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Parliamentary Assembly Assembl�e parlementaire |
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A European Migration Observatory / Agency
Doc.
10108
15 March 2004
Report
Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population
Rapporteur: Mr Tadeusz Iwinski, Poland, Socialist Group
Summary
Europe has experienced and continues to experience different types of migration: temporary labour migration, intra-regional migration, immigration from non-European countries, return migration and ethnic migration. The major flows have been regular and orderly migration movements but an increasing share has, over the last years, been constituted by irregular migrants, often trafficked or smuggled into a European country.
Legitimate concerns among Council of Europe member states are the size and composition of migrant flows as well as the situation of the individual migrant and his/her family, their role and place in the host society and their participation in social, cultural, economic and democratic life.
Reliable data on different aspects of migrant flows, population and integration can help when formulating and comparing migration and integration policies. Both regarding policies and data, there is an increasing need for closer European and international co-operation involving countries of origin, transit and destination for migration within and into Europe.
This report therefore proposes the setting up of a new political instrument for co-operation on migration management issues between Council of Europe member states, non-member states and the European Union. The proposed European Migration Observatory/Agency should be an instrument for the preparation of policy debates and for the gathering, processing and distribution of data and information. It should partly function as a network co-operation among designated National Contact Centres.
I. Draft recommendation [Link to the adopted text]
1. Since its very creation, the Parliamentary Assembly has devoted considerable attention to different aspects of migration, refugees and asylum. One of the central concerns was always the human rights and dignity of the individual migrant, refugee or asylum seeker. Another concern was the wish to improve the control and management of migration flows and to reduce irregular migration – and in particular to fight criminal activities linked to it.
2. The Assembly has been instrumental in the work of the Council of Europe and its member states in comparing existing legislation regarding immigration, asylum and integration of migrants and refugees and in promoting improvements and harmonisation of such legislation. The Assembly has also followed the evolution of migration flows and the demographic characteristics of immigrant populations.
3. It is of the opinion that there is an increasing need to co-operate more closely among Council of Europe member states, with the European Union and with important non-European countries of origin and transit for immigration into Europe, in order to improve the management of legal migration flows, including the integration of migrants, and to reduce irregular migration and criminal activities linked to it. The Assembly therefore strongly promotes Parliamentary and inter-governmental activities with this aim, also actively involving local and regional authorities as well as non-governmental organisations. It welcomes the decision by the Committee of Ministers to use the meetings of the European Committee on Migration (CDMG) for such enlarged geographical consultations.
4. The Assembly notes with satisfaction the creation by the European Union of a network of National Contact Centres for the improvement of migration information, which could be extended to non-EU members for specified purposes under the auspices of the Council of Europe.
5. It is of the opinion that the communication of better and more tailored information to potential irregular migrants could considerably reduce this type of migration as well as the sufferings of clandestine migrants and their families. Such work could be organised more effectively as joint actions between European receiving countries and European and non-European countries of transit and origin.
6. The Assembly also refers to the 7th Conference of Ministers responsible for migration affairs of the Council of Europe (September 2002), which discussed the creation of a structure to help achieve an orderly migration management and to the proposal made to the Conference of setting up a European Migration Observatory.
7. It refers to the meeting between the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which took place on 25 September 2003, and notes the agreement to create a European migration observatory or agency, based on joint efforts of the European Union and the Council of Europe, including their parliamentary representations, and open to participation by non-European countries. In this connection the Assembly welcomes the feasibility study carried out by the European Committee on Migration of the Council of Europe regarding the different aspects of importance for the setting up and running of an enlarged European migration observatory or agency.
8. Consequently, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
i. in close co-operation with the European Union and the International Organisation for Migration, assess the feasibility study of the European Committee on Migration (CDMG) regarding the establishment of a migration agency, open to participation by non-member states, giving special attention to the questions of information gathering, processing and distribution;
ii. negotiate with the European Commission to find a form of co-operation between its network of National Contact Centres for the improvement of migration information and similar Centres that might be set up/identified in non-EU member states, under the auspices of the Council of Europe;
iii. intensify the process of political consultations among member countries, the European Union and non-European countries interested in closer co-operation on migration issues with a view to establishing the political importance of creating a new instrument of enlarged European co-operation in this field;
iv. for the purpose of creating a Migration Observatory or Agency, assess the feasibility of drawing up an Enlarged Agreement or an Enlarged Partial Agreement as set out in Statutory Resolution (93)28 of the Committee of Ministers for the signature of Council of Europe member states, the European Union and interested non-European States, or to adapt an existing Agreement to fulfil the same missions;
v. foresee in the governing and programming organs of such an Agreement a distinct role for the Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament as well as for local and regional authorities, in particular the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, and non-governmental organisations;
vi. bring this project, as appropriate, to the attention of the Council of Europe Third Summit of Heads of State and Government.
II. Explanatory memorandum by Mr Iwinski
1. Introduction
1. As stated in the motion for a recommendation at the origin of this report (Doc. 9648), Council of Europe member states as well as the European Union and non-member countries of the Council of Europe are increasingly occupied by migration policy issues and closer co-operation in this field. Irregular migration is a particularly sensitive problem due to its links to trafficking and other criminal activity. Concerns about human rights and human dignity are at the heart of the deliberations, but the fight against terrorism and different forms of fundamentalism has also influenced the migration debate.
2. International and European migration have been studied in many regional, national, European and international fora. There is a wealth of information on different aspects of migration. A co-ordination of information within the European Union was proposed in 1994. This led to the request for a feasibility study regarding the creation of an (EU) European Migration Observatory (European Commission, 1998). The objectives of this study were:
"– to determine whether an EU funded Observatory should be created for the gathering and/or analysis of data on international migration, and
– if the answer was affirmative, to define the organisational specifics of such an observatory".
3. The European Commission and the EU member states have continued their work on this project and have agreed to create a network of National Contact Centres for the improvement of migration information – a "virtual observatory". One of the Contact Centres has been given the additional task of co-ordinating the activities of the network.
4. It seems logic that this network for certain activities and functions could be enlarged to include National Contact Centres in non-EU member states, members of the Council of Europe. This enlarged network could be co-ordinated jointly by the European Commission and the Council of Europe. The network could itself in concertation with the two co-ordinating organisations agree on the scope and content of activities.
5. The Council of Europe for its part, having worked with migration and refugee issues since its creation, has today as its main intergovernmental working structure a European (Steering) Committee on Migration (CDMG). The Council has convened seven Conferences of European Ministers responsible for Migration Affairs to give new impetus to its work in this area and to take stock of work done. During the last Ministerial Conference, which took place in Helsinki in September 2002, the Secretary General, Mr Schwimmer, proposed the creation of "a structure to implement the migration management strategy (elaborated by the CDMG) and subsequently monitor the progress made".
6. The Greek authorities, in a letter to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, has offered to host such a structure (observatory/agency/centre).
7. The Netherlands' Chairmanship of the Council of Europe, among its three priorities for the 6 months (starting 6.11.03) has chosen "integration and social cohesion". Thus from 8 to 10 December 2003 the Netherlands hosted the 46th meeting of the CDMG and organised a special seminar on integration: "Focus on Integration in the Community and in the Workplace". The conclusions have been forwarded to the CDMG for further consideration.
8. The Parliamentary Assembly in its Recommendation 1449 (2000) on Clandestine migration from the south of the Mediterranean into Europe asked the Committee of Ministers "to invite the Spanish authorities to set up a permanent migration monitor in Southern Spain (….) in conjunction with the Council of Europe".
9. Your Rapporteur, at the seventh Conference of European Ministers responsible for Migration Affairs, proposed the setting up of a (pan-) European Migration Observatory as an enlarged agreement of the Council of Europe, thus allowing interested non-member states as well as the European Union to fully take part in the activities and the decision-making.
10. The Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population of PACE has recently organised several events aiming at a closer pan-European co-operation on migration issues, also by involving non-member countries of origin and transit for migration movements into Europe. Several of its recent reports and activities have this dimension of the interest for a closer communication between countries of origin, transit and destination of migration movements.
11. The most recent event was the organisation in co-operation with the French delegation to PACE of the European Day: Migration, Asylum and Refugees: "Migration and integration: a challenge for Europe?", which took place in the French Senate on 19 January 2004. Among the themes to be developed in separate reports following this event are:
– controlling illegal immigration in the respect for human rights and for the rights to asylum;
– migration and development;
– integration or sectarianism.
12. Two particularly interesting events were also organised in the autumn of 2003, both as preparation for future reports to the Assembly. The first was a Seminar on the situation of refugees and migrants in Turkey with the participation of representatives of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, hosted by the Turkish delegation in Istanbul. The second event was the First Euro-Mediterranean parliamentary forum on migration, which was hosted by the Cypriot delegation. Among the participants were some 20 parliamentarians and representatives from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia. The Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Forum adopted a declaration, which gave its support to the proposal made to create an Observatory or Agency on Migration with participation, on equal terms, of Council of Europe members States as well as non-members States. Within the framework of the activities of this new Observatory/Agency, it was proposed to create a new Euro-Mediterranean partnership-project with the objective of informing potential candidates for irregular migration, and particularly children and youth, of the dangers linked to clandestine migration.
13. Within the Council of Europe framework, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) has also taken an increased interest in migration issues – in particular with regard to integration problems and the participation of foreigners in local political life. During the recent conference "Migration in the Mediterranean: Prospects for the future" (Malta, April 2003), Mr Mildon, Vice-President of the Congress and your Rapporteur as Chairman of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography, proposed the creation of a joint working group between the two institutions with a view to better co-operate on migration issues. In this context it is also worth mentioning the conference on Foreigners' integration and participation in European cities, organised by the CLRAE in Stuttgart in September 2003 with the participation of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population of PACE.
2. Existing national observatories on migration and forum for information exchange
14. The feasibility study for an (EU) European Migration Observatory (see above) contains an inventory of existing national and international institutions with research and documentation activities related to migration. It also gives a short description of these institutional resources.
15. The main information providers within the EU system were identified as EUROSTAT, the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on Asylum (CIREA), and the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on the Crossing of Frontiers and Immigration (CIREFI).
16. For the wider framework reference is made to the Council of Europe, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), different UN agencies and non-governmental organisations.
17. The European Commission is at present working with the identification of national Contact Centres to be included in the EU-network of institutions referred to as the virtual (EU) European Migration Observatory. This network will evidently be extended to the new EU member countries. Co-operation beyond the EU has not yet been discussed.
18. In the EC feasibility study six main gaps were identified with regard to migration information available to users:
– Access to and co-ordination of existing information;
– Lack of comprehensive and up-to-date source on national policy and legislation relating to migration;
– Need, especially by policy makers, for more timely, reliable and harmonised statistics;
– Provision of analyses of trends and patterns of migration;
– Shortage and inadequacy of country reports that could support the development of an early warning system;
– Lack of comprehensive source of information on what research is currently being done or planned, and the identification of gaps in the current research efforts.
19. As regards the Council of Europe, its European Committee on Migration with its different expert groups and conferences/round-tables activities serves an important information function and represents an important instrument for the elaboration of proposals to harmonise or improve national law. The main issues treated within the framework of this committee concern:
– The legal, economic and social situation of migrants;
– Integration and community relations policies; and
– Pan-European migration flows and policies.
20. The present work of the CDMG contains a major analysis on the legal status of migrants and an important study on integration and community relations. Work related to the Migration Management Strategy continues, including through the organisation of conferences or regional round tables. Thus, during 2003 a conference was organised in Malta on "Migration in the Mediterranean: Prospects for the future", and a regional conference was organised in Kiev on "Migration policies on the eve of the EU enlargement: what challenges for future co-operation within the East European region". The Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population of PACE took part in both events.
21. During the last two years increased emphasis has been given to the development of closer co-operation on migration issues with Mediterranean non-member countries and initiatives are also under way to involve non-member CIS countries, as well as other countries of origin and transit for migration movements.
22. The European Population Committee (CAHP) (of the Council of Europe) has contributed with important studies on migration population issues. Migration is not only dealt with in the Council's Directorate General on Social cohesion, but also within the Directorate General on Education, Culture and Heritage, Youth and Sports.
23. Special mention should be made of the important work of the European Commissioner on Human Rights and of the European Court on Human Rights. The Legal Directorate General hosts the ad hoc Committee of Experts on the legal aspects of territorial asylum, refugees and stateless persons (CAHAR). Finally, several Council of Europe conventions and recommendations address the situation of migrants. An overview of the Activities of the Council of Europe in the migration field is published regularly and can be found on the Councils home page, http://www.coe.int.
3. Aims of a European Migration Observatory/Agency
24. Your Rapporteur at the seventh Conference of Ministers responsible for Migration Affairs (Helsinki, 19 September 2002) proposed that a Migration Observatory, to be set up under the auspices of the Council of Europe, should have a political role. At its 842nd meeting on 5 June 2003, the Ministers' Deputies agreed to create a Political Platform for dialogue with selected non-member states. This Political Platform will consist in the organisation of one-day meetings on the occasion of each meeting of the European Committee on Migration (CDMG). A possible evolution of this Political Platform function could be its use for the preparation of Ministerial and other High Level Contacts/Conferences on Migration Policy matters between interested Council of Europe member states, interested non-Member States, the European Union and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
25. Deliberations on migration issues could also include new ideas for development aid policy. The IOM, together with other global players such as the World Bank, the International Labour Organization, the World Trade Organisation and the OECD, has analysed a range of perspectives regarding migration in a globalized world as well as the costs and benefits of migration. This work has covered social, cultural, political and economic implications of migration. The opportunities that regular migration presents for countries of origin as well as for countries of destination and for individual migrants and their families were clearly illustrated. Such information evidently influences the formulation of development aid policies.
26. A natural starting point for the Political Platform would be to initiate discussions on closer co-operation in the migration field among Council of Europe member states and non-member states of neighbouring regions, i.e. South and Eastern Mediterranean countries, member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States non-members of the Council of Europe and countries of the Middle East. This should in no way exclude closer co-operation with countries further away.
27. Following its work on the implementation of its Migration Management Strategy, the 7th Conference of Ministers responsible for migration affairs of the Council of Europe, which discussed the creation of a structure to help achieving an orderly migration management, and the decision of the Committee of Ministers with regard to the Political Platform, the CDMG has decided to undertake a feasibility study on the establishment of the proposed migration agency. This study should:
– address issues relating to its financing, budget and resources, staffing, working methods, activities, membership, and geographical scope of activities;
– take fully into account the different interests of countries of origin, transit and destination within the membership of the Council of Europe;
Your rapporteur fully supports this line of action and hopes that the feasibility study will give the CDMG and then the Committee of Ministers a solid basis for a decision on the creation of a new instrument for co-operation in this area, or for the adaptation of an existing structure to satisfy the identified needs.
28. The CDMG, as mentioned above, has prepared the organisation of a third-day session on the occasion of its regular meetings called "Political Platform on Migration", inviting selected non-member countries to a dialogue with the CDMG on issues of common interest. It is also envisaged that the "Political Platform" could provide political guidance on the operations of the proposed agency. The following countries have been invited: Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan (Asia), and Mali, Morocco, Somalia, Tunisia (Africa).
29. The first session of the Political Platform on Migration of the Council of Europe took place on 10 December 2003 in Rotterdam, with the participation of a representative from the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population of PACE. The general theme was Integration and Development, with two sub-themes: The role of information and Integration as a factor for development. A second session will be organised in May 2004.
4. Possible structure, legal basis and funding
30. A political dialogue as indicated above would need to relay on up-to-date information regarding different aspects of migration and relevant processing and analysis of such data.
31. Awareness-raising activities on different aspects of migration, in particular irregular migration and trafficking, would be a natural part of the Observatory's/Agency's work.
32. The proposal made by your Rapporteur at the Helsinki Ministerial Conference for the setting up of a Migration Observatory/Agency was to draw up an Enlarged Agreement as set out in the Committee of Ministers Statutory Resolution (93)28 (see appendix).
33. It would be important that relevant parliamentary structures such as the Parliamentary Assembly, the European Parliament, the CIS Parliamentary Assembly and representatives of parliaments of other participating states be associated with the activities of the agreement. Local and Regional Authorities as represented by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and other relevant bodies should also be associated. Last but not least, close co-operation should be established with international governmental and non-governmental organisations active in the field of migration.
5. The ‘dimensions' of an Enlarged Migration Agreement
34. The political dimension will be covered by the Political Platform, which could be entrusted, among others, with the preparation of regular Ministerial meetings. These meetings could also assess and orient the activities of the Agreement and fix its work-programme and budget.
35. The external dimension of this type of Agreement consists of an open policy towards co-operation with non-signatory states as well as a policy of welcoming such states as members when membership conditions are satisfied. An important part of external relations will be the establishment of close and functional co-operation agreements and projects with other organisations active in the field of migration, in particular the major international governmental and non-governmental organisations and institutions.
36. The parliamentary dimension of the Agreement could be assured by involving parliamentary representatives in the relevant organs of the Agreement. The organisation of Parliamentary Conferences to review or give input to the Agreements operations could also be conceived. Finally, member parliaments or other associated parliamentary structures (the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and of the CIS, etc.) could draw up reports with recommendations to member governments regarding the Agreement and its activities.
37. The European Union's role. It has already been mentioned that the European Union not only should become a member of the Enlarged Agreement. The European Commission is in the process of setting up a (virtual, EU) European Migration Observatory. The EU (network) observatory should become a privileged co-operation partner with the proposed Agreement. The EU structure should not only contribute with its expertise to the activities of the Agreement, but should also be used to assist the Agreement in identifying and building up national competence or contact Centres compatible with the EU network in non-EU member states, members of the Agreement. This enlarged network would then become an important sub-structure and resource of the Enlarged Agreement.
6. Conclusions
38. The process of globalization will have important impacts on migration flows as well as patterns of migration. Migration into Europe, within Europe and out of Europe will respond to the specific situation of European states, including population trends and economic development. This is the reason why Council of Europe member states in co-operation with important emigration countries outside Europe should take initiatives to strengthen co-operation for the promotion and improved management of regular migration affecting Europe and these countries, and at the same time increase their efforts in the fight against irregular migration and criminal activities linked to it.
39. It is important in this context to improve data basis on migration and to better co-operate for data collection, processing and distribution. Co-operation can also include the design and carrying out of information campaigns to discourage irregular migration or to obtain other results. The sharing of experiences regarding the development, application and results of migration policies and legislation, including with regard to the integration of migrants, could be most beneficial for participating countries.
40. Against this background and with a view to strengthen the political co-operation among interested Council of Europe member states, non-member states and the European Union, your rapporteur proposed to the 7th Conference of European Ministers responsible for Migration Affairs in Helsinki 2002, to set up a European Migration Observatory (or Agency). The present report aims at presenting this proposal for debate and vote in the Parliamentary Assembly with a view to give new impetus to the discussion on this issue in the Committee of Ministers, and to seek the approval of the Third Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government planned to take place in Warsaw in the Spring of 2005.
APPENDIX
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS
________
STATUTORY
RESOLUTION (93) 28
ON PARTIAL AND ENLARGED AGREEMENTS
Reporting Committee: Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population.
Reference to committee: Doc. 9648, reference No. 2792 of 27.1.2003.
Draft recommendation unanimously adopted by the Committee on 10.3.2004.
Members of the Committee: Wilkinson (Chairperson), de Zulueta (1st Vice-Chairperson), S�ndergaard (2nd Vice-Chairperson), Branger (3rd Vice-Chairperson), Akg�n, Akhvlediani, Alibeyli, de Ar�stegui, Bernik, Bilozir, Bousakla, Braun, Brinkel, Brunhart, Cabrnoch, �avusoglu, Christodoulides, Cilevics, Cliveti, Dacic, Danieli, Debarge, Debono Grech, Dedja, Dmitrijevas, Einarsson, Err, Fedorov, Filipiov�, Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg, Grissemann, Grzesik, Grzyb, G�l�i�ek, Hagberg, Hancock, Higgins, Hoffmann, Ilascu, Iwinski, Jovaševic, Lord Judd, Karpov, Kirilov, K�s�-Kov�cs, Kulikov (alternate: Provkin), Kvakkestad, Lambert, Le Guen, Liapis, Loutfi, Masi, Naro, Nasufi, Nessa, Olin, Popa, Prijmireanu, Puche, Pupovac, Raguž, Rakhansky, Reymann, Saks, Shakhtakhtinskaya, Skarph�dinsson, Slutsky (alternate: Zavgayev), Stamm (alternate: Zapfl-Helbling), Stoisits, St�bgen, Szab�, Tekelioglu, Tk�c, Torosyan, Vera Jardim, Verivakis, Vermot-Mangold, Vieira, Wray (alternate: Foulkes), Y��ez-Barnuevo, Zhirinovsky.
N.B. The names of those members present at the meeting are printed in italics.
Secretariat of the committee: Mr Lervik, Mrs Nachilo, Mrs Sirtori-Milner