Last Monday I presented the first draft of my report on a Common Immigration Policy for Europe to the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Once adopted, the report will constitute the European Parliament’s response to the European Immigration and Asylum Pact adopted last year and the Commission’s communication in this regard.
My report sets out the European Parliament’s position on the guidelines that should be followed by the European Union in constructing a truly common immigration policy in the years to come. In it, I want to make a powerful statement on why we need a common European immigration policy and where it should go. And as our parliamentary mandate soon comes to an end, in my report I have looked back at what we have done and tried to build on it.
As a Maltese MEP I feel very proud to be actively involved in shaping a common European policy in an area that is so important for my country. So needless to say, the policy I have drafted is one that fully takes into account Malta’s interests and concerns.
In this article I will present an outline of my report, which is already based on a wide consultation process with stakeholders, including members of MEUSAC in Malta as well as major Brussels-based European and international organisations that work in the area of immigration. But I also want to ask readers to send me their reactions and their feedback, which I am prepared to consider for inclusion in my report.
Why a common policy?
The spirit of my report is that in tackling this challenge, Europe can either adopt policies that transform the challenge of immigration into an opportunity or else mismanage the situation at a high cost for all sides. The momentum to construct a common immigration policy has now reached an unstoppable thrust and the European Union should seize the opportunity to deliver it. Or we will all live to regret it.
A common policy vision is needed which builds on past achievements but which also provides a forward-looking framework for future common action. This means that more ambition is required for EU countries to put aside national pride and agree to work better and together in this area, if necessary by pooling their sovereignty.
Europe risks being overtaken by events
Unless Europe moves urgently ahead in forging a common immigration policy, it risks being overtaken by events.
A deadly human tragedy is taking place with hundreds of lives being lost at sea each year and shockingly, this tragedy may be going unnoticed.
In 2007, more people are said to have lost their lives in the Mediterranean and off the Canary Islands than in the war in Lebanon, which gripped our attention on our television screens. And in 2008, more lives were lost at sea than in the war in Gaza.
This human tragedy must be stopped at once.
Thousands of immigrants are saved at sea and EU countries bear an important responsibility in this regard. For instance, of the 2,700 immigrants who arrived in Malta in 2008, more than 2,000 were saved at sea when boatloads of immigrants on course towards Lampedusa (Italy) found themselves in distress and were rescued by the maritime squadron of the Maltese Armed Forces, regularly engaged in high-risk rescue operations on the high seas.
Europe’s common immigration policy must therefore also translate into a policy of solidarity with those member States that are on the Union’s external frontiers. Because when these member States police their frontiers, they are also protecting the Union’s external borders. And when migrants land in these countries, in time, they tend to move to other areas of the Union.
On the lines of the Commission communication on this subject, I have divided it into three parts:
1. Prosperity and Immigration in which I tackle Legal Migration and Integration
2. Security and Immigration in which I tackle Integrated Border Management and Illegal Immigration and,
3. Solidarity and Immigration in which I tackle coordination between member States and cooperation with third countries.
Let me highlight some key points that I make in the report.
1. Prosperity and immigration
Unless Europe wants to become a fortress continent that lives in denial of its obvious attraction to immigration from third countries, a common immigration policy must necessarily include clear rules on legal entry into Europe. Indeed, a legal route to Europe also means that the scope and incentive for illegal routes is greatly reduced.
Legal migration
With the adoption of the Blue Card, Europe is finally gearing itself to increase its attractiveness for highly qualified workers (the US had previously attracted most of these workers). But it is now time to go further and provide new opportunities for lower-skilled and seasonal workers and the European Parliament should be ready to support upcoming legislative proposals from the European Commission in this regard.
Integration
A smooth integration is beneficial both for the migrants as well as for the society in which they integrate. Of course, integration is less possible in countries facing exceptional migratory pressures and, likewise, migrants who wish to integrate must be prepared to respect the identity and values of the EU and its member States, including the respect for human rights, the rule of law, democracy, tolerance and equality.
2. Security and Immigration
The European Union can only be credible on legal migration if it first demonstrates that it can deliver on illegal immigration. I believe that Europe has not done enough, collectively, to combat illegal immigration and progress remains slow and insufficient. This stems largely from the continued absence of common European tools to help crack down on illegal routes of entry, which are often exploited by sophisticated criminal organisations.
In the absence of such common tools, individual EU member States are left to their own devices and unsurprisingly, immigration routes break through the weakest link.
I consider that Europe must take a strong leadership in putting an end to illegal immigration once and for all, especially where this relies on organised crime, on human trafficking and where it leads to untold deaths of hapless victims whose only fault was to seek better fortunes in Europe.
Frontex
Frontex remains the ideal vehicle to channel Europe’s collective response to illegal immigration. The European Parliament has already actively supported this agency by increasing, over three consecutive years, its operational budget by more than €50 million. Nevertheless, the agency has not been sufficiently effective and should be further strengthened both in terms of its financial resources as well as in terms of its capacity to act.
Returns
For a common immigration policy to be credible it must acknowledge that third country nationals who are illegally staying in EU territory must leave or be returned.
3. Solidarity and Immigration
A common immigration policy should be founded on a high level of political and operational solidarity. Nevertheless, solidarity has been lacking so far and, all too often, member States that face severe migratory pressures have been left to their own devices. In turn, this has undermined trust in Europe and in its ability to deliver a coherent immigration policy. In this regard, I consider that the Lisbon Treaty could reinject new trust in the Union because its provisions favour a strengthening of the Union’s capacity to act jointly on immigration.
Coordination between member States
The solidarity or burden-sharing mechanism envisaged in the European Immigration and Asylum Pact should be implemented as soon as possible and the European Commission should launch this mechanism without delay.
Moreover, the Commission should then come forward with proposals on how this mechanism can be converted into a binding and permanent instrument, which can help relieve severe migratory pressures in specific member States or in specific areas of the Union.
Cooperation with third countries
Finally, migration issues should be fully integrated into the Union’s development cooperation and other external policies. All agreements with third countries should include chapters on cooperation on immigration, including provisions on opportunities for legal migration, the control of illegal immigration and readmission.
Balanced report
When I presented my draft last Monday, I was delighted to obtain a very positive reaction from my colleagues in the European Parliament from all political groups.
Their first reaction was that the report is very balanced and that I had managed to present a comprehensive synthesis on a very complex and delicate subject, yet in a simple manner. I look forward to their suggestions for amendments to help me make the report better.
Adoption of the report
The report will be discussed again next week with a deadline for amendments set for 23 February. The adoption of the report in the Committee is set for 31 March whereas it will be debated and adopted in plenary at the end of April.
Have your say
The report can be accessed on www.simonbusuttil.eu and you can also have your say by submitting your views and suggestions.
15 key points in the report
1. Report gives bird’s eye view of where we stand and where we would like our immigration policy to go.
2. The momentum to construct a common immigration policy has now reached an unstoppable thrust and the European Union should seize the opportunity to deliver it. Or we will all live to regret it.
3. More ambition is required for EU countries to put aside national pride and agree to work better and together in this area, if necessary by pooling their sovereignty.
4. Unless Europe moves urgently ahead in forging a common immigration policy, it risks being overtaken by events. A deadly human tragedy is taking place with hundreds of lives being lost at sea each year and shockingly, this tragedy may be passing by unnoticed.
5. Legal Migration: A legal route to Europe also means that the scope and incentive for illegal routes is greatly reduced.
6. Integration: Migrants who wish to integrate must be prepared to respect the identity and values of the EU and its member States.
7. Illegal Immigration: Europe has not done enough, collectively, to combat illegal immigration and progress remains slow and insufficient.
8. Illegal immigration routes break through the weakest link.
9. Europe must take a strong leadership in putting an end to illegal immigration once and for all.
10. Frontex: The agency has not been sufficiently effective and should be further strengthened both in terms of its financial resources as well as in terms of its capacity to act.
11. Returns: Third country nationals who are illegally staying in the EU territory must leave or be returned.
12. Solidarity has so far been lacking and all too often member States that face severe migratory pressures have been left to their own devices. In turn, this has undermined trust in Europe.
13. The burden-sharing mechanism envisaged in the Immigration Pact should be implemented as soon as possible and the European Commission should launch this mechanism without delay.
14. The Commission should then come forward with proposals on how the burden-sharing mechanism can be converted into a binding and permanent instrument.
15. Cooperation with third countries: All EU agreements with third countries should include chapters on cooperation on immigration.
Dr Busuttil MEP is the EP
rapporteur on a Common Immigration Policy