Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-23-Speech-3-235"
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"en.20080423.20.3-235"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I would first of all like to get back to the main topic of this debate, Frontex, and clarify a few points. Mr Fava, in particular, wanted to know if the equipment used by Frontex was fully operational.
Evidently – and I will finish with this point – the treatment of illegal immigrants must respect fundamental rights, to which Europe is firmly committed. All of this means that we need a genuine overall approach, an approach that is human but is at the same time extremely serious and rigorous. This is essential if we do not want Europe to be a fortress and if we want it to be open, but open within the framework of rules that we believe to be reasonable, that respect individuals and, at the same time, that focus on ensuring that the integration efforts succeed in the various Member States, for the immigration policy cannot succeed without integration.
That is all I wanted to say and I apologise to the Members for not having responded to all the questions raised. Please be assured that I am willing to listen to Parliament in order to try to lay the foundations for this overall immigration policy.
It is true that Frontex depends on the Member States for the technical equipment needed for the operations it coordinates and, until now, the agency has been satisfied with the way in which the Member States have provided the equipment available in the CRATE database.
Of course, an additional step would be to put in place a compulsory system for the Member States by amending the agency’s basic Regulation. The Commission mentions this in its evaluation report, and the discussions with the Frontex agency and the Member States on this matter will continue. Frontex has concluded technical agreements with most of the Member States on the conditions of use of the equipment. Obviously, it is unable to purchase equipment that is very costly, but in its evaluation report the Commission recommended that Frontex should buy or lease equipment that is frequently used: night vision goggles, small radar equipment, thermal imaging equipment, etc.
I also wanted to say, since Mr Moreno Sánchez raised these points in particular, that there are some places that are particularly at risk, and perhaps we could envisage setting up permanent operational centres in such cases. Frontex is currently looking into this.
There are many other questions and I apologise for not mentioning all the Members although I took precise notes.
Many of you asked about Frontex’s ability at present to assist people whose boats have been shipwrecked. It important to remember that it is the Member States that are responsible for looking after or saving those involved in such accidents: Frontex has no mandate in this area. Having said that, I believe that it is true to say that numerous lives have fortunately been saved as a result of the operations coordinated by Frontex. More and more people must be saved because what we have realised from these terrible shipwrecks of poor people, who have often also been exploited, is that this is a major concern in these operations.
I would briefly like to reiterate what the President and the Minister have just said, and Mr Gaubert too: when it comes down to it, Europe has to begin to manage migratory flows, and migratory flows cannot be managed effectively without Frontex, without surveillance of our external borders. There is no doubt that we need a legal framework that will gradually allow Europe to provide a truly European response to all these migratory problems. I must say, too, that one of the major tasks awaiting my attention is the preparation of a new communication on this overall approach to migration, which should take into account all the aspects that you have raised.
I would add that a migration policy cannot succeed in the absence of close cooperation with the countries or origin and, indeed, what has been said on this subject is that all efforts are welcome to strengthen this cooperation with the countries in question.
Minister, you pointed out just a moment ago that the trialogue on the ‘return’ text seems to be progressing. It is also one of the cornerstones of this overall immigration policy, which must of course be an overall policy, but which must also be a united policy, too: solidarity is crucial. There has been much mention this evening of rescues at sea, but we must not forget Europe’s borders to the east."@en1
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