WRITTEN QUESTION E-1104/02

by Isidoro Sánchez García (ELDR) to the Council

(18 April 2002)

Subject: Political measures to clarify relations between the Canaries and Morocco

The geographical proximity of the Canary Islands to the African Continent (Morocco, Sahara, Mauritania) is indisputable, as is the fact that the Canary Islands are also European territory by virtue of being an autonomous community of a Member State (Spain) and have to be considered as such when implementing the provisions of the European Treaties. The same applies to the fulfilment of obligations and commitments under the international agreements and treaties signed by the European Union with non-member countries, especially neighbouring countries of the Canary Islands, such as Morocco and Mauritania.

It is furthermore indisputable that the outermost regions of the EU enjoy legal protection under paragraph 2 of Article 299 of the EC Treaty, which enables the Council to adopt specific measures in several areas, such as economic, trade or financial matters, when Community provisions are implemented. This allows them to deal with many problems, which in the case of the Canaries result from a set of circumstances which include its geographical position as the EU's external frontier, its proximity to another continent, as well as its insularity and the distance factor. However, there are other areas such as social and environmental matters, in which different problems arise deriving, in the first instance, from illegal immigration and, in the second instance, from prospecting for and exploiting natural resources for which no specific corrective measures have been envisaged by the Community institutions.

This legal void should be brought to the Community's attention by the Presidency of the Council in order to resolve and deal with these types of issues, which are often controversial, of which Morocco's attitude is a case in point. Firstly, it has failed to comply with the action plan on migration agreed on with the EU, taking a permissive attitude to illegal immigration

from its territory to that of the Canaries. A second example is its approach to the issue of the geographical limits of the waters under Spanish jurisdiction in the Canaries, particularly as regards Spain's exclusive economic zone, which is of course also an EEZ of the European Union.

Given this situation, and in the light of Article 21 of the EU Treaty, which allows the European Parliament to direct questions to the Council with regard to issues of EU common foreign and security policy, what political measures is the Council considering to clarify, and where necessary, remedy the anomalies affecting relations between the Canaries, one of the outermost regions of the EU, and Morocco?

Reply

(3 October 2002)

The Council would inform the Honourable Member that questions relating to migration, including the implementation of the action plan for Morocco, are the subject of dialogue between the Moroccan and EU authorities in the Working Party on Social Affairs and Migration, the main subjects for discussion of which are legal migration (integration of immigrants, equality of opportunity, etc.), illegal migration and socio-economic development. The most recent meeting of the Working Party on Social Affairs and Migration between the EU and Morocco was held in Rabat on 12 March 2002. At that meeting, the Moroccan delegation stressed the firm commitment of Morocco's security services to combating illegal immigration and mafia networks trafficking in human beings, and called for extensive cooperation with the EU on the basis of co-responsibility and co-development. In this respect, it is necessary to increase the technical resources assigned to combating illegal migration and networks trafficking in human beings and to contribute to the socio-economic development of the regions of origin of immigrants.

A large share of financial cooperation between the EU and its Member States and Morocco is allocated to projects relating to migration, including the management of Morocco/EU border controls, EUR 40 million of the cost of which will be financed by MEDA funds. A mission of experts from the Member States and the Commission will travel to Morocco in July to evaluate Morocco's specific needs. Moreover, Morocco is the main beneficiary of budget heading B7-667, a new instrument for financing migration projects.

The Commission is conducting exploratory discussions with a view to concluding a readmission agreement which could also provide for the readmission of third-country nationals illegally resident in an EU Member State who had entered the EU from Morocco. Although Morocco refused for a long time to conclude such an agreement, it has now expressed its willingness to do so and formal negotiations could begin soon.

In general, the Seville European Council on 21 and 22 June 2002 invited the Council and the Commission to press ahead with implementation of Article 299(2) of the Treaty, which recognises the specific nature of the outermost regions, and to submit suitable proposals for their special needs to be taken into account through the various common policies, in particular transport policy, and in the reform of certain policies, in particular regional policy.