Council Common Position of 21 May 2002 concerning the temporary reception by Member States of the European Union of certain Palestinians
Date: 2002-05-21
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU Member State, Palestine question, aid to refugees, approximation of laws, political asylum, refugee, residence permit

28.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 138/33

(Acts adopted pursuant to Title V of the Treaty on European Union)

COUNCIL COMMON POSITION

of 21 May 2002

concerning the temporary reception by Member States of the European Union of certain
Palestinians

(2002/400/CFSP)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in partic-
ular Article 15 thereof,

(5)

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The peaceful evacuation of the Church of the Nativity in
Bethlehem in accordance with the terms of an under-
standing between the Palestinian Authority and the
Government of Israel reached on 5 May 2002, and its
flanking arrangements or unilateral undertakings by
parties to that understanding, constitutes an important
effort to help tempering the crisis situation in the region
and to restore a dialogue between the parties.

The understanding reached between the Palestinian
Authority and the Government of Israel implies that 13
persons from a group of Palestinians evacuated from the
Church of the Nativity have agreed to be transferred
abroad and that the Government of Israel, the Pales-
tinian Authority and other parties concerned have
agreed on the transfer abroad of the 13 Palestinians in
question, 12 of whom are to be received by Member
States and one of whom is to remain in the Republic of
Cyprus.

The European Union is committed to making every
effort to contribute to the establishment of a lasting
peace and friendly relations between the Israeli and
Palestinian peoples, in accordance with the principles of
the United Nations Charter. With a view to contributing
to that effort and in the light of the agreement by the
Government of
the Palestinian Authority and
other parties concerned on the transfer abroad of the
said Palestinians, several Member States have declared
themselves willing to receive, on a temporary basis and
exclusively for humanitarian reasons, one or more of
these Palestinians who have agreed to be transferred to
their territories.

Israel,

Although the decisions to grant entry into, and stay in,
their territory to any of those persons on humanitarian
grounds fall within the competence of each receiving
Member State and do not imply a right for the persons
concerned to move freely within the territories of the
it is important to adopt a common
Member States,

approach at the level of the European Union to certain
aspects related to such decisions.

It is in particular desirable to ensure that the persons
concerned receive a comparable treatment in each of the
receiving Member States with respect to such matters as
the duration of their permit to stay, the protection of
their security and the security of others, and to ensure
that the Member States concerned exchange information
to that end.

In exercising their responsibilities with regard to the
maintenance of law and order in their own territories
and the safeguarding of their own internal security, the
receiving Member States will take account of the public
order and security concerns of other Member States.
Receiving Member States accordingly express their readi-
the Palestinians they have
ness to readmit any of
received who may illegally enter the territory of another
Member State or who are otherwise not allowed to stay
there.

It is desirable to evaluate at the level of the Union after a
reasonable period the way in which the reception of the
12 Palestinians by the Member States concerned is being
carried out in practice and any questions which may
have arisen in the application of this instrument,

(6)

(7)

HAS ADOPTED THIS COMMON POSITION:

Article 1

This Common Position concerns 12 of the 13 Palestinians
belonging to the group of Palestinians in respect of which a
Memorandum of Understanding has been reached between the
Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel as of 5 May
2002 concerning the peaceful evacuation of the Bethlehem
Church of the Nativity and who have agreed to be transferred
temporarily to, and be received by, Member States of
the
European Union.

Article 2

12 of the 13 Palestinians referred to in Article 1 shall be
received on a temporary basis and exclusively on humanitarian
grounds by the following Member States: Belgium, Greece,
Spain, Ireland, Italy and Portugal.

L 138/34

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

28.5.2002

Article 3

Each of the Member States referred to in Article 2 shall provide
the Palestinians it receives with a national permit to enter its
territory and stay for a period of up to 12 months.

The validity of this permit shall be limited to the territory of
the Member State concerned, which shall take the appropriate
measures in that regard. The issuance of this permit may be
submitted to specific conditions to be accepted by the Palestin-
ians concerned before their arrival.

Article 4

Each Member State referred to in Article 2 shall take appro-
priate measures within its legal system to protect the personal
security of Palestinians received by it and to avoid them
compromising the public order or internal security of
the
Member States.

Article 5

In addition to their obligations under existing provisions of
Community law and of acts adopted pursuant to Title VI of the
Treaty on European Union, Member States shall exchange
between each other such information as may be relevant for
the proper application of measures taken pursuant to this
Common Position,
including such information as may be
necessary to permit the identification of the persons referred to
in Article 1.

Article 6

Such matters as those related to housing,
living conditions,
relations to members of their family, access to employment or
vocational training shall be governed by the national law of
each receiving Member State. The Member States referred to in
Article 2 shall, however, provide each other and, upon request,
information on these
other Member States, with relevant

matters, in order to encourage as far as possible a comparable
treatment.

Article 7

If a Member State referred to in Article 2 is requested by a third
State to extradite a Palestinian received by it, that Member State
shall inform the other Member States promptly thereof. It shall,
before taking a position as to the response to be given to such
extradition request in accordance with national legal practices,
consult the other Member States, within the Council, in order
to examine the situation and to see whether Member States can
approach the matter along common lines.

Article 8

The Council shall keep the application of this Common Posi-
tion under review and shall evaluate such application within 11
months from its adoption or earlier at the request of any of its
members.

Article 9

This Common Position shall take effect on the day of
adoption.

its

Article 10

This Common Position shall be published in the Official
Journal.

Done at Brussels, 21 May 2002.

For the Council

The President

J. PIQUÉ I CAMPS