Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-26-Speech-3-009"
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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union is still facing considerable challenges in terms of its response to the changing migration situation.
Frontex’s role in ensuring the effective control by Member States of the EU’s external borders is becoming increasingly important. As you know, Frontex only began operating in October 2005, but in the relatively short time since then it has developed its operational capacity and taken important steps aimed at reinforcing the security of the European Union’s external borders by focusing on the fight against illegal immigration. Various joint operations coordinated by Frontex have been conducted and others are ongoing in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. A particularly important moment was the launch, in May this year, of the European Coastal Patrol Network, which in the long term will integrate the future European monitoring system.
Another significant event was the adoption by the Council in July of this year and the entry into force on 20 August of the Regulation establishing a mechanism for the creation of Rapid Border Intervention Teams, known as RABITs. The Regulation establishes a mechanism for the provision of rapid operational assistance for a limited period of time to a requesting Member State facing a situation of exceptional and urgent pressure, especially due to the arrival at external border points of large numbers of third-country nationals trying to enter the European Union illegally.
Frontex is currently in the process of implementing this Regulation. However, for the operations coordinated by Frontex to be effective, it is crucial that appropriate equipment be available. In accordance with the Frontex Regulation, Frontex has set up a centralised record of available technical equipment, known as CRATE. This record already contains an extensive list of helicopters, aircraft, vessels and other equipment which the Member States are ready to make available for operations coordinated by Frontex.
In terms of legislative measures aimed at illegal immigration, the competent Council bodies have already begun analysing the proposal of for a directive of this Parliament and the Council laying down sanctions against employers of third-country nationals in an irregular situation. This proposal, aimed at fighting illegal employment as a factor for attracting illegal immigration, was presented by the Commission in May 2007.
Using the codecision procedure in order to rapidly reach agreement, the Council has also given high priority to the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and Council on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals. This is currently being analysed by the competent Council bodies.
In terms of the readmission policy, it should be mentioned that, following the entry into force in June of the readmission agreement with Russia, a decision to sign the readmission agreement with Ukraine has already been made and a series of readmission agreements with the Western Balkan countries and Moldova have been signed. All these agreements will be finalised once the European Parliament delivers its opinion.
I should now like to say a few words on the policy plan on legal migration. As you know, the Council and the Portuguese Presidency are also prioritising the promotion of legal migration. A high-level conference dedicated to the issue of legal migration was organised in Lisbon by the Presidency on 13 and 14 September. This brought together ministers, senior officials and renowned academics as well as representatives of this Parliament and the Commission. This conference tackled the issues of legal migration, such as legal migration channels and the management of migration flows, integration and the Lisbon Agenda, and migration and development. The results of this conference will be very important in steering our work over the next few months.
The Council will also shortly start work on proposals for a framework directive on the rights of migrants legally residing in a Member State in order to work and creating a single residence permit, and for a directive on the conditions of entry and residence of highly qualified workers, which we hope the Commission will present in the next few weeks. These two proposals, together with others which will be presented over the next few years, constitute the next steps in the policy plan on legal migration presented by the Commission in January 2006.
The Council has already started analysing the proposed Council directive amending Directive 2003/109/EC in order to extend its scope to beneficiaries of international protection. The aim of this proposal is to extend to beneficiaries of international protection the possibility of obtaining long-term resident status. The Council is just waiting for Parliament’s opinion so that this draft instrument can be quickly adopted.
On external relations in the area of migration, I must inform you that the Council has actively pursued the implementation of the Global Approach to Migration, as defined by the European Council in its conclusions of December 2005 and 2006. Your attention is also drawn to the conclusions on the expansion and reinforcement of the Global Approach to Migration, adopted by the Council in June. In December 2006 the European Council invited the Commission: to make proposals on how to apply the Global Approach to the eastern and south-eastern regions neighbouring the European Union; to propose ways of integrating opportunities for legal migration into the EU’s external policies in order to develop a balanced partnership with third countries suited to the specific needs of the labour market in the Member States; to suggest ways and means of facilitating temporary circular migration; and to present detailed proposals on how to better organise and provide information about the various forms of legal movement between the European Union and third countries.
The Global Approach to Migration, which was adopted by the European Council in December 2005, still forms the basic framework for defining the response to these challenges. On adopting the Global Approach, the European Council underlined the need for a balanced, global and coherent approach, covering policies to combat illegal immigration and, in cooperation with third countries, harness the benefits of legal migration. Implementing the Global Approach has been an essential priority for successive presidencies.
The Commission presented two communications in response to these invitations and, following the adoption of these Commission communications, the Presidency presented draft conclusions to the Council aimed at initiating work on the actions identified by the Commission.
The Euromed Ministerial Conference on Migration will be held in November. The aim of this Conference is to develop initiatives and actions for implementing migration-related issues. In addition, special attention has also been paid to Africa by pursuing and intensifying the dialogue on migration-related issues that began in 2005 with the African countries. Priority has also been given to monitoring the Ministerial Conferences on Migration and Development held in Rabat in July 2006 and in Tripoli in November 2006. These Ministerial Conferences, the first being regional and the second continental, identified a series of areas in which cooperation may be reinforced between migrants’ countries of origin, transit and destination.
The Council is actively working in this area in order to translate the joint programmes agreed at Rabat and Tripoli into concrete measures.
The Global Approach to Migration has not remained static but has been refined and developed by the European Council in light of events and progress made in its implementation. It is now integrated within the comprehensive migration policy of the European Union.
At its meeting of 21 and 22 June this year, the European Council adopted conclusions on the expansion and reinforcement of the Global Approach. These conclusions in particular provide for the application of the Global Approach to neighbouring regions to the east and south-east of the EU and for the development of partnerships between the European Union and third countries in terms of circular migration and mobility.
The importance of implementing the Global Approach was highlighted by events in the summer and in particular by those events which occurred on the EU’s southern maritime borders. As we continue to apply the Global Approach, the measures to be taken must include both measures to fight illegal immigration and measures to develop opportunities for legal migration.
The Council has tried to make headway with these two inseparable objectives. At its meeting in June it discussed the situation at the southern Mediterranean borders. It reaffirmed the importance of the role that Frontex must play and decided to carry out new work in light of suggestions made by Malta. This work was carried out and resulted in the adoption, at the Council meeting of 18 September, of conclusions on reinforcing the management of the EU’s southern maritime borders. Some of these conclusions call for urgent action to strengthen current measures and existing arrangements. The Member States are encouraged to give bilateral support to those Member States facing exceptional pressure in terms of illegal immigration due to their geographical situation and the level of cooperation with neighbouring third countries. This cooperation will cover, for example, return measures, reception conditions, responsibilities for asylum seekers, refugees and minors.
The conclusions also highlight the need to strengthen cooperation in this area with third countries of origin and transit, particularly in terms of managing their own borders, assuming their responsibility for search and rescue operations, fighting human trafficking and smuggling, and building an effective framework for returning illegal immigrants.
Emphasis has been put on the need for close cooperation with international organisations such as the UNHCR (Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees) and the IOM (International Organisation for Migration). Another essential element is the attempt to reinforce the activities of Frontex, notably by setting up long-term joint operations and expanding activities within the European Coastal Patrol Network.
As regards long-term measures, the Council has invited the Commission to present a report on possible additional measures together with an in-depth analysis of certain proposals made by Malta, a study of the relevant parts of maritime law and a commitment, within the ongoing debate on the Commission’s Green Paper on the Common European Asylum System, to the creation of specialist asylum teams."@en1
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