WRITTEN QUESTION E-0431/03

by Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) to the Commission

(18 February 2003)

Subject: Equal responsibility among the Member States for combating illegal immigration

Preventing and combating illegal immigration is a fundamental element of the Union's common policy on asylum and immigration, stressed in the Conclusions of the Tampere European Council of October 1999 on combating illegal immigration.

Cooperation and strong determination are needed to tackle the criminal networks referred to in the Communication of 15 November 2001 on a common policy on migration, which calls on the Council of the European Union to adopt, as soon as possible, an action plan to prevent and combat illegal immigration.

We should bear in mind the recent tragic events on the Italian coast at Santa Maria di Leuca, where illegal immigrants from Turkey died after receiving supplies and being transferred to other vessels by Greek traffickers. Although one of the Greek Government's priorities during its six months' presidency of the EU is the harmonisation of European policy on illegal immigration, in actual fact it is not combating the traffic in migrants who are travelling to other European Union countries. As the Italian Under-Secretary Alfredo Mantovano said Turkey and Greece do not carry out the necessary checks.

Can the Commission:

- call on European governments to cooperate more closely;

- ascertain whether the Greek authorities' negligent attitude to border controls may constitute a violation of current Community legislation governing cooperation in combating illegal immigration;

- call on the Greek Government to implement a policy of more effective checks on movements of migrants;

- take all the measures envisaged in the Treaties to prevent continued laxness on the part of the Greek authorities from helping to cause dramatic incidents with serious repercussions for other Member States of the European Union?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(27 March 2003)

The Commission continuously calls on Member States to co-operate more closely in the fight against illegal immigration and the management of the common external borders. Following a Commission's Communication on a common policy on illegal immigration of 15 November 2001(1), the Council adopted on 28 February 2002 an action plan on illegal immigration(2). Moreover, the Council adopted on 13 June 2002 a plan for the management of the external borders of the Member States of the Union, which is also based on a Commission's Communication on the subject of 7 May 2002(3).

The aforementioned plans are currently being implemented with legislative and operational measures. For instance, Greece leads currently a joint operation of Member States aiming to control and reduce illegal immigration by sea in the Eastern Mediterranean (operation Triton).

The Commission has currently no knowledge on an insufficient performance of Greek border controls, which would not be in compliance with the Schengen standards. On the contrary, the Commission has every reason to consider that Greece, like all its partners, is fully engaged in the fight against illegal immigration. As already set out in the reply to the Written Question P-122/03 by Mr Bösch(4), the Commission takes part in the evaluation of the proper implementation of the Schengen acquis and would take the appropriate steps in the case that a Member State violates the common provisions on the control of the external borders.

(1) COM(2001) 672 final.

(2) OJ C 142, 14.6.2002.

(3) COM(2002) 233 final.

(4) OJ C 161 E, 10.7.2003, p. 179.