Brussels, 16/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - Thursday evening, the European Commission adopted a political communication (through the written procedure) on clandestine and illegal immigration. This is the third part of the global "asylum-immigration" package, following its two communications launched in November 2000 on asylum and EC policy relating to migration (see EUROPE of 23 November 2000, p.13), and, in July 2001, the draft directive relating to lawful and economic immigration (see EUROPE of 12 July, 2001, p.10). In its new communication, the Commission proposes six priority areas where measures may be taken to prevent and combat the scourge: - policy relating to visas; - infrastructure for information exchange; - border management; - police co-operation; - legislation on foreigners and criminal law; - return and readmission policy. Resting on existing instruments and measures at national level, the Commission intends creating effects of synergy by adding a European dimension.
In addition, the Commission would like to initiate a debate on: (1) the return policy: the Commission will very shortly present a Green Paper on the subject; - (2) the creation of a European border-guard corps, sketching out the first measures to facilitate the process. The Commission will shortly publish a communication on the management of European borders; - (3) establishment of a European system of visa identification to allow for an exchange of information on visas issued in Member States. The Commission will undertake a feasibility study on the creation of such a system.
Commissioner Antonio Vitorino declared that, this way, "the Commission is pursuing the development of a balanced policy that it originally recommended regarding the migratory phenomenon and which is based on the absolute respect of humanitarian principles and the consolidation of a tradition of generosity, on openness to legal immigration devised as source of enrichment in the respect of the economic and social balances of the host countries like those of the countries of origin and on the control of illegal immigration, source of human drama and easy prey for international organised crime".