EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/676

(2004/C 88 E/0695)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0032/04

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: Long-term stateless-person status of one category of permanent residents of the three future EU Member States that were internal states of the Soviet Union until 1991

1. Can the Commission confirm that when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania came into being as independent states in 1991, not all of their permanently domiciled residents were enabled in good time to exchange the nationality of the then defunct Soviet Union for that of their new state, so that such persons became stateless?

2. Can the Commission confirm that in those three former internal states of the Soviet Union only descendants of Russian colonists going back to the period of the Tsarist Empire ending in 1917 are accepted as citizens, but not those who immigrated during the Soviet period between 1939 and 1991 and their descendants, because they are seen as foreign occupiers and held responsible for government policy of that period?

3. Is the option for the excluded group still to apply for the nationality of their country of residence on the basis of their knowledge of the present official state language being unnecessarily restricted by subjecting them to tests that, in particular, select on the basis of knowledge of technical and legal terms that are not generally known and form no part of everyday language use?

4. Can the Commission indicate the percentages of the populations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania who were stateless persons in 1993 and 2003 respectively? What are its projections for the immediate future? Does it expect those percentages to remain higher in the long term than in other EU Member States?

5. What future prospects does the Commission hold out for such stateless persons? Does it assume that all residents have a right to nationality as a matter of principle? Or must they chose between emigrating from their country of residence and resting content with long-term exclusion from such rights as participation in political activity and freedom to travel?

6. How will the Commission seek to ensure that the percentage of stateless persons in those countries, which will accede to the European Union on 1 May 2004, will cease within the next few years to be higher than the average in other EU Member States?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(1 March 2004)

By the time Estonia and Latvia regained their independence in 1991, around a quarter of their populations were made up of immigrants from other Soviet Republics, following a deliberate policy of population change under the Soviet regime. As this was not the case to the same extent in Lithuania, the question of citizenship has not been an issue in that country.

Residents and their descendants who had the nationality of these states in 1940 were regarded as citizens of the countries when they regained their independence in 1991. The other people residing permanently in the territories of these countries – this concerns mainly, if not exclusively, citizens originating from other Soviet Union Republics – were, and still are given the possibility to apply for citizenship. The conditions for obtaining citizenship in Estonia and Latvia have been adjusted following advice from international bodies with competence in these matters such as the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. As stated in its Regular Reports on the progress in EU accession preparation in these countries, the Commission is satisfied that the human rights in these matters are respected.

According to information available to the Commission, today around 12 % of the population residing in Estonia have no Estonian citizenship, nor one of another country. In Latvia, this figure would be around 21 %. These people hold residence permits and are able to work, study, benefit from social schemes, and travel abroad. In order to allow for travelling abroad, special passports are issued, which are internationally accepted. However, the Commission encourages the countries to continue to make every effort to integrate these people into their societies and to facilitate the process of obtaining nationality. The Commission is of the opinion that efforts are required from all involved. Financial support towards achieving this is being provided. It is expected that the share of ‘non-citizens’ will further decrease after accession and at a faster rate than in the past. Indeed, more people will apply for citizenship when they realise that it is in their interest to integrate into the countries and into the EU, while maintaining their cultural identity.