WRITTEN QUESTION E-0099/98 by Umberto Bossi (NI) to the Council (30 January 1998)

Subject: Measures against clandestine immigration in Europe

The recent immigration of Albanians to Italy has given rise to heated discussions, often useless and exploited to the point of absurdity, that are starting all over again with the arrival of Kurds. According to international sources thousands of Kurds are arriving on the coasts of Apulia from their territories in Turkey and Iraq, creating a very serious situation from the point of view of health and public order.

Official data indicate that crime (especially in large towns and in the hinterland of north Italy) has increased alarmingly because of incredible Albanian organized crime (prostitution racket and drugs trafficking): in little more than a year the Albanians, whether clandestine or not, have been able to found a veritable criminal empire.

The disastrous Italian legislation on extra-Community immigration (the Martelli law) allows clandestine immigrants to remain in Italy for 15 days before leaving voluntarily: this obviously means that illegal immigrants move on to other European countries (especially Germany, France and Austria).

Will the Council take concrete steps to ensure that Turkey, which is negotiating accession to the Union, puts an end to violations of human rights vis-à-vis the Kurdish people?

Will the Council adopt legislative measures to discourage illegal immigrants from outside the Community who intend to settle on Union territory? Does it not think that the Member States should adapt their legislation so that they take in only extra-Community immigrants to whom they can offer regular work, a decent standard of living and adequate social services?

What will it do to prevent the spread of criminal organizations from third countries in Europe?

Answer (7 April 1998)

The European Union attaches great importance to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. In the framework of the dialogue and cooperation between the EU and Turkey, the promotion of human rights is considered a fundamental objective.

As regards the instruments adopted by the Council in order to discourage illegal immigration, reference is made to the reply by the Council to written question No E-3773/97.

A number of instruments have been adopted concerning the conditions for admission of third-country nationals to the territory of Member States. At their Copenhagen meeting on 1 June 1993, Ministers with responsibility for immigration adopted the Resolution on the harmonization of national policies on family reunification. Subsequently, the Council adopted the following resolutions:

- Council resolution of 20 June 1994 on limitations on admission of third-country nationals to the territory of the Member States for employment (OJ C 274, 19.9.1996, p. 3);

- Council resolution of 30 November 1994 relating to the limitations on admission of third-country nationals to the territory of the Member States for the purpose of pursuing activities as self-employed persons (OJ C 274, 19.9.1996, p. 7); and

- Council resolution of 30 November 1994 on the admission of third-country nationals to the territory of the Member States for study purposes (OJ C 274, 19.9.1996, p. 10).

The Council regularly monitors the implementation by Member States of these instruments, in accordance with the Council decision of 22 December 1995 on monitoring the implementation of instruments already adopted concerning the admission of third-country nationals (OJ C 11, 16.1.1995, p. 1).

Furthermore, this matter is the subject of the Commission proposal for a Council Act establishing the Convention on rules for the admission of third-country nationals to the Member States (OJ C 337, 7.11.1997, p. 9), which is currently under review in the competent working group of the Council.

Finally, the Council is aware that racketeers are behind the planning and facilitation of much of the illegal immigration, particularly the recent migration influx from Iraq and the neighbouring region to which the Honourable Member referred in his question. For this reason, the Council considers that the tackling of illegal immigration is also an effective means of preventing the spread of criminal organizations from third countries in Europe. In this respect, reference is made to the EU Action Plan, adopted by the Council on 26 January 1998, to respond to the recent increase of migrants from Iraq and the neighbouring region. The Action Plan covers different aspects of this recent influx. It includes, in particular, elements aimed, on the one hand, at bringing together, analysing and acting upon all available intelligence on the involvement of organised crime in clandestine immigration networks, and on the other, at identifying any linkage to other areas of transnational organised crime in which the groups concerned may be involved.