EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 70/77

(2004/C 70 E/079)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2133/03

by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission

(26 June 2003)

Subject: Illegal immigration: US Department of State against Greece and Turkey

The press agency Reuters reported on 12 June 2003 that the US Department of State had placed Greece and Turkey, a Member State and a candidate for membership of the European Union respectively, on its blacklist of countries implicated in international human trafficking.

As a result, Greece and Turkey could face sanctions from the US authorities from 1 October 2003.

Does the Commission not feel that the above clearly illustrates once again the EU's inability to deal effectively with illegal immigration?

What steps does the Commission intend to take as a matter of urgency against Greece and Turkey, which are clearly facilitating the illegal trafficking in human beings into the EU and, in particular, towards the Italian coast?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(5 August 2003)

In June 2003, the State Department of the United States issued the third annual Trafficking in Persons Report as required by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. This document is a report about the efforts of governments to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons. Countries are placed in three different tiers, 15 countries — among them Turkey and Greece — are placed in tier 3. In this context the Honourable Member raises a question on the activities of the Union as far as the fight against illegal immigration and the smuggling of human beings is concerned.

The expressions ‘smuggling’ and ‘trafficking’ are often used synonymously, although a clear distinction should be drawn due to substantial differences. A clarification of terminology and definitions has been made in the framework of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its two accompanying protocols on smuggling and trafficking, which were signed in Palermo on 12-15 December 2001 (1). Furthermore, at Union level trafficking and smuggling are covered by different legal instruments. On 19 July 2002, the Council adopted the Framework Decision of 19 July 2002 on combating trafficking in human beings (2). Human smuggling, on the contrary, is addressed by the Council Directive 2002/90/EC of 28 November 2002 defining the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence (3) and by the Council Framework Decision of 28 November 2002 on the strengthening of the penal framework to prevent the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence (4).

The definitions of both the United Nations and Union instruments make it clear that smuggling is connected with the support of an illegal border crossing and illegal entry. Smuggling, therefore, always has a transnational element. This is not necessarily the case with trafficking, where the key element is the exploitative purpose. Trafficking involves the intent to exploit a person, in principal independent from the question as to how the victim comes to the location where the exploitation takes place. This can involve, in cases where borders are crossed, legal as well as illegal entry into the country of destination. Illegal immigration can also cover parts of the trafficking situation, but has indeed a wider scope and relates more to the general illegal entry and residence of persons. Illegal immigrants in a wider sense are, therefore, not necessarily victims of traffickers (5).

Three action plans — one on illegal immigration specifically, one on integrated border management and one on return policy — define the Union action and schedule for common measures in the fight against illegal immigration. In preparation for the European Council in Thessaloniki on 19/20 June 2003, the Commission has just presented the current state of play in this area (6). In addition, the Thessaloniki European Council clarified in its conclusions the general roadmap for the ongoing activities. As already emphasised in the Commission's reply to the written questions E-3112/02 by Mr Tannock (7) and P-0291/03 by Mr Pisicchio (8) illegal immigration by sea gets serious and continuous attention within the Commission.

As far as trafficking in human beings is concerned Article 5 (3) (‘Trafficking in human beings is prohibited’) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union clarifies that trafficking is a human rights' violation. Therefore, protection and assistance for the victims is a core element of each policy addressing trafficking in human beings. This includes that first of all victims of human trafficking have to be considered and treated as victims. Furthermore, the Brussels Declaration, which came out of the European Conference on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings — Global Challenges for the 21st Century, of September 2002, must be seen as an important step of Union policy in this field. The Brussels Declaration aims at further developing European and international co-operation, concrete measures, standards, best practices and mechanisms to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings. The Commission's work is already guided by this declaration which will form the basis of further proposals at Union level, possibly structured by a communication and/or an action plan based on the opinion of an experts group set up to that end.

All these activities will contribute to the improvement of the situation in all Member States and candidate countries as regards both, smuggling and trafficking in human beings.

(1) Article 3 of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air stipulates that ‘smuggling of migrants’ means ‘the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a State Party of which the person is not a national or a permanent resident’. Article 3 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines ‘trafficking in persons’ as ‘the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation’.

(2) OJ L 203, 1.8.2002.

(3) OJ L 328, 5.12.2002.

(4) OJ L 328, 5.12.2002.

(5) COM(2001) 672 final.

(6) COM(2003) 323 final.

(7) OJ C 155 E, 3.7.2003, p. 92.

(8) OJ C 280 E, 21.11.2003, p. 46.