Swedish Migration Minister Tobias Billström completed a two day visit to Malta ahead of Sweden’s 1st July assumption of the EU Presidency. The recently approved EU pilot project where refugees are to be transferred from Malta to other EU member states on a voluntary basis was reviewed.
Click here for Times of Malta article. Click here for www.di-ve.com article.
Filed under European Union, Mediterranean, News, Sweden
UNHCR press briefing 23 June, Main points include:
“During the second half of this year, the EU will adopt a new multiannual programme in the area of Justice and Home Affairs which will determine the course of EU law and policy on asylum from 2010 through 2014.
“UNHCR calls on Sweden to use its Presidency to reassert the importance of a rights-based approach to border management and migration control.
“Recent events, including Italy’s push-backs of boat people and elections in which anti-immigrant parties scored big gains in a number of EU countries, give rise to concern about Europe’s commitment to ensuring access to protection.
“UNHCR supports strengthened solidarity among EU Member States, to assist those facing particular pressures resulting from the arrival of irregular migrants and asylum seekers, and suggests a menu of options in this respect which could include the relocation from one Member State to another of persons recognized as refugees.
“But UNHCR points out that this should not be at the expense of solidarity with non-EU countries hosting large refugee populations.”
Click here for Press Briefing.
Filed under European Union, Statements, UNHCR
The Greek PM’s request at the recent European Council Summit to create a joint European coast guard was regarded as “premature”.
Click here for Kathimerini article.
Filed under European Union, Greece, Mediterranean, News
A Maritime Border Surveillance (MarBorSur) meeting will be held at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy on 30 June 2009.
Frontex will participate in the meeting: “As part of the security research funded by the European Commission there will be an industry demonstration project focusing on Maritime Border Surveillance (MarBorSur) running from 2010 to 2014. In order to ensure that the project becomes useful both for end-users and to the participating industries, an active participation of experts from Member States and Frontex is crucial. The purpose of the meeting is to initiate the work to define scenarios, measures of effectiveness and methods for validation that will be used during the project to validate the demonstrator.”
Click here for Frontex press release.
The Joint Research Centre (click here) engages in a broad range of activities that touch on issues relating to migrant interdiction.
For example, the JRC’s Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (click here) has a Maritime Affairs Unit (click here). One of this Unit’s FP 7 project’s is the Wide Maritime Area Airborne Surveillance (WIMAAS). Click here for description.
One of the Global Security and Crisis Management (GLOBESEC) Unit’s (click here) FP 6 projects is the Land/Sea Integreted Monitoirng for European Security (LIMES). Click here for description.
Filed under European Union, Frontex, News
AI USA Statement on World Refugee Day19 June 2009
“[***] Countries at Europe’s border are showing a flagrant disregard for their international obligations towards refugees:
“*Italy is intercepting refugees in international waters and physically transporting them, without assessing their protection needs, to Libya, where migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees are at risk of ill-treatment and forcible return to countries where they risk serious human rights abuses.
“*Turkey continues not to recognize people from outside Europe as refugees, meaning thousands of people are denied the protection they need.
“*Greece pushes back people at its land border and sea borders with Turkey without first assessing their asylum claims. For those that do enter the country there are many legal obstacles for refugees to gain protection.
“*Spain’s bilateral agreements with several countries in Africa are used to justify the arbitrary arrest, detention and deportation of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants in these countries.
“*Other countries in the European Union (E.U.) turn a blind eye to the increasing lack of respect for the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers at the E.U.’s borders as they attempt to receive fewer refugees themselves. Every year, thousands of asylum seekers are transferred under the “Dublin II” system to countries where the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers are inadequately protected.
“On World Refugee Day, Amnesty International warns E.U. states that their actions are undermining the protection of refugees not only in their own countries but across the world, by sending a dangerous message on the treatment of refugees. All countries must meet their obligations towards refugees and asylum-seekers not only within their own borders but wherever they exercise effective control.
“Background
“Italy [***] Between May 6-11, approximately 500 people were intercepted by Italy [in international waters] after they sent rescue requests and were transported to Libya, where Italy claimed they could seek protection. They included people from Somalia, Eritrea and other African countries. [***]
“Turkey [***] Turkey is effectively the only state party to the Refugee Convention that does not recognize people from outside Europe as refugees, meaning thousands in need of protection are denied it. Asylum-seekers are often arbitrarily detained for extended periods in poor conditions, and subjected to ill-treatment. Further, forcible returns of individuals from Turkey to countries where they face serious human rights abuses are common. [***]
“Greece [***] Currently Greece is attempting to amend domestic law to further restrict protection by eliminating the right to an effective substantive appeal in the asylum system, in breach of international and European law. Furthermore, serious concerns over the detention conditions of asylum-seekers and migrants continue to exist. [***]”
Click here for link to AI USA statement on their web page.
Click here for more detailed AI USA press release.
Filed under Eastern Atlantic, European Union, Greece, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, Spain, Statements, Turkey
“The details will be finalised on Friday when French Immigration Minister Eric Besson flies to Malta for a one-day meeting with Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici. [***]
“Immigration will be high on the government’s agenda this week, as Dr Mifsud Bonnici will also host Swedish Migration Tobias Billström tomorrow and Tuesday to discuss the EU Stockholm programme, before Sweden takes over the EU Presidency on July 1.
“This programme is a five-year strategy with precise goals in the areas of freedom, justice and security. The plan has to be endorsed by member states by the end of this year.”
Click here for full text of Times of Malta article.
Click here for text of approved European Commission communications setting priorities for the proposed future Stockholm Programme which will establish a framework for EU action on citizenship, justice, security, asylum and immigration for the next five years.
Filed under European Union, France, Malta, Mediterranean, News
Greek PM Karamanlis is satisfied with EU Summit decisions and with agreements to more equally share illegal immigration burdens, stepped up guarding of borders via the Frontex initiative, and commencement of jointly chartered flights by EU governments to repatriate illegal immigrants.
Click here for article.
Filed under European Union, Greece, Mediterranean, News
Key points from the Summit document:
Excerpts:
“In the midst of the deepest global recession since the Second World War the European Council again demonstrated the Union’s determination to rise above present difficulties and to look to the future by taking a series of decisions intended to meet, rapidly and effectively, a wide range of challenges. [***]
“European leaders expressed great concern at the dramatic situation in the Mediterranean area and agreed on a number of measures in order to help the Member States in the frontline to respond to the influx of illegal immigrants and to prevent further human tragedies. [***]
“IV. Illegal immigration
“36. Recent events in Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Malta underline the urgency of strengthening efforts to prevent and combat illegal immigration in an efficient manner at the EU’s Southern maritime borders and thus prevent future human tragedies. A determined European response based on firmness, solidarity and shared responsibility is essential, in line with the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum and the Global Approach to Migration. Their implementation must be stepped up, in particular as concerns cooperation with countries oforigin and transit. All activities in the Western Mediterranean region and at the Eastern and South-Eastern borders need to continue.
“37. In view of the present humanitarian emergency, concrete measures need to be quickly put in place and implemented. The European Council calls for the coordination of voluntary measures for internal reallocation of beneficiaries of international protection present in the Member States exposed to specific and disproportionate pressures and highly vulnerable persons. It welcomes the intention of the Commission to take initiatives in this respect, starting with a pilot project for Malta. It urges the Council and the European Parliament toreach agreement allowing for the rapid establishment of the European Asylum Support Office. The European Council also underlines a need for strengthened border control operations coordinated by FRONTEX, clear rules of engagement for joint patrolling and the disembarkation of rescued persons, and increased use of joint return flights. In this context it calls for strong action to fight effectively against organised crime and criminal networks involved in trafficking of human beings.
“38. The European Council underlines the need for a significant strengthening of the cooperation with the main countries of origin and transit. It invites the Commission to explore concrete cooperation with third countries in line with earlier mandates adopted by the Council. The effectiveness of the EU’s readmission agreements need to be increased as part of the overall EU external policies. Concluding the negotiations on the EC readmission agreements with key countries of origin and transit such as Libya and Turkey is a priority; until then, already existing bilateral agreements should be adequately implemented.
“39. The European Council urges the Council to take the above fully into account when preparing the new multi-annual framework programme in the area of Freedom, Justice and Security. The European Council invites the Commission to submit further proposals to the next meeting of the European Council, based on an appropriate response to these problems. [***]”
Click here for full document.
Filed under Communiqués, Eastern Atlantic, European Union, Mediterranean
“1. The fifteenth ministerial Troika meeting between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the European Union (EU) was held in Luxembourg on June 16, 2009 under the Co–Chairs of Ambassador Bagudu M. Hirse, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria and Mr. Tomáš Pojar, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
“36. ECOWAS and the EU reaffirmed the need to reinforce their cooperation in the area of migration and development. In this context, they welcomed the Declaration adopted at the second Euro-African Ministerial Conference on migration and development, held in Paris on November 25, 2008, which provides a good basis for developing their cooperation. The Declaration encompasses in a comprehensive and balanced way all the issues relating to migration, by addressing the facilitation of legal migration, the fight against illegal migration, as well as the synergies between migration and development. Moreover, the Declaration establishes a three year cooperation programme (2009-2011), which identifies concrete actions and measures to be taken in the relevant areas. Both Parties underlined their commitment to actively work for the implementation of the declaration and of its cooperation programme.
“37. ECOWAS informed the EU on the state of play of preparation of its regional action plan on migration and the EU reaffirmed its willingness to support it through the Regional indicative programme under the 10th EDF.
“38. The two Parties further agreed to step up expert-level discussions on migration related issues involving interested Member States in future meetings of the joint working group on migration, with a view to identifying concrete areas of cooperation that could be developed, in particular within the framework of the Regional indicative programme.”
For the full text of the Final Communiqué, click here.
Filed under Communiqués, Eastern Atlantic, ECOWAS, European Union
Greek Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos indicated that illegal migration will be discussed at the upcoming EU summit and that a main focus is the conversion of Frontex into a European Coast Guard.
Click here for article.
Filed under European Union, Frontex, Greece, News
MIGRANTS AT SEA 