Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council decision amending Decision No 2002/463/EC adopting an action programme for administrative cooperation in the fields of external borders, visas, asylum and immigration (ARGO programme)’(COM(2004) 384 final - 2004/0122 (CNS))
Date: 2004-10-27
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU Member State, EU financing, EU migration policy, EU office or agency, EU programme, administrative cooperation, admission of aliens, external border of the EU, multiannual financial framework, right of asylum

C 120/76

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

20.5.2005

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council decision
amending Decision No 2002/463/EC adopting an action programme for administrative cooperation
in the fields of external borders, visas, asylum and immigration (ARGO programme)’

(COM(2004) 384 final - 2004/0122 (CNS))

(2005/C 120/14)

On 10 June 2004, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under
Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 22 September 2004. The rapporteur was Mr
Pariza Castaños.

At its 412th plenary session of 27 and 28 October 2004 (meeting of 27 October), the European Economic
and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 172 votes to two with five abstentions.

1. Introduction

tion at borders; and to reinforce the effectiveness of the instru-
ments in place.

1.1
The Treaty of Amsterdam incorporated a new pillar of
Community policy based on establishing a European area of
freedom, security and justice; this includes Community policies
on external borders, visas, asylum and immigration.

1.2
In October 1999, the Tampere European Council drew
up various proposals for a common EU migration and asylum
policy.

One of the Tampere proposals was for closer co-opera-
1.3
tion and mutual
technical assistance between the Member
States' border control services and this proposal was reiterated
at the Seville (2002) and Thessaloniki (2003) Councils.

2. Commission proposal

2.1
The ARGO programme promotes administrative coop-
eration in the fields of external borders, visas, asylum and
immigration. It was adopted by the Council on 13 June 2002,
the same day on which the Council adopted a Plan for the
management of the external borders of the Member States of
the EU.

2.2
The aims of this programme are to promote coopera-
tion, to promote the uniform application of Community law,
to improve the implementation of Community rules, to ensure
that proper account is taken of the Community dimension in
the organisation of national agencies, and to encourage trans-
parency of the actions taken by these agencies.

2.3
In order to achieve these aims, four specific areas of
activity were set out: external borders, visa policies, asylum
policy and immigration policy.

Borders: the aim is to carry out controls in accordance
2.4
with the provisions of EU law,
in particular the Schengen
acquis; to provide an equivalent level of surveillance and protec-

Visas:

the aim is to ensure that

2.5
issuing procedures
comply with the provisions of EU law and to ensure that there
is an equivalent level of control and security when issuing
visas; to harmonise the examination of visa applications; visa
requirements and exceptions to the general visa system, whilst
pressing ahead with enhancing consular cooperation.

2.6
Asylum: the intention is to promote a common system,
leading to a uniform status for refugees; to establish, by means
of an appropriate process, a system for determining which
country is responsible for examining a request for asylum; and
to harmonise national legislation, establishing minimum stan-
dards for asylum procedures.

2.7
Immigration: the aim is to draw up common rules for
entry and residence conditions for third-country nationals and
to draw up a European long-term resident's statute. Legal chan-
nels for economic immigration must be opened and illegal
immigration must be combated.

The Seville European Council invited the Commission to
2.8
the financial
examine the issues related to the sharing of
burden for the management of
the external borders. The
Commission considers that an adequate solution for burden
sharing will have to wait for the post-2006 financial perspec-
tive. It therefore believes that the proposal to amend ARGO
constitutes only a short-term measure, to be used until the
budgetary framework for the future is adopted.

2.9
In its assessment of the ARGO programme's first oper-
ating year (2003), the Commission noted that it is underper-
forming. Less than 50 % of available funds have been spent,
due to the difficulties experienced by national administrations
in working together with the other Member States on drawing
up the projects to be promoted and funded by the programme.

20.5.2005

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 120/77

to provide financial

The intention behind this amendment of the ARGO
2.10
programme is
for national
projects in the area of external borders, addressing specific
structural weaknesses, at strategic border points, identified on
the basis of objective criteria (risk assessment) that will be set
out in the annual work programme drawn up by the Commis-
sion in conjunction with the ARGO Committee.

support

The ARGO Committee will have

a budget of
2.11
EUR 46,1 million until 2006, with EUR 21,3 million being
concentrated in 2004.

2.12
The Community interest is guaranteed under Articles
62, 63 and 66 of the Treaty and by the Schengen acquis. The
United Kingdom and Ireland will adopt the corresponding deci-
sion in accordance with the Treaty.

3. Comments

3.1
The EESC considers that this amendment of the ARGO
programme should ensure that financial support under the
programme goes to national external border projects, but
wishes to emphasise that the strategic nature of the projects
must be agreed on by the ARGO Committee, acting on the
Commission's proposal, by means of a risk assessment on the
basis of objective criteria agreed on by a majority of Member
States.

The difficulties experienced by the national administra-
3.2
tions in cooperating amongst themselves under the ARGO
programme have highlighted the lack of cooperation between
Member States in managing the external borders.

The EESC considers that in future we will have to go
3.3
beyond administrative cooperation and create a system of Com-
munity solidarity in the fields of external borders, visas, asylum
and immigration, under a common policy. The financial
perspectives
this
approach.

for 2007 will have to take account of

3.4
The EESC cannot understand why the Council should
have experienced so many delays and problems in setting up
the proposed European Agency for the management of opera-
tional cooperation at the external borders (1).

Brussels, 27 October 2004.

3.5
The EESC calls for the authorities to ensure that under
the administrative cooperation in the fields of external borders,
visas, asylum and immigration, all
individuals are always
treated with humanity and dignity, in accordance with the EU
Charter of Fundamental Rights and with international conven-
tions on human rights.

The EESC opinion (2) on the Rules of Procedure of the
3.6
proposed European Agency for the management of operational
cooperation at the external borders contained the following
observations that are included in this opinion:

to stress

The EESC wishes

3.6.1
that effective border
controls must not jeopardise the right to asylum. Many people
needing international protection arrive at the external borders
through illegal channels. The authorities must ensure that these
people can apply for protection and that their application is
assessed in accordance with international conventions and
Community and national
legislation. Until the administrative
and judicial procedures governing asylum seekers are resolved,
these people cannot be removed and must be given the corre-
sponding protection.

3.6.2
The lack of effective controls at external borders is
often exploited by criminal networks that traffic in human
beings and have no qualms about putting people's lives at
serious risk in order to increase their illegal profits.
In its
opinion on the short-term residence permit issued to victims of
action to facilitate illegal immigration or trafficking in human
beings (3)
the authorities must
protect victims, in particular the most vulnerable, such as chil-
dren, and victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, with the
same energy with which they combat criminal networks that
traffic in and exploit human beings.

the EESC pointed out

that

3.6.3
The EESC has already stated in earlier opinions that
effective management of the external borders requires close
cooperation between the border authorities in the Member
States, and between authorities in the countries of origin and
countries of transit, through liaison officers.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Anne-Marie SIGMUND

(1) COM(2003) 687 final – 2003/0273 (CNS).

(2) See the EESC opinion on the Proposal for a Council Regulation
establishing a European Agency for the Management of Operational
Co-operation at the External Borders of 29 January 2004 (OJ C 108
of 30.4.2004 - Rapporteur: Mr Pariza Castaños).

(3) See OJ C 221 of 17.9.2004 – Rapporteur: Mr Pariza Castaños