WRITTEN QUESTION E-1082/00 by Laura González Álvarez (GUE/NGL) to the Council. Prostitution rings run by Albanian mafia groups in EU Member States.
Date: 2000-04-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Albania, EU initiative, European Union, Kosovo, Mafia, cooperation policy, organised crime, prostitution, trafficking in human beings

C 81 E/16

Official Journal of the European Communities

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13.3.2001

the issue of the protection of the legal rights of companies in Kosovo, Union or otherwise, is not a
question for the Commission but, rather, falls under the direct competence of the UNMIK which is
responsible for the international civil administration of Kosovo. United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999 clearly authorises the establishment of an international civil
presence, the main responsibilities of which include:

11 (cid:133) (b) Performing basic civilian administrative functions where and as long as required (cid:133)
(g) Supporting the reconstruction of key infrastructure and other economic reconstruction (cid:133)

(cid:129) as has previously been explained, UNMIK has a complete file concerning the issues raised by the
Honourable Member. The Commission will draw UNMIK(cid:146)s attention to the issues raised by the
Honourable Member, but
is for UNMIK to respond directly to the Honourable Member.
The Honourable Member may, of course, wish to contact UNMIK directly, and the name, address,
telephone and fax numbers of the relevant official are sent direct to the Honourable Member as well as
to Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat general.

it

(2001/C 81 E/017)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1082/00

by Laura GonzÆlez `lvarez (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(6 April 2000)

Subject: Prostitution rings run by Albanian mafia groups in EU Member States

Albanian mafia groups are profiting from the Kosovo conflict and illegal immigration into Italy to run
female prostitution rings in EU Member States. Young women are recruited under false pretences,
kidnapped or bought at refugee camps and then sent to towns in Germany, Italy, Belgium, France and
Spain. This type of exploitation and treatment of women is particularly prevalent in Paris (where estimates
put the number Albanian and Kosovo Albanian women at 300), Strasbourg, Lyon and Nice. The case of
Italy is also alarming, with several cities in the south, as well as Milan in the north, serving as staging posts
between Tirana and other EU Member States. The Belgian police force has been uncovering instances of
women being sexually exploited by Albanian mafia groups since 1997. Other countries in Europe, such as
Germany, where 10 000 or so women are forced to work as prostitutes, are experiencing the same
problem. According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in all some 300 000 women
from eastern Europe are engaged in prostitution in western Europe.

Alberto Maritati, Under-Secretary of State at the Italian Ministry of the Interior, has called for international
action. This problem was addressed at a symposium organised in Bari by the Council of Europe
in November 1999, which condemned the existence of genuine forms of torture and slavery.

According to police superintendent Christian Amiard, who heads the Central Office on the Treatment of
Human Beings (OCRTEH), many women are raped and initiated into prostitution in (cid:145)real-life concentration
camps(cid:146).

Is the Council aware of the scale and seriousness of this form of international organised crime? What
measures have been taken in this area? What initiatives does the Council intend to develop in order to
combat the activities of these mafia groups and dismantle the prostitution rings they run? Could it and the
High Representative for Kosovo take preventive action in Kosovo? What action could be taken within the
context of cooperation with Albania? What cooperation initiatives and measures involving Europol and
Eurojust could be adopted?

Reply

(29 September 2000)

International organisations, human right reports and authorities in Member States as well as in candidate
countries outline the serious problem of international organised crime in general and the trafficking in
women and young girls in particular. Source and transit areas have been identified in South Eastern,
Central and Eastern Europe. In the past, Albanian networks used mainly women of their own ethnical

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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background as prostitutes, but at present there is increasing evidence that the Albanians are diversifying
their recruitment, mainly from other Eastern European countries. In particular Moldavan women have
become victims for their criminal purposes.

Recent reports confirm that Albanian prostitution networks are particularly active in Italy, France, Belgium
and the United Kingdom. They mention the use of extreme violence against the victims and links to other
areas of organised crime.

Although the full extent of the problem is not known, since reliable and valid statistics are not available,
the problem of (forced) prostitution and procurement give reason for serious concern and awareness
within the Council.

In the process of enlargement, the Council and the 11 applicant countries at that time adopted the Pre-
accession Pact on Organised Crime between the Member States of the European Union and the applicant
countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Cyprus on 28 May 1998. The pact lists a number of practical
measures for combating organised crime and other forms of serious crime, including trafficking in human
beings and organised illegal immigration. The applicant countries(cid:146) abilities to fulfil the requirements of the
acquis with regard to preventing and combating organised crime is subject to monitoring during the
accession negotiations under Chapter 24: Cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs.

The Secretary-General/High Representative together with the Commission reported to the Lisbon European
Council on the justice and home affairs situation in the Western Balkans and outlined the following
Recommendation for action against organised crime: The problem of organised crime needs to be grasped
in the context of the whole of South Eastern Europe. Any successful efforts to combat organised crime will
need to benefit from extensive co-ordination with other anti-crime initiatives in the region, as well as in
the broader European context. A strategy and action plan should be developed and closely related to the
(cid:145)Pre-Accession Pact on Organised Crime between the Member States of the European Union and the
applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Cyprus(cid:146) of 28 May 1998. This model could be
transposed to South Eastern Europe in the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Process and
under the umbrella of the Stability Pact. It should aim at promoting an efficient police structure, capable of
fighting organised crime, a suitably empowered justice system and the creation of appropriate legal bases
for combating corruption.

The Council Secretariat is actively participating in the drafting of the (cid:145)Stability Pact initiative on organised
crime in South-eastern Europe(cid:146) and the development of a comprehensive training programme for the
countries of the region in the field of police training in general and measures to combat crime combating
in particular.

(2001/C 81 E/018)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1086/00

by Carmen Fraga EstØvez (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 April 2000)

Subject: Study of needs as regards supplies of tuna loins (cid:129) Commission objectives

The Commission has released the study requested by the Council to establish needs as regards supplies of
tuna loins to the Community market. The request for a study came in response to the Commission
proposal to include a tariff suspension for that product for an indefinite period in the new regulation on
the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products. Confirming previous
assertions by Parliament and several Member States, the study found that real needs as regards supplies
of tuna loins did not exceed a figure ranging from 1 000 to 2 000 tonnes per annum; that a tariff
suspension would benefit a section of the Italian canning industry alone; that, in any event, the benefit
would be merely temporary, as the undertakings in question would need to undergo thorough restructur-
ing to enhance their cost structures; that, moreover, an indefinite suspension would result in losses for the
other parties involved (Spanish industry, the ACP countries and Latin American countries in trading
partnerships with the EU); and that the exporter country, Thailand, which had the most to gain from