92002E3014

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3014/02

by Isidoro Sánchez García (ELDR) to the Commission

(23 October 2002)

Subject: Official Commission delegation to Morocco: situation regarding the EU-Morocco Action Plan

Recent media reports have revealed that an official Commission delegation is visiting Morocco in order to assess the situation regarding the Action Plan which has been devised by the European Union and the Moroccan Government for the purpose of dealing with immigration from Africa.

In view of the fact that this issue is of significance in social terms to a number of EU regions (such as the Canary Islands, on account of their geographical proximity and the fact that they constitute one of the EU's external borders), what does the Commission think of the report drawn up by the official delegation?

Reply given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(11 December 2002)

One of the priorities of the 2002-2004 Indicative National Programme for Morocco, signed with the Moroccan authorities in January 2002, is the issue of migration. This section makes provision for a programme for the management of border controls, for which the indicative sum of EUR 40 million is earmarked. This special programme aims to build institutional capacity, develop the regulatory framework, modernise infrastructure and equipment, train people and develop cooperation between the services concerned in Morocco and the Member States. In this context, and with a view to assessing the situation as regards the management of border controls, experts from the Member States and the Commission made an official visit to Morocco in July 2002.

This action is part of the dialogue on migration provided for by the association agreement between the Community and Morocco.

In the course of this mission the experts visited the main border posts and the border regions most affected by illegal immigration, particularly involving people from sub-Saharan Africa (Casablanca, Tangiers, Tetouan, Kenitra, Nador, Oujda and Laayoune).

The Moroccan authorities have stressed their government's determination to combat illegal emigration effectively and to cooperate with the Union on the issue of border controls. In this context, specific information was made available in July and September 2002 on the regulatory framework, putting that framework into practice, and relevant statistics.

The experts will finalise their report over the coming weeks, on the basis of the results obtained during the visit and after examining the information provided. An activity programme will then be drawn up.