Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-07-04-Speech-2-121"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20000704.5.2-121"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, first of all, I wish to emphasise that the Commission shares the sense of grief caused by the tragedy at Dover, which President Prodi expressed at the Feira Council and as I myself have expressed on behalf of the Commission.
The Commission wishes to point out that the protection of victims and the respect for their rights must remain a constant concern of this presidency, as some victims pay with their lives and others are forced into slavery
In this respect, the Commission plans to submit a proposal on providing short-term residence permits to victims who agree to cooperate with the police and judicial authorities in fighting the criminal networks that traffic in human beings. Victims’ testimony is in fact crucial to the police and judicial investigations being able to produce effective results. If we expect victims to provide this testimony, we must guarantee them a minimum of personal security.
The Commission also urges Member States to increase their cooperation with Interpol, so that this body is able to make full use of all its resources in the fight against organised crime in this area. In this respect, we wish to emphasise the importance of the conference to be held by the French Presidency on 20 and 21 July in Paris, which the Minister has just mentioned.
We also need to develop and strengthen the Schengen acquis as included in the Treaty of Amsterdam. Priority must be given to researching the means for ensuring the proper implementation of existing laws on granting visas and controlling external borders by using the surveillance and monitoring mechanisms that are available for this purpose.
A review must also be carried out of existing measures, and, should they be required, the necessary legislative amendments could be introduced to the Schengen acquis. All means should be investigated in order to facilitate administrative cooperation, following the example of the Odysseus programme, a third of whose projects that have been retained for 2000 are already contributing to the fight against illegal immigration.
Furthermore, the Commission shares the desire of the French Presidency to see the procedures for placing responsibility on transporters reviewed and adapted as a matter of priority and has noted the Presidency’s announcement of an initiative to this effect. In our opinion, this initiative should form part of the development of the Schengen acquis and should deal appropriately with the various means that could be used in close collaboration with the operators because, without this cooperation, it will be difficult to fight effectively against the trafficking in human beings.
Within the framework of cooperation with countries and regions of origin and transit in general, particular attention must be paid both to combating poverty and to respect for human rights. More specific action could be also be undertaken with regard to developing awareness-raising campaigns on the real possibilities of legal immigration and on all forms of trafficking, as well as increasing the ability of the authorities in the countries of origin or transit to effectively combat this type of crime themselves. We should consider the option of increasing the appropriations that have been earmarked for this purpose in the preliminary draft budget for 2001.
In addition to this, forms of closer cooperation could be considered for applicant countries, particularly in the areas of training, equipment, and the exchange of information on criminal networks. With this in mind, we feel that it is important to develop cooperation agreements between Europol and the police forces in applicant countries as quickly as possible.
The conclusion and the effective implementation of Community agreements on readmission will also contribute to diminishing the attraction of the offers made by traffickers, who claim to be able to provide their victims with guaranteed access to the destination country. In more general terms, we must review repatriation policies as a whole, including the issue of assistance for voluntary return, so as to guarantee coordination and efficiency whilst respecting the rights of the people involved.
It is imperative that we make rapid progress in establishing a common European asylum system, based on absolute respect for human rights and on the principle of
which seeks to provide the appropriate status for any person in need of protection, through the use of fair and efficient procedures.
We feel that these events are a particularly tragic illustration of the need for a common policy on immigration. The Commission is pleased at the request made at Feira by the Heads of State and Government to speed up the process, and is firmly committed to play its part in this process, in conjunction with the French Government.
The proposals that the Commission has already submitted concerning the European Refugee Fund and temporary protection, as well as the launch of the process of revising the Dublin Convention, should be swiftly followed up by other initiatives on the procedures and conditions for the reception of asylum-seekers. The Commission is in the process of evaluating the report by the European Parliament on its communication on a common procedure in order to present, before the end of this year, a legislative initiative on a common procedure for asylum in Europe. By the same token, we welcome the French initiative to submit a set of guidelines on the conditions for the reception of asylum-seekers.
As was said at Tampere, the whole purpose of the exercise is to achieve, in the medium term, a common definition of refugee status and, to complement this, other subsidiary forms of protection. The Commission feels that any lasting solution will require a genuine immigration policy to be gradually established. This policy must take account of the Union’s views on social, economic and demographic developments, and will consequently guarantee the admission of migrants under an organised and clear framework, as well as their harmonious integration into the communities that receive them.
The Commission is preparing a communication on this subject for the autumn, as well as legislative proposals, which follow on from those covering permission for the families of foreign nationals working within the Union to join them. Those proposals are currently under consideration by the Council, and the new proposals should define the conditions and the methods for admission, particularly for purposes of work and study.
We all recognise the importance of this debate and this exchange of views has clearly been influenced by the emotions caused by the Dover tragedy. It is tempting to say that the solution lies in increasing repressive measures and, as you see, I am not rejecting the idea of doing so. What we must understand above all, however, is that, in the medium term, it is by producing a proactive immigration policy at European level, backed by clear criteria, which are shared by all Member States, that we will guarantee victory in this battle. This must be a balanced policy, both in its measures on “the integration of emigrants” and in its measures on “effectively combating networks of organised crime which exploit the victims of the traffic in human beings” We must never lose sight of the balanced approach provided by the two aspects of the European common policy on this issue.
The Commission wishes to reiterate the fact that the framework for such a policy was established by the Tampere European Council and that precise deadlines have been set for implementing it, both by the Treaty of Amsterdam and the European Council itself.
If such a policy is to have a lasting effect, it must form part of the overall approach defined at Tampere, which requires both a more efficient management of migration flows and the development of partnerships with the countries of origin and transit, the establishment of a common asylum system and the guarantee of fair treatment for nationals of third countries who are legally resident in Member States’ territory.
It is within this overall framework that efforts must be made to overcome the particularly odious types of crime that are the traffic in and exploitation of human beings. These crimes are what lie behind the Dover tragedy, as well as all the anonymous tragedies that are played out every day, which we do not hear about since they are not reported in the press. Unfortunately, however, they do exist.
More specifically, the Commission wishes to point out that a very short deadline has been set for the Council to adopt the necessary legislative measures to be able to prosecute and punish the behaviour of those who profit from trafficking in human beings. A deadline, which runs up to the end of this year, has been set for the formal adoption of the legislative instruments that will enable the main players in this kind of trafficking to be punished.
The Commission wishes to confirm its desire to cooperate with the Council to ensure that this deadline is scrupulously observed and notes the fact that the French Presidency is about to present its first initiative, which is a framework decision designed to strengthen the fight against aiding illegal entry and residence. We welcome this response by the French Presidency and we shall study the text closely to see to what extent it covers the objectives that the Commission had set for itself under its own proposal.
There are two aspects in particular to which we should pay attention in this context: employers’ responsibility and the consequences of employing workers illegally. This does not only involve monitoring the European Union’s points of entry, but also monitoring what is happening within our Member States, particularly with regard to the illegal labour market.
Furthermore, the traffic in human beings in particular must be curbed, since it involves trafficking in women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation, which is a specific feature of the traffic in human beings in general."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples