27 Joint flights for the removal of illegally-resident
third country nationals
| (24996)
14205/03
—
| Draft Council Decision on the organisation of joint flights for removals, from the territory of two or more Member States, of third country nationals who are the subjects of individual removal orders.
|
| Legal base | Article 63(3)(b) EC; consultation; unanimity
|
| Document originated | 31 October 2003
|
| Deposited in Parliament | 4 November 2003
|
| Department | Home Office |
| Basis of consideration | EM of 7 November 2003
|
| Previous Committee Report | None; but see (24825) 11769/03: HC 63-xxxiii (2002-03), paragraph 42 (15 October 2003)
|
| To be discussed in Council | December 2003
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared
|
Background
27.1 In October, we cleared the text of the previous draft of
this proposal for a Council Decision on the organisation of joint
flights for the removal, from the territory of two or more Member
States, of third country nationals who are the subject of removal
orders. At that stage, the Government had not decided whether
to opt into the proposal.
The document
27.2 The text of the draft Decision has been restructured. It
now sets out the tasks of the Member State organising the flight
separately from those of other Member States which wish to take
seats on the plane to remove some of their illegally-resident
third country nationals. There is also a new Annex which contains
non-binding guidelines on such matters as documentation; notifications
to the airline, transit countries and countries of destination;
the number, skills and training of escorts; check-in and security
at the airport of embarkation; security on the flight and the
use of coercion; arrival arrangements; and responsibilities in
the event of the failure of the removal operation.
The Government's view
27.3 .The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office
(Caroline Flint) says that the Government has notified its intention
to opt in to the proposal which is, in her view, proportionate
and consistent with the principle of subsidiarity. There would
be no direct impact on UK businesses, charities or other non-governmental
organisations and so no Regulatory Impact Assessment is required.
The expense of removals might be reduced by sharing the cost of
chartering aircraft.
Conclusion
27.4 We continue to support the objective of this proposal.
The drafting of the document has been improved. In particular,
we consider it preferable for the material about the detailed
arrangements for joint flights to be included in the non-binding
Annex rather than in the body of the Decision itself. We agree
with the Minister that the proposal is proportionate and does
not raise questions of subsidiarity. Accordingly, we clear the
document from scrutiny.
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