WRITTEN QUESTION E-0431/03 by Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) to the Commission. Equal responsibility among the Member States for combating illegal immigration.
Date: 2003-02-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU migration policy, Greece, border control, cooperation policy, external border of the EU, illegal migration, migration control

C 51 E/24

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

26.2.2004

Reply

(29 September 2003)

The Council shares the concerns expressed in the statements mentioned by the Honourable Member.

The Council has raised its concerns about the human rights situation, including the lack of transparency
surrounding human rights violations, humanitarian assistance and the suspension of the OSCE Assistance
Group in Chechnya on several occasions with the Russian authorities.

Most recently, these concerns were expressed at the Political Directors Troika with Russia on 16 January
2003 and at the Ministerial Troika meeting with Russia in Athens on 24 January. The Council also raised
the Chechnya issue at the Cooperation Council meeting with Russia on 14 and 15 April 2003.

The Council greatly deplores the closing down of the OSCE Assistance Group on 31 December 2002 and
supports unreservedly all the efforts made by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to ensure a longer-term,
constructive OSCE commitment in the region. To this end, the Council welcomes the proposal made by
the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to implement a programme of technical cooperation between the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office and the Russian authorities on the development of a timely, coherent and concrete
programme of activities, based on the Chechen Republic’s real needs on the one hand and on the OSCE’s
expertise and experience in all three of its dimensions on the other hand.

Moreover, in the framework of the UN Commission for Human Rights, the EU tabled a draft resolution on
the situation in the Chechen Republic in which it expressed serious concern about the human rights,
security and humanitarian situation on the ground in Chechnya. Unfortunately, the resolution did not
receive sufficient support for it to be adopted.

(2004/C 51 E/025)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0431/03

by Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) to the Commission

(18 February 2003)

Subject: Equal responsibility among the Member States for combating illegal immigration

Preventing and combating illegal immigration is a fundamental element of the Union’s common policy on
asylum and immigration, stressed in the Conclusions of the Tampere European Council of October 1999
on combating illegal immigration.

Cooperation and strong determination are needed to tackle the criminal networks referred to in the
Communication of 15 November 2001 on a common policy on migration, which calls on the Council of
the European Union to adopt, as soon as possible, an action plan to prevent and combat
illegal
immigration.

We should bear in mind the recent tragic events on the Italian coast at Santa Maria di Leuca, where illegal
immigrants from Turkey died after receiving supplies and being transferred to other vessels by Greek
traffickers. Although one of the Greek Government’s priorities during its six months’ presidency of the EU
is the harmonisation of European policy on illegal immigration, in actual fact it is not combating the
traffic in migrants who are travelling to other European Union countries. As the Italian Under-Secretary
Alfredo Mantovano said ‘Turkey and Greece do not carry out the necessary checks’.

Can the Commission:

(cid:1) call on European governments to cooperate more closely;

(cid:1) ascertain whether the Greek authorities’ negligent attitude to border controls may constitute a

violation of current Community legislation governing cooperation in combating illegal immigration;

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(cid:1) call on the Greek Government to implement a policy of more effective checks on movements of

migrants;

(cid:1) take all the measures envisaged in the Treaties to prevent continued laxness on the part of the Greek
authorities from helping to cause dramatic incidents with serious repercussions for other Member
States of the European Union?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(27 March 2003)

The Commission continuously calls on Member States to co-operate more closely in the fight against
immigration and the management of the common external borders. Following a Commission’s
illegal
immigration of 15 November 2001 (1), the Council
Communication on a common policy on illegal
adopted on 28 February 2002 an action plan on illegal immigration (2). Moreover, the Council adopted on
13 June 2002 a plan for the management of the external borders of the Member States of the Union,
which is also based on a Commission’s Communication on the subject of 7 May 2002 (3).

The aforementioned plans are currently being implemented with legislative and operational measures.
For instance, Greece leads currently a joint operation of Member States aiming to control and reduce illegal
immigration by sea in the Eastern Mediterranean (operation ‘Triton’).

The Commission has currently no knowledge on an insufficient performance of Greek border controls,
which would not be in compliance with the Schengen standards. On the contrary, the Commission has
is fully engaged in the fight against illegal
every reason to consider that Greece,
immigration. As already set out in the reply to the Written Question P-122/03 by Mr Bösch (4), the
Commission takes part in the evaluation of the proper implementation of the Schengen ‘acquis’ and would
take the appropriate steps in the case that a Member State violates the common provisions on the control
of the external borders.

like all its partners,

(1) COM(2001) 672 final.
(2) OJ C 142, 14.6.2002.
(3) COM(2002) 233 final.
(4) OJ C 161 E, 10.7.2003, p. 179.

(2004/C 51 E/026)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0465/03

by Philip Bradbourn (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 February 2003)

Subject: Classification of territorial units for statistics

In view of the publication of the Common Position on the establishment of a common classification for
territorial units for statistics and the annex attached thereto, could the Commission please clarify the
position of Gibraltar in regard to this classification and if not so classified explain why not?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(14 March 2003)

The NUTS is only applicable to the ‘economic territory’ of
the Member States as defined for the
implementation of the regulation on the Gross National Product at Market prices and the European System
of Accounts (reference: citation 12 of the regulation (cid:1) Commission Decision 91/450/EEC, Euratom of