WRITTEN QUESTION E-2458/01

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(11 September 2001)

Subject: Mass immigration across the straits of Gilbraltar: corpses washed up every day on southern Spanish beaches

The last two months have seen no let-up in the flood of immigrants trying to reach Spain in fragile, small vessels ('pateras') in their flight from poverty and their search for the

jobs which their own countries cannot provide. The attempt frequently results in death by drowning. Spanish newspaper headlines amply illustrate the scale of the tragedy. 16 July: Nine deaths amongst the 333 immigrants who risk their lives on the Straits of Gibraltar; 19 July: At least 1561 illegal immigrants intercepted in the Straits this month, at a rate of 87 a day 146 immigrants intercepted on the coast only yesterday; 1 August: Search continues for vessels adrift with 30 passengers, 800 immigrants try to enter Ceuta; 9 August: 11 of 30 occupants of a drifting boat unaccounted for; 19 August: 567 immigrants detained in the greatest wave of pateras in history body of African without papers recovered from sea at Formentera; 20 August: The flood of pateras causes reception centre breakdown over 800 immigrants detained in weekend search of Straits and off Canaries; 20 August: Over 10 000 immigrants arrested this year in Andalucia, Canaries and Ceuta; 22 August: Immigrant's body found at Forteventura in Canaries; 23 August: Another four immigrants die in Straits; 24 August: Nine immigrants drown at Forteventura; 25 August: Three pateras intercepted, with 77 immigrants, in Granada and Malaga.

The facts of the situation demonstrate that however much the Spanish and EU institutions bury their head in the sand so as not to see the problem, it remains a fundamental European problem, and a strategy for tackling it is required. Immediate measures are called for to prevent the tragedies suffered by thousands of Africans on the southern Spanish coast, and the frontier with Africa. Over and above fine words born of a desire to get out of the impasse, what political actions is the Council intending to take to solve this serious humanitarian problem?

Joint answerto Written Questions E-2458/01 and E-2578/01

(6 December 2001)

The Council has already replied several times to questions from members of the European Parliament concerning the disappearance of immigrants trying to reach the Union via the Straits of Gibraltar.

Far from burying its head in the sand, the Council, which deplores this continuing human drama, has entered into active dialogue with the Moroccan authorities on migration issues. The Council would point to the existence, since the end of 1998, of a High-Level Working Group on Asylum and Migration, set up to draft action plans for the countries and regions of origin of illegal immigrants and/or asylum seekers, in accordance with an integrated, cross-pillar approach. These action plans aim to analyse the root causes of migration from selected countries, of which Morocco, as a country of origin and transit of immigrants, is one. Contacts have been made with the Moroccan authorities with a view to establishing a partnership to implement the measures in the action plan.

That partnership is taking shape under the Association Agreement between the Community and Morocco, with a Working Party on Social Affairs and Migration having been set up in April 2001. The Working Party met for the first time in June 2001. Although the Moroccan authorities voiced certain criticisms of the action plan, they declared themselves ready to work with the Union bodies to devise a programme of joint measures to combat illegal immigration through or from Morocco.

At a meeting on migration issues in July 2001 it was agreed to give priority to socio-economic measures (for micro-businesses/SMEs), training measures, measures concerning legal migration to the Union and measures to combat illegal immigration networks, including migration via sub-Saharan Africa. Work on identifying projects to be implemented will continue in the autumn of 2001.