EU Presidency Statement - Migration issues

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated with the European Union (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia), and the other associated countries (Cyprus, Malta, Turkey), as well as Liechtenstein, EFTA country, member of the EEA, endorse this statement.

Migration flows are affecting an ever-growing number of countries, in the most varied aspects of our societies: demographically and sociologically, of course, but also economically, politically and culturally. Handling them has become a major issue.

At the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, in Durban, we joined in recognizing migrants' positive economic, social and cultural contributions both to their host countries and to their countries of origin. We reaffirmed the sovereign right of States in matters of immigration policy and the need for such policy to be consistent with the relevant international instruments safeguarding human rights. We condemned displays of racism, xenophobia, intolerance and discrimination against migrants and pointed to the need to combat them. We also highlighted the importance of creating conditions conducive to greater harmony and tolerance and increased mutual respect between migrants and the rest of society. We emphasized the positive impact of family reunification on integration and brought out the need for States to facilitate such reunification. We lastly recognized the special vulnerability of migrants.

Migration is in fact a vehicle for intercultural dialogue and a source of greater understanding between peoples. It also plays an important economic role, through flows of labor, of course, but also of know-how, creativity, trade and investment.

The European Union would point to the importance of integrated, regional handling of migration flows. It has accordingly established a unique model, as noted by the Secretary-General in his report of 3 July 2001. Following the Treaty of Amsterdam, the European Union has formulated a set of common policies on asylum and migration, including criteria for granting refugee status, minimum reception standards, minimum standards related to third country nationals who are long-term residents, and the compiling of analytical and descriptive statistics by the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Eurostat.

One of the major priorities for the European Union Presidency is the framing of a common asylum and migration policy within the European Union. Meeting in Tampere in 1999, the European Council approved an ambitious, detailed action programme designed to lead to the establishment of an area of freedom, security and justice. This is to be an open, controllable area, based on European principles of openness, liberty and hospitality, solidarity, non-discrimination, respect for human rights and human dignity, and on the values of a multicultural society.

The European Union is committed to the establishment of a common policy on matters regarding immigration and population movements within the Union. In this regard, the EU is organizing a European Conference on Migration, which will take place in Brussels from 16 to 17 October, to discuss migrations and the various responsibilities between the national governments and the Union itself. The following themes will be discussed during the Conference: Managing Migration, Labor market policies and migration, Partnership with countries of origin in the management of migration flows, and Integration of immigrants.

At the European Summit of Laeken in December, the Union will assess the progress made and attempt to arrive at a common asylum and migration policy. On asylum, the emphasis will be on harmonizing procedures for granting refugee status and on reception of asylum-seekers. All persons who need international protection should enjoy such protection. In this year marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Geneva Convention, we should reaffirm that principle. On immigration, we must work towards a comprehensive policy reflecting various factors: partnerships with countries of origin, management of migration flows, integration, employment, etc.

That policy must also include action to combat illegal immigration and in particular tackle trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling. This is a problem, which has assumed worrying proportions. Unscrupulous networks, often linked to organized crime, take outrageous advantage of human misery. Such networks' victims, lured by the illusion of a better life, frequently end up, after journeys made at times under terrible conditions, in no more than a precarious situation, prey to all forms of exploitation. We have to put a stop to such trafficking, with its utter disregard for human dignity. In this regards, the European Union welcomes the adoption by the 55th General Assembly of the Convention of the United Nations against transnational organized crime and its additional protocols against the smuggling of migrants and trafficking of human beings, in particular women and children. The European Union calls upon all Member States to ratify these documents, which have been signed by the fifteen Members of the Union.

Migration is an extremely complex phenomenon. In particular, the part played by migration in driving development processes and its possible repercussions on them warrant closer consideration by way of research into migration, especially as regards the impact of the brain drain on countries of origin, as addressed by the last human development report in connection with new technology. Development programmes could include allowance for the role of migration in the situation in both country of origin and host country, so as to make best use of the potential afforded by migration. It would also be worth exploring scope for closer coordination between the various United Nations agencies, both in policies on the ground and in related research and the compiling of statistics.

We thus see a need to continue work making for a better understanding of migration patterns, particularly as regards their impact on development. Mobility is inherent in human activity; we have to capitalize on the wealth of resources available from migration, while combating the intolerable abuses to which it gives rise. Migration flows need to be handled in a comprehensive, integrated manner, making allowance for the particularities of each region. The positive contribution made by migrants needs to be universally recognized and their rights fully respected.

As has just been pointed out, the European Union regards international migration as an important topic. In view of the complexity and disparity of migration patterns, however, we consider that such matters should be examined within the appropriate machinery of the United Nations system, rather than at a United Nations international conference.

Thank you for your attention.

| Arriba |

• Report on Migration and Asylum Policy in the EP (20/6/2001)