WRITTEN QUESTION E-0235/01 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Council. Illegal Belgian visas and passports.
Date: 2001-02-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Belgium, competence of the Member States, corruption, diplomatic profession, illegal migration, illicit trade, migration control, passport, residence permit

21.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 235 E/159

(2001/C 235 E/185)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0235/01

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(8 February 2001)

Subject:

(cid:145)Illegal(cid:146) Belgian visas and passports

Attention needs to be drawn in the context of the European Union(cid:146)s third pillar (justice and home affairs)
to fraud being perpetrated with Belgian visas and passports. Not least because a temporary or permanent
residence permit for the Belgian Federation also gives access to all the Schengen countries. These residence
permits are worth their weight in gold to criminals and make the whole area of migration enormously
vulnerable to corruption.

There were reports last year of trade in diplomatic cards in the Belgian Foreign Affairs Ministry and of
large-scale visa fraud in the Belgian Embassy in Sofia. In late 1997 one official at the Foreign Affairs
Ministry admitted to having sold about 300 special cards to Russians. The same official was also
responsible for issuing dozens of special cards to Embassy domestic staff, in particular young Filipino
women, who were often exploited and some of whom gravitated to prostitution.

In 1996 the First Secretary at the Belgian Embassy in Sofia lodged a civil-law complaint alleging illegal
activities against the Ambassador and his staff. She had established that visas and passports were frequently
issued in return for payment. The Embassy was even said to have set up a (cid:145)carrousel(cid:146) arrangement
involving fake invitations from Belgian firms. In April 2000, two magistrates visited Sofia and established
that (cid:145)illegal(cid:146) visas had in fact continued to be issued by the Belgian Embassy for several years.

Has the Council (cid:129) having regard to the facts cited above (cid:129) made representations to the Belgian Federation
with a view to applying essential preventive measures to its visa and passport policy, such as a rotation
system for sensitive duties, double monitoring and screening of officials?

If so, when did the Council submit that request to the Belgian Federation?

If not, why has the Council still not urged essential preventive measures for the Belgian Federation(cid:146)s visa
and passport policy, having regard to its importance to the European Union(cid:146)s third pillar and the Schengen
countries(cid:146) policy? Will the Council still urge that such measures be adopted?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-0234/01 and E-0235/01

(14 May 2001)

The Council regards the fight against document fraud as an important matter. This is why, for a long time
now, experts have met in Council working parties to exchange information and experience and to consider
initiatives and proposals on the subject.

However, the problem raised by the Honourable Member concerns a matter that has to be settled by the
relevant Belgian authorities.

The Council does not usually call on a Member State of the Union to give an explanation concerning
a matter over which the Member State itself has jurisdiction.

If a Member State(cid:146)s acts or omissions were to affect the operation of Community visa regulations it would
be for the Commission to give the Member State concerned the opportunity to submit its comments.