002 and 2003. Various pilot projects were initiated relating to inter alia rational repatriation procedures, coordinated criminal investigation regarding cross-border crime, the creation of a Centre of Excellence-Mobile Detection Unit and an international airports plan. Furthermore, a common integrated risk analysis model (CIRAM) was adopted and a core curriculum for border guard training was drafted. An immigration liaison officers network is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2003 together with the completion of a Belgian-led immigration liaison officers network in the Western Balkans.

However, the Council is not yet in the position to comment on the final results of these operations, projects and ad-hoc centres. Once all reports are submitted and analysed, the Council will submit a full evaluation report to the Thessaloniki European Council in June 2003, as requested by the Seville European Council. This evaluation report is currently being prepared.

With regard to ideas on the formation of a European border guard, the Council is awaiting the results of a Commission study on its advisability and feasibility. The Commission is currently carrying out a study concerning burden-sharing between Member States and the Union for the management of external borders. The results of this study will be presented to the Thessaloniki European Council. The Commission is also preparing a proposal to recast the Common Manual on border control.

(1) OJ C 142, 14.6.2002, p. 23.