Category Archives: Frontex

by | 22 Feb 2010 · 05:43

Conference de l’Ucad: «Migrations entre le Sénégal et l’Espagne: défis et opportunités»

“Les premières journées hispano-sénégalaises qui portaient sur le thème « Migrations entre le Sénégal et l’Espagne : défis et opportunités » ont été clôturées, … à Dakar. Une occasion saisie par le Pr. Saïdou Nourou Tall, vice doyen de la Faculté des Sciences juridiques et politiques de l’Ucad, par ailleurs coordonnateur du Master du droit des migrations pour faire le diagnostic du dispositif du Frontex (dispositif de lutte contre l’émigration clandestine)…. le Pr. Saïdou Nourou Tall a déclaré …« On a fait un diagnostic, beaucoup de choses ont été faites. Mais il existe un certain nombre de problèmes dans ce dispositif du Frontex qui nous interpelle tous », a-t-il précisé. Est-ce que les milliards que reçoivent nos gouvernants dans la lutte contre cette émigration clandestine atteignent les cibles », s’est-il interrogé. Pour lui, le constat illustre la recrudescence du phénomène de l’émigration clandestine. La solution, de l’avis du coordonnateur du Master des Migrations de la faculté de Droit, est de « promouvoir l’unité africaine ». Pour cela, a-t-il dit, « il faut faire de l’Afrique un grand marché où les Africains trouveront du travail sans être obligés de risquer leur vie sur des pirogues de fortune ».”

Cliquez ici pour l’article complet.

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by | 19 Feb 2010 · 05:40

Besson et Frattini: renforcement des frontières “urgent”

“La France et l’Italie veulent un renforcement ‘urgent’ des frontières extérieures de l’UE afin de lutter contre les filières d’immigration clandestine…. Paris et Rome veulent un ‘développement des capacités opérationnelles de … Frontex en vue de mettre en place la police européenne aux frontières prévue par le Pacte européen sur l’immigration et l’asile’ et une ‘généralisation des accords de coopération opérationnelle et de réadmission avec les principaux Etats tiers d’origine et de transit’.”

“Les ministres de l’UE en charge de l’immigration doivent tenir le 25 février à Bruxelles une réunion extraordinaire convoquée par Eric Besson après la découverte de 123 Kurdes sur une plage corse en janvier.”

Cliquez ici pour l’article.

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by | 19 Feb 2010 · 05:20

Más patrullas para prevenir llegada de barcas neumáticas a la costa andaluza

“El Ministerio del Interior ha intensificado las patrullas de la Guardia Civil y las tareas de inteligencia para prevenir la llegada de embarcaciones neumáticas que cruzan el Estrecho de Gibraltar hasta las costas andaluzas, según consta en una respuesta aportada por el Gobierno al senador Eugenio Jesús Gonzalvez (PP), a la que tuvo acceso Europa Press….”

“Por otra parte, recuerda que en los meses de septiembre y octubre se puso en marcha el dispositivo Indalo, coordinado por la Agencia Europea de Fronteras (Frontex), consistente en el despliegue de medios marítimos y aéreos, complementado con personal de varios países en distintos puntos de la costa, entre las provincias de Murcia y Granada.”

“Asimismo, Interior indica que el Sistema Integral de Vigilancia Exterior (SIVE) se mantiene a la “máxima operatividad” en toda la costa del Mediterráneo, donde también continúa la realización de patrullas mixtas marítimas….”

Click here and here for articles.

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by | 18 Feb 2010 · 06:43

Malmström: Non-Refoulement Must be Respected in the Mediterranean

Speaking at the first meeting of the new European Commission (Barroso 2), Cecila Malmström made remarks about Frontex:

“We have evaluated Frontex, how it works, we will strengthen it, we will increase the coordination capacities and make it a better tool in order to work with the Member States on handling irregular immigration but also on making sure that the rule of law and the principle of ‘non-refoulement’ is respected on the Mediterranean.”

“Nous avons évalué le dispositif Frontex, son fonctionnement, et nous allons le renforcer, a-t-elle déclaré. Nous allons augmenter les capacités de coordination et en faire un meilleur outil pour faire en sorte, avec les Etats, de contrôler l’immigration mais aussi pour s’assurer que la primauté du droit et que le principe de non-refoulement soient respectés autour de la Méditerranée.”

Click here for article in English.

Cliquez ici pour l’article en francais.

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by | 17 Feb 2010 · 04:04

Frontex: UAV Workshop and Demonstration Event for Maritime Surveillance

Frontex has issued a press release:

“In the context of the development of a common European border surveillance system (EUROSUR), Member States are expected to improve and harmonise their surveillance activities in order to ensure effective detection of illegal immigration and cross-border crime. In the maritime domain, there is a wide spectrum of possible technical means that can be employed to provide effective surveillance … [h]owever, it is clear that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) could also play an important role in further enhancing border surveillance in the future, though they face a number of technical and other challenges.

Following last year’s successful mini-UAV demonstration event in Finland focusing on surveillance of land borders, Frontex R&D Unit intends to organise a UAV workshop and real-flight demonstration event at the beginning of June 2010 in Spain covering the maritime domain. …”

Click here for full press release.

Click here for Frontex press release regarding its 24 May Conference on “Surveillance Technology for Border Control.”

Click here for IPS article: “Military Technology to Track Down Migrants?”

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by | 16 Feb 2010 · 04:53

New Statewatch Report: NeoConOpticon- The EU Security-Industrial Complex

Statewatch and the Transnational Institute have published a comprehensive new report.

The report, “NeoConOpticon, The EU Security-Industrial Complex”, is a “follow-up [to Arming Big Brother, 2006] [and] contains new research showing how the European Security Research Programme [ESRP] continues to be shaped by prominent transnational defence and security corporations and other vested interests. Though technically a Research and Development (R&D) programme, the ESRP is heavily focused on the application of security technologies (rather than objective research per se), and is increasingly aligned with EU policy in the fields of justice and home affairs (JHA, the ‘third pillar’), security and external defence (CFSP, the ‘second pillar’).”

The Report includes a discussion of maritime immigration enforcement.  Excerpt:

“Having fortified many of the traditional entry points to Europe, the focus of the ‘war on migration’ has shifted to the islands of the Mediterranean and the coastlines of Africa and the Middle East. For FRONTEX, the newly created EU border management agency, this ‘southern maritime frontier’ is the ‘first line of defence’ of ‘Europe’s borders’. Since 2003 FRONTEX has coordinated a host of joint police and naval missions to combat ‘illegal’ immigration by sea and is now in the process of setting up a permanent European Patrols Network for the Mediterranean and a corps of Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABITs) for deployment to ‘illegal immigration hotspots’.

This militarised approach to immigration control is part of a broader EU maritime security and defence strategy. In 2005, following the lead of the USA’s ‘SeaPower21’ strategy, the Chiefs of European Navies (CHENS) launched a 20-year ‘Vision for the Future Role of European Maritime Forces’ to meet the demands of the European Security Strategy (2003) and enhanced NATO Maritime Joint Operations. The rationale behind the CHENS strategy is that the sea: ‘has already been used for terror attacks by boats armed with rockets and small arms’ and ‘for logistic support to terrorism’. The sea is also a potential conduit for CBRN material and “criminal activity including narcotics, human trafficking and piracy’, all of which is ‘increasing in sophistication and volume.’ …”

Click here for Executive Summary.

Click here for full report.

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by | 12 Feb 2010 · 05:38

Presentation Materials from EU Conference on “Maritime Policies for a Prosperous and Secure Europe”

The Spanish EU Presidency conducted a conference on “MARITIME POLICIES FOR A PROSPEROUS AND SECURE EUROPE – Towards a Comprehensive 21st-Century Civil-Military Approach” in January 2010 during which multiple presentations were given by representatives from Frontex, military representatives, and others.

The PowerPoint presentations used by some of the presenters are posted on the internet (See http://www.eutrio.eu/export/sites/presidencia/comun/descargas/ [xxx] )

Links to two of the presentations are provided here.

“European Border Surveillance”, Erik Berglund, Director of Capacity Building, Frontex.

Click here.

“Integration of Maritime Surveillance Systems as a Keystone for Maritime Security”, Bg. Gen. José María Orea Malo, Head Operations Division Spanish Air Force Staff.

Click here.

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by | 08 Feb 2010 · 05:08

First “Frontex Operational Office” to be Based in Greece

The Frontex Management Board has taken the decision to establish Frontex’s first Operational Office (“FOO”) in Piraeus, Greece.  According to the Frontex press release, the purpose of the office is to provide regionally-based support for Frontex coordinated activities such as joint operations and enhanced situational awareness.  If this pilot project is successful, it is expected that future FOOs would be established elsewhere such as the Western Mediterranean, the Western Balkans and Black Sea, and Eastern land borders.

According to the Frontex press release, Frontex Executive Director Laitinen said the establishment of this FOO “supports the possible enhancement of [the] Frontex mandate highlighted in the Stockholm Programme … I can even say this decision anticipates potential enlargement of the EU and Schengen zone. It gives Frontex a possibility to offer more support for the operational involvement of third countries, something that is essential for effective border management.”

Click here for Frontex statement.

Click here for the Final Report on the “Study on the feasibility of establishing specialised branches of Frontex.”  The specific functions of the new FOO are based in part on this feasibility study which was prepared in 2009.

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by | 05 Feb 2010 · 05:27

Background Note Pertaining to Proposed Guidelines for Frontex Operations at Sea

Given the strong objections by Malta and Italy to the proposed Guidelines for Frontex Operations at Sea, the “Note for the File” pertaining to the “Draft Council Decision supplementing the Schengen Borders Code as regards sea border surveillance in the context of operational cooperation coordinated by FRONTEX (COM(2009)658) as amended by the Council on 25 January 2010” is worth reading.

The “Note” explains the origins of the Guidelines and the additional procedures which will need to be completed before the Guidelines take effect:

“Note for the File:

The questions of who is responsible for saving people at sea and where they should be disembarked have been subject to intense debates in the context of surveillance operations concerning the EU’s sea borders coordinated by Frontex. The operations take place in a highly complex legal and political environment and touch upon international law issues and on the EU’s relations with third countries.

After long preparatory work, including a study on the relevant international law instruments completed in 2007, the Commission drafted a set of guidelines intended to

  • ensure that international rules are uniformly applied by all Member States taking part in surveillance operations coordinated by Frontex (Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), conventions on safety at sea and search and rescue, international law on refugees and fundamental rights) and
  • create a basis in EU law enabling one Member State to carry out surveillance of another Member States’ maritime borders.

The Commission presented the draft guidelines in the form of an implementing measure, based on Article 12 (5) of the Schengen Borders Code.  This provision, together with Article 33 of the Borders Code, authorises the Commission to adopt additional measures governing border surveillance in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny as laid down in Council Decision 1999/468/EC (“comitology decision”).

After the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon this procedure continues to apply until the basic legal act, the Schengen Borders Code, has been aligned to the framework of the Treaty of Lisbon. Therefore, the regulatory procedure with scrutiny applies to the present draft measure.

The draft was first submitted to the Borders Code Committee. Member States’ experts failed to agree on the draft; therefore, the Committee did not issue a formal opinion. One of the controversial issues was whether the Commission’s draft went beyond its implementing powers.

On 7 December 2009, the Commission submitted a revised draft to the Council and to the Parliament, in the form of a draft Council Decision (COM(2009)658).

In accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny the Council, acting by qualified majority, had the following options:

  • · oppose the proposed measure, in which case it will not be adopted; the Commission may submit an amended proposal or present a legislative proposal (option 1)
  • · envisage adopting the proposed measure, in which case it shall without delay submit it to the European Parliament (option 2)
  • · not act within the two months, in which case the Commission shall without delay submit the measures to the Parliament.

The Council had to act within a deadline of two months, i.e. before 7 February 2010.  On 25 January 2010 the Council, with Italy and Malta abstaining, decided to envisage adopting draft Council Decision and submit the draft Council Decision to the European Parliament. Furthermore, the Council agreed on an additional declaration to be adopted by the Council if Parliament does not oppose the measure, asking Frontex to report on the practical implementation of this decision.

European Parliament’s role in the procedure and deadline

In accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny, Parliament has four months in total, starting from the date of referral on 7 December 2009, to scrutinise the draft measure. In practice, Parliament now has two more months to take position before 7 April 2010.

Parliament’s options in the regulatory procedure with scrutiny are limited to the following. Parliament may, acting by a majority of its component Members,

  • · oppose the adoption of the measure; in this case, Parliament must justify its opposition, stating that the proposed measure exceeds the implementing powers granted to the Commission in the basic instrument, or is not compatible with the aim or the content of the basic instrument or does not respect the principles of subsidiarity or proportionality; if Parliament opposes, the draft measure shall not be adopted; the Commission may submit an amended proposal or present a legislative proposal
  • · not oppose the adoption of the draft measure; in this case, the draft measure may be adopted by the Council or the Commission.

LIBE, as the committee responsible, will prepare Parliament’s position, in accordance with Rule 88 of the Rules of Procedure. The Member responsible in LIBE is Michael Cashman, rapporteur for the basic act, the Schengen Borders Code. Once the Council’s position, adopted on 25 February 2010, has been officially referred to the Parliament, the chairman will set a deadline for Members who wish to propose that the committee objects to the draft measure. If the committee decides to object, it shall table a motion for a resolution to the plenary for adoption before 7 April 2010.

Action undertaken by LIBE so far:

On 11 January 2010, LIBE, as the committee responsible, heard presentations of the Commission (Mr Henrik Nielsen, Head of Unit, DG JLS) and the Spanish Presidency (Mr Burgos Nieto, JHA Counsellor) and held a first exchange of views on the file.

During the debate, several Members highlighted the political importance of the decision on the guidelines (Mr Busuttil, Mrs Flautre, Mr Moraes, Mrs Hennis-Plasschaert) and the fact that this was a long-standing discussion in the Council. The Executive Director of Frontex (Mr Laitinen) underlined the swift adoption of guidelines would enhance the efficiency of Frontex’ operations.

Next steps:

The Council will refer its position, which was adopted on 25 January 2010, to the Parliament within a few days. Then it will be Parliament’s turn to take a position before the expiry of the deadline on 7 April 2010.

In order to prepare LIBE’s position, the rapporteur recommends that an opinion be requested from the Parliament’s legal service, which should answer the following questions:

1)

a) Having regard to the delineation between “rules” and “guidelines” for Member States in the draft measure as amended by the Council, could the content be considered a “non-essential element” of the final legal framework shaping the role of the Member States and Frontex?

b) Has the Commission exceeded its implementing powers under Article 12 (5) of the Schengen Borders Code by proposing the present draft measure?

2) In case the content or a part of the content of the draft measure touches upon essential elements of the basic act, could the objectives of the measure be achieved by a legislative act, notably by amending the basic act, i.e. the Schengen Borders Code?

OPERATIONAL INFORMATION:

Documents:

  • · Proposal for a Council Decision supplementing the Schengen Borders Code as regards the surveillance of the sea external borders in the context of the operational cooperation coordinated by Frontex, COM(2009)658 of 27.11.2009, as amended by the Council on 25 January 2010
  • · Commission staff working document, Study on the international law instruments in relation to illegal immigration by sea, SEC (2007)691 of 15.5.2007, available in EN and FR.

Contacts:

European Parliament:

Member responsible: Michael CASHMAN

Asisstant to Mr Cashman: Renaud-Raphaël Savignat, tel. – 47759

S&D political Advisor: Mrs Annie Lemarchal, tel. – 43057

Desk officer responsible in the LIBE Secretariat: Lotte Madlen Tittor, tel. -40785

European Commission:

Desk officer responsible in DG JLS: Ana Isabel Sanchez Ruiz, tel. 02-2998239, email: Ana-Isabel.Sanchez-Ruiz@ec.europa.eu

Head of the responsible Unit in DG JLS: Henrik Nielsen, tel. 02-2991641, email: Henrik.Nielsen@ec.europa.eu

Council General Secretariat:

Desk officer: Mr Bent Mejborn, tel. 02-2816722, email: bent.mejborn@consilium.europa.eu

Spanish Presidency:

Mr Eugenio Burgos Nieto, JHA Counsellor, email: eugenio.burgos@reper.maec.es”

Click here for link to Document.

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by | 05 Feb 2010 · 04:51

Guidelines for Frontex Operations at Sea

NB –I believe this document is the final version of the proposed guidelines approved by the Council on 25 January 2010, with Italy and Malta abstaining, and which has now been forwarded to the Parliament for scrutiny.  I will remove or amend this post if I discover this is not the final version approved by the Council.

What follows are relevant excerpts from Document COM(2009)658 (Brussels, 27.11.2009), the final Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION supplementing the Schengen Borders Code as regards the surveillance of the sea external borders in the context of the operational cooperation coordinated by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders – Frontex.

As noted, Malta and Italy oppose these guidelines and have threatened to withdraw from future Frontex missions if these guidelines take effect.

Guidelines for Frontex operations at sea

1. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1.1 Measures taken for the purpose of the surveillance operation should be conducted in a way that does not put at risk the safety of the persons intercepted or rescued as well as of the participating units.

1.2. The special needs of children, victims of trafficking, persons in need of urgent medical assistance, persons in need of international protection and other persons in a particularly vulnerable situation should be considered throughout all the operation.

1.3. These guidelines should be applied by Member States in accordance with fundamental rights. Member States should ensure that border guards participating in the surveillance operation are trained with regard to relevant provisions of human rights and refugee law, and are familiar with the international regime on search and rescue.

2. INTERCEPTION

2.1 Upon detection, the ship or other sea craft (“ship”) should be approached in order to observe its identity and nationality and, pending further measures, should be surveyed at a prudent distance. [***]

2.4. Measures taken in the course of the surveillance operation against ships or other sea craft with regard to which there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that they carry persons intending to circumvent the checks at border crossing points may include: [***]

(f) conducting the ship or persons on board to a third country or otherwise handing over the ship or persons on board to the authorities of a third country;

(g) conducting the ship or persons on board to the host Member State or to another Member State participating in the operation.

3. SEARCH AND RESCUE SITUATIONS ARISING IN THE COURSE OF THE OPERATION

3.1. Participating units shall provide assistance to any vessel or person in distress at sea. They shall do so regardless of the nationality or status of such a person or the circumstances in which that person is found.

3.2. When facing in the course of the operation a situation in which uncertainty or apprehension exists as to the safety of a ship or of any person on board, the participating unit should forward as soon as possible all available information to the Rescue Coordination Centre responsible for the search and rescue region where the situation is taking place.

In cases where the Rescue Coordination Centre of the third country responsible for the search and rescue region does not respond to the notification transmitted by the participating unit, the latter should contact the Rescue Coordination Centre of the host Member State that is geographically the closest to the emergency.

While awaiting instructions from the Rescue Coordination Centre, participating units should take all the appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the persons concerned. [***].

4. DISEMBARKATION

4.1. The operational plan should spell out the modalities for the disembarkation of the persons intercepted or rescued, in accordance with international law and any applicable bilateral agreements.

Subject to section 4.2, priority should be given to disembarkation in the third country from where the persons departed or through the territorial waters or search and rescue region of which the persons transited or, if this is not possible, to disembarkation in the geographically closest place where the safety of the persons can be ensured.

4.2. No person should be disembarked in or otherwise handed over to the authorities of a country with regard to which there are substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be subjected to persecution or to torture or to other forms of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or from which there is a risk of expulsion or return towards such a country. The persons intercepted or rescued must be informed in an appropriate way so that they can express any reasons for believing that they would be subject to such treatment in the proposed place of disembarkation.

4.3. The coordination centre should be informed of the presence of persons within the meaning of paragraph 4.2, and should convey that information to the competent authorities of the host Member State.

Click here for full Document.

Click here for a “Note to the File” pertaining to the Draft Council Decision supplementing the Schengen Borders Code as regards sea border surveillance in the context of operational cooperation coordinated by FRONTEX (COM(2009)658) as amended by the Council on 25 January 2010.

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by | 04 Feb 2010 · 04:39

Spanish EU Presidency: Frontex Needs More Resources and Clearer Rules

Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba speaking at the 26th Frontex Management Board Meeting in Madrid called for providing Frontex with “more resources, clearer rules and specialist offices. … We are planning to promote FRONTEX, to equip it with more resources, its own resources, because when FRONTEX becomes more independent it will become more efficient; to provide it with mechanisms for jointly managing maritime operations, mechanisms that respect the laws and rights and clearly establish each country’s obligations. … FRONTEX has shown that it is probably the best tool we have for ensuring shared and jointly responsible border control.”

Click here for summary from Spanish EU Presidency web site.

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by | 03 Feb 2010 · 16:31

Proposed Changes to Interdiction Patrol Rules Jeopardise Malta and Italian Cooperation with Frontex

The Malta Times reports that “a Frontex official said [yesterday] the new [maritime interdiction] guidelines were specifically aimed at avoiding disputes such as the ones that broke out between Malta and Italy. In the past, immigrants were stuck on the high seas as the two countries were locked in a diplomatic wrangle on who was responsible for the people rescued. ‘Everyone recalls these incidents and the Commission’s intervention. Brussels ended up as a referee in these disputes and we don’t think that’s our role. This is specifically why we needed to have a specific code of conduct to guide future Frontex missions. This will put participating member states’ minds at rest,’ the official said.”

The proposed changes would require migrants to be taken to the country hosting the Frontex mission if it was not possible to return the migrants to their country of departure and could go into effect as early as April when Frontex interdiction patrols are scheduled to resume in the central Mediterranean under the new mission name of Operation Chronos.

“Both Malta and Italy objected strongly [to the proposed changes] on the basis of the fact that the guidelines go beyond international legal obligations, which say that migrants should be taken to the nearest safe port [which in Malta’s case] often meant the Italian island of Lampedusa.”

Click here for article.

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by | 02 Feb 2010 · 05:42

Frontex: Operation “Nautilus” to become Operation “Chronos”

During a recent briefing to the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament, Frontex Executive Director Ilkka Laitinen revealed that the Frontex name for its four year old interdiction operation in the central Mediterranean will change from “Nautilus” to “Chronos” as of April 2010.

“According to figures given by Frontex [at the briefing], only 3,300 illegal immigrants reached Malta and Lampedusa last year, less than half the number registered in the previous year.  In the case of Malta, there were 2,775 arrivals in 2008 and 1,475 in 2009.”

Click here for article.

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by | 02 Feb 2010 · 02:45

Malta Objects to Proposed Changes in Frontex High-Seas Interception Guidelines

The Government of Malta has reportedly objected to proposed changes to Frontex operational guidelines and has threatened to possibly end its participation in patrols overseen by Frontex.

The proposed changes to the Frontex guidelines were made by the European Council and will be considered by the European Parliament.  The changes would require that migrants intercepted at sea be sent to the country hosting the Frontex mission if the migrants could not be returned to the country from which they last departed.  Currently intercepted migrants are to be taken to the nearest port.

“In terms of the new guidelines, should Malta host a Frontex mission, as it has done in the past two years, it will have to take all the immigrants rescued, even if they were picked up outside its search and rescue region and closer to other countries. ‘We will still continue to follow our international obligations to the letter as we’ve always done but we will not accept changes to these international obligations,’ a Malta government spokesman said.

Even if Frontex guidelines were to be changed, Italy will presumably continue its policy of forcibly returning to Libya migrants intercepted by Italian authorities.

Click here for full article.

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by | 01 Feb 2010 · 03:03

La Réponse d’Eric Besson au Débarquement en Corse

Conclusions de la réunion interministérielle du 25 janvier 2010:

“[Le débarqument en Corse] souligne une fois de plus l’urgence de mettre fin au trafic d’êtres humains en Méditerranée. Comme des centaines d’autres chaque année, les étrangers qui ont débarqué en Corse auraient pu perdre la vie dans leur dangereux périple.

La lutte contre les filières d’immigration clandestine nécessite de nouvelles mesures aux plans national, européen et international. J’ai donc pris les décisions suivantes :

1. Renforcer le contrôle de nos frontières nationales.

…

· La lutte contre l’immigration irrégulière constituera une priorité de la nouvelle fonction « gardes-côtes » créée par le comité interministériel de la mer du 8 décembre 2009.

– Dans les prochains jours, je soumettrai au Premier Ministre des propositions pour que la lutte contre les filières d’immigration clandestine soit placée au centre de l’action de l’Etat en Mer, sous l’autorité du Secrétaire général de la Mer et des préfets maritimes.

– Afin d’assurer la continuité des opérations en mer et à terre, je proposerai au Ministre de l’Intérieur que la direction centrale de la police aux frontières et la direction générale de la gendarmerie nationale participent au centre opérationnel de la fonction « gardescôtes ».

2. Renforcer le contrôle des frontières européennes.

· Dès le 22 janvier, j’ai demandé à la présidence espagnole de l’Union Européenne d’organiser un sommet de crise sur la lutte contre l’immigration irrégulière en Méditerranée. Tous les ministres des pays méditerranéens de l’Union Européenne m’ont immédiatement apporté leur soutien. Je souhaite que ce sommet prenne des décisions concrètes et immédiates pour :

– Généraliser les patrouilles conjointes entre pays riverains de l’Union Européenne en Méditerranée, sur le modèle de ce que nous mettons en oeuvre à terre dans le cadre du traité de Prüm.

– Déployer des renforts opérationnels européens sous l’égide de Frontex.

– Mettre en oeuvre de nouvelles capacités d’analyse des flux d’immigration irrégulière en Méditerranée.

· Afin d’avancer vers la création d’une police aux frontières européenne, j’ai présenté à l’ensemble des ministres européens, le 21 septembre 2009, un plan d’action pour le renforcement de l’agence européenne Frontex :

– Adoption de nouvelles règles d’engagement maritime tournées vers l’interception et la reconduite.

– Création d’un bureau de coordination des opérations de Frontex en Méditerranée.

– Renforcement de la coopération avec les Etats de transit, notamment pour l’organisation de patrouilles conjointes.

– Organisation de vols groupés pour des opérations de reconduite conjointes au niveau européen.

– Mise en place d’un programme européen de formation des gardes frontières.

En vue d’accélérer la mise en oeuvre de ce plan d’action dans le prolongement des décisions

prises par les Chefs d’Etat et de Gouvernement européens le 30 octobre dernier, je rencontrerai prochainement, avec Pierre Lellouche, la nouvelle commissaire européenne en charge des affaires intérieures, Mme Cécilia Malmström.

3. Développer le renseignement pour démanteler les filières internationales de l’immigration clandestine.

En accord avec les Ministres de l’Intérieur et de la Défense :

· J’inviterai chaque mois le directeur général de la sécurité extérieure et le directeur central de la police aux frontières, ainsi que le coordonnateur national du renseignement, à participer à un groupe « renseignement contre les filières d’immigration irrégulière » que je présiderai.

· Au cours des prochains mois, l’Office Central pour la Répression de l’Immigration irrégulière et de l’Emploi d’Etrangers Sans Titre (OCRIEST) généralisera ses coopérations avec les principaux pays d’origine des filières, en vue de s’attaquer à ces réseaux criminels à la source.

4. Enfin, je présenterai devant le Conseil des ministres, avant la fin du premier semestre 2010, un projet de loi sur l’immigration, qui comportera de puissantes mesures de lutte contre les filières clandestines.

Ce projet de loi prévoira en particulier des règles particulières permettant de mieux faire face à des situations d’urgence comme celle que nous avons vécue le 22 janvier à Bonifacio, mais aussi des mesures de dissuasion, comme l’interdiction de retour sur l’ensemble du territoire européen pendant une durée de 5 ans pour toutes les personnes ayant fait l’objet d’une mesure de reconduite.”

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