MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
3 July 2000
pursuant to Rule 37(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Daniel Ducarme, Jan Kees Wiebenga, Graham Watson, Sarah Ludford and Colette Flesch
on behalf of the ELDR Group
on illegal migration and the discovery of fifty-eight bodies of clandestine refugees in Dover
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B5-0596/2000
B5‑0596/2000
European Parliament resolution on illegal migration and the discovery of fifty-eight bodies of clandestine refugees in Dover
The European Parliament,
- having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948,
- having regard to the Geneva Convention on the status of refugees of 28 July 1951, as modified by the New York protocol of 31 January 1967,
- having regard to the European Convention on human rights and fundamental freedoms of 4 November 1950,
- having regard to Title IV, articles 61 onwards of the Treaty establishing the European Communities,
- having regard to articles 2 and 6 of the Treaty on European Union,
- having regard to its resolution on the Commission working document “Towards common standards in asylum procedures”, adopted on 15 June 2000,
A. appalled by the terrible tragedy resulting in the loss of fifty-eight human beings which were discovered in Dover on the morning of Monday 19 June,
B. revolted by the practice of trafficking in human beings which exploits the despair of people in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, to profit from the network of clandestine immigration with disregard for the dignity of human life,
C. concerned by the resurgence in Europe of clandestine immigration, as revealed by the number of victims of this odious and unacceptable crime of trafficking in human beings,
D. whereas immigrants, whether legally resident in Member States for many years or having arrived in the recent past, have contributed significantly to the European economy and its social development; whereas, moreover, EU demographic trends are such that immigration is likely to resolve the needs of the economy in the medium term,
E. considering the lack of reliable information regarding illegal immigration given the complexity of the problem,
F. whereas the criminals active in smuggling illegal immigrants into the EU have many technical and economic mechanisms which allow them to easily avoid surveillance of our external borders; whereas, therefore, this issue must be resolved through whatever preventive and defensive methods are necessary,
G. whereas there exist significant imbalances in the requests for asylum addressed to the various Member States,
H. whereas the inefficiency of asylum legislation and relevant administrative practices increase the levels of illegal immigration and the involvement of organised crime,
1. Expresses its grief at this intolerable human tragedy;
2. Regrets that no genuine European policy on asylum and immigration, which should include a European strategy on migration, has yet been implemented;
3. Calls for the fight against organised trafficking in people to be a significant part of EU migration policy; insists once again on the urgent harmonisation of procedures for granting refugee status and the conditions under which asylum seekers are treated particularly in view of the imbalances in requests for asylum between the Member States;
4. Calls on the European Commission to implement as soon as possible the measures set down in its working document “Towards common standards on asylum procedures”, especially as far as the harmonisation of European asylum and immigration law is concerned and the drafting of a common procedure for asylum claims based on the necessary speeding up of administrative and judicial procedures and on the need to safeguard the dignity of asylum seekers;
5. Insists equally on the need to communitarize the Dublin Convention System establishing the Member State responsible for processing an asylum application;
6. Reminds the Council of the commitments made at the European Summit in Tampere on 15 and 16 October 1999, concerning the duty of the European Union to develop common policies in the field of asylum and immigration, whilst taking account of the need to exercise a coherent and effective control of its external frontiers in order to stop clandestine immigration and to confront those who organise it and thus commit infringements under international criminal law; calls urgently on the French Presidency to include this subject in its work programme;
7. Demands that its concerns as to the protection of the dignity and human rights of the immigrants and asylum seekers be taken into account in the framework of the drafting of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights in order that the freedoms which accompany citizenship of the Union are also recognised for those who, forced by their circumstances, legitimately request access to our territory;
8. Recalls that the definition of Community right of asylum and immigration cannot be disconnected from the setting up of an area of freedom, security and justice in the Union, capable also of promoting democratic values and the rule of law beyond our frontiers;
9. Recalls the conclusions of the recent Summit in Feira and reaffirms the essential need to make progress in the field of police cooperation between Member States in order to fight more effectively against the odious practice of trafficking of human beings;
10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.