WRITTEN QUESTION E-2262/00

by Brice Hortefeux (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 July 2000)

Subject: Community transport policy: goods in circulation in the European Union under the TIR international road transport scheme

On 19 June 2000 the trade in illegal immigrants to the European Union cost the lives of 58 people who were discovered dead in the trailer of a lorry in the port of Dover. The lorry in question was operating under the TIR international road transport scheme. Vehicles operating under this scheme bear locks with customs seals, with which it is illegal to tamper. Once the seals are put on the cargo, only customs officers are authorised to carry out checks, but these checks must be applied to the whole load. This procedure has the effect of discouraging checks. As a result, TIR vehicles have become the means of transport preferred by illegal immigration networks, because of the difficulty of checking their loads. Transport operators and drivers themselves are unable to check the goods they load under the TIR arrangements, although they are the ones who bear the consequences of illegal immigration (imprisonment of drivers, confiscation of vehicles, lost goods, etc.). The TIR scheme is coming to seem less and less appropriate in view of the magnitude of the problems affecting international transport operators, whether in the form of illegal immigration, drug trafficking or smuggling.

1. What action at international level could the Commission take rapidly to reinforce controls on goods carried by vehicles operating under the TIR scheme?

2. What ways can the Commission propose of reinforcing customs controls on goods transported under the TIR scheme in transit through the European Union?

3. What proposals can the Commission put forward to help European companies transporting goods under the TIR scheme?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(8 September 2000)

According to the information received by the Commission, the vehicle in which 58 people were found dead at Dover was not operating under the international carriage of goods by road (TIR) procedure but was engaged in internal Community transport.

Vehicles that do carry goods under the TIR procedure are sealed by customs and the vehicles must be constructed in such a manner that no goods can be removed or introduced without leaving obvious traces of tampering or without breaking the customs seal. The customs authorities of Member States have reported that there is no evidence that the problems of illegal immigration are made worse by these rules. On the contrary, they can be helpful to both immigration authorities and vehicle operators when checking whether vehicles are carrying illegal immigrants.

1. and 2. The problems that illegal immigration are causing for TIR operators have been discussed by the Commission with Member States and at the United Nations' economic commission for Europe (UN/ECE) working party on customs questions affecting transport which deals with the application of the TIR Convention at international level. There were reports that the action taken to combat illegal immigration had caused difficulties for TIR operators in some cases, but there was no evidence that the TIR rules themselves added to those difficulties. It was agreed that no action was necessary in relation to TIR. That position remains unchanged and the Commission is therefore not at this stage proposing any action at international or Community level to reinforce customs controls of goods carried under the TIR procedure.

3. In the light of the above comments, the Commission is also unable to make any proposals in relation to the TIR procedure to help transport operators. It would, however, advise operators to follow the existing TIR rules regarding sealing. If a seal is found to have been broken, the operator should immediately contact the customs

or other competent authorities. If it is considered necessary to break seals, it should only be done in the presence of the customs or other authorities except that in an emergency the carrier may take action on his own initiative. The Commission do not consider that it would be helpful to authorise transport operators to routinely break customs seals themselves to check whether a vehicle is carrying illegal immigrants.

The Commission believes that, at this stage, solutions to the problems of illegal immigration by means of road transport are not to be found in the context of TIR. Nevertheless, it will continue to monitor the situation and will propose appropriate measures at Community or international level should they become necessary.