APPENDIX 5: CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE
EU PRESIDENCY
Letter from the Home Secretary to Mr Kari Rajamäki,
Minister of the Interior of Finland, 30 November 2006
The challenge of migration is at the top of the political
agenda across Europe and a major political priority of the European
Union. There is no indication that migratory pressure on Europe
will relent. On the contrary, along the EU's borders in southern
and south-western Europe (Canary Islands, Lampedusa, Malta) and
in the eastern and south-eastern Europe, these migratory movements
are likely to increase.
With greater movement of goods and people within
Europe we must recognise that the acts of one Member State in
the management of migration, visas and asylum can create conditions
which have a direct impact on the others. We must therefore inform,
coordinate and support each other in our efforts to manage migration
at EU and national level. This should include a shared analysis
of migratory movements and agreement on the priorities best coordinated
at EU level.
We should, based on a genuine political consensus
or European pact, further orient our policies at national and
EU level. This pact for a common policy on managing migration
must recognise that each Member State has a different geography
and history of migration and as a consequence will have a different
contribution or role to play. We must, therefore, press on with
an ambitious programme of cooperation between Member States and
between the EU and the key countries of origin and transit with
a concerted focus on results.
Such a policy should be centred around the following
points:
- a shared analysis of migratory
movements and agreement on a shared set of priority actions;
- action against illegal immigration, returning
effectively and systematically people with no right to stay in
our countries except those in special humanitarian situations;
- reinforcing our borders through joint action,
increased solidarity, and greater use of technology;
- establishing new, permanent, reinforced relations
with major source and transit countries recognising and maximising
the benefits that circular or temporary migration can bring in
economic development;
- a continued effort to clamp down on asylum shopping
within Europe to better provide protection to those in need.
With perspective of a genuine political consensus
on the actions needed at national and EU level we have the pleasure
of attaching a paper, coming out of our discussions in Stratford-upon-Avon
on what we see as the main priorities for the future.
G6 Migration Paper addressed to the President of
the JHA Council
Globalisation has led to a growth in migration. This
presents real challenges for Europe which receives millions of
migrants. Therefore the EU must cooperate even more closely to
reinforce its policy on migration with a stronger focus on effective
and concrete result.
G6 Ministers recognise that Member States must act
together to manage all aspects of migration. The acts of one Member
State in the management of migration, visas and asylum can create
conditions which have a significant impact on the others. Member
States must therefore commit to inform, coordinate and support
each other at EU and national level in order to manage the potential
consequences of their acts.
They also recognise the need to manage migratory
flows in line with capacities for admitting and integrating new
migrants (employment, housing, etc.) and the need for flexibility
among Member States in this regard. Member States retain competence
and responsibility for management of labour migration but must
recognise action at EU level is in the interests of all Member
States.
We therefore propose that the EU Member States work
closely together to manage migration, defining the fundamental
principles, priorities and aims of a common policy at political
level. This should include managing migration in line with our
capacity for admitting and integrating migrants, to making family
reunification conditional on sufficient financial resources, to
returning illegal immigrants and to avoid brain drain from the
poorest countries promote the benefits of migration to source
countries.
Illegal immigration, returns and external borders
European Member States must urgently join forces
to defeat criminal organisations and human smugglers which disregard
the law, deceive and risk the lives of large numbers of refugees
and migrants. A strict policy of returning persons without the
right to stay is a key element of a successful migration policy.
Illegal migrants must return except for those in special humanitarian
situations. We also rely on each other to manage entry into the
EU and share a common responsibility concerning the control of
migration in Europe. We therefore commit to:
- Take all the necessary actions
in order to eliminate or significantly reduce the threat posed
by organised immigration crime though joint action in particular
on trafficking and smuggling in human beings;
- Providing FRONTEX with all the necessary capacity
and resources to carry out effectively planned and coordinated
operational activity. We will also ensure that its future functions
are taken forward in a sustainable way. The reinforcement of FRONTEX
should be a major priority of the European Union;
- Increase our capacities and resources to control
the external borders crossing points, as well as to patrol and
monitor the maritime and land borders;
- Providing effective and proportionate tools to
combat successfully the problem of illegal working;
- Returning and removing illegal migrants and enhancing
coordination of national action including through joint returns;
- Exchanging intelligence to disrupt organised
crime in particular on seaborne and transit migration. We will
support Europol in analysing information on immigration crime;
- Extending the use of biometric technology both
at borders and in issuing visas to include joint collection and
sharing of data;
- Improving close cooperation and a permanent exchange
of information between European Union consulates, in order to
combat visa fraud.
Relations with third countries and co-development
Cooperation with countries outside the EU is essential.
We need to work faster and harder to make the balanced Global
Approach meaningful for third countries. Migration when well managed
is of benefit to countries of origin, transit and destination.
We should consider the full spectrum of the EU's activities with
third countries and integrate migration issues within them. We
should make clear we expect third countries to fulfil the commitments
they have made to readmission and we can strengthen our relationship
with them when they meet these commitments. We should also enhance
our capacity building in third countries and assist with returns
and reintegration where third countries welcome this. This should
also emphasise the relationship between migration and development.
To the extent that Member States establish numerical targets for
legal migration (taking into account labour market conditions)
they should seek to use these to enhance circular migration to
strengthen the positive impact on development in the countries
of origin. Complementary to the Community readmission agreements
EU Member States could agree on bilateral partnerships with countries
of origin based on a model treaty. Within the context of the Global
Approach to Migration and a focus on major source and transit
countries, we commit to:
- Concluding strong and practical
Readmission Agreements and where applicable insist that countries
of origin comply with their obligations to readmit migrants under
article 13 of the Cotonou agreement;
- Promoting the use of the assisted voluntary returns
and enhance exchange of existing best practice;
- Beginning to specify and assisting building capacity
to manage migration using national and EU funding;
- Exploring how to enhance the positive effects
that circular migration can play in development;
- Reducing the impact of brain drain from the poorest
countries, especially for the most needed qualifications;
- Promoting use of resources to facilitate economic
development and job creation in the countries of origin;
- Promoting better use of the potential of legal
and circular migration—including the use of voluntary numerical
targets reported to the Commission or targeted visas for education/training
where available—to maximise the beneficial effects on the
development of origin and host countries;
- securing the positive impact of such migration
on development by helping returning migrants become integrated
in the labour market of their country of origin;
- Strengthening integration policies developing
a consensus on the common goals.
In particular we will drive forward work with Africa
to follow up the EU-Pan Africa Ministerial conference in
Tripoli and the Euro-Africa Conference in Rabat.
Cooperation on asylum
The first phase of the common European Asylum System
is now in place. We now are putting it into practice. However,
it is clear that more can be done to tackle secondary movements
within the EU. This should be through a more organised implementation
of the practical cooperation agenda. We will therefore:
- Share information between asylum
authorities on major source countries;
- Initiate action to streamline asylum procedures
across the EU;
- Work to apply consistently the first phase instruments
across the EU to reduce asylum shopping;
- Evaluate the first phase of asylum instruments
as an indispensable element in developing a second phase;
- Move towards a common policy of Asylum designed
to guarantee the international protection to refugees and to fight
abuses and fraud.
John Reid
Giuliano Amato
Ludwig Dorn
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba
Nicolas Sarkozy
Wolfgang Schäuble
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