31996Y0919(15)

ANNEX III.7

COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS of 30 November 1994 on the organization and development of the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on the Crossing of Frontiers and Immigration (Cirefi)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

RECALLS the decision taken by the Ministers responsible for immigration on 30 November and 1 December 1992 to establish a Centre for information, discussion and exchange on the crossing of frontiers and immigration (Cirefi) and NOTES that in the 1994 priority work programme in the field of justice and home affairs which it adopted in November 1993, Cirefi was requested to continue its work;

EMPHASIZES the urgent problems arising from illegal immigration and unlawful residence by nationals of third countries in the Member States and considers that only concerted action by the Member States on a basis of solidarity can stem or reduce the flow of unauthorized immigration;

UNDERLINES the need for all Member States to combat criminal illegal immigration networks and make it impossible for them to arrange or assist large scale illegal immigration flows;

Given that further progress in cooperation between Member States requires improved exchanges of information and uniform situation assessments in order to improve coordination on a Union-wide basis in the areas of illegal immigration and expulsion, CONSIDERS AND DECIDES that Cirefi should be, as a further step, progressively developed in the following way:

1. Cirefi will assist the Member States in effectively studying legal immigration preventing illegal immigration and unlawful residence, in effectively combating immigration crime, in better detecting forged documents and in improving expulsion practice.

2. Cirefi shall meet on a regular basis and shall consist of expert representatives of the Member States (Standing Conference) with logistical back-up from the General Secretariat of the Council.

3. Without prejudice to the other tasks included in the Decision taken by the Ministers responsible for immigration on 30 November and 1 December 1992, the specific tasks of Cirefi shall be to:

3.1. collate, using standard forms, statistical information concerning:

(a) legal immigration;

(b) illegal immigration and unlawful residence;

(c) facilitating of illegal immigration;

(d) use of false or falsified travel documents;

(e) measures taken by competent authorities, and draw up regular and occasional situation reports on this basis commenting on trends, developments and changes;

3.2. analyse the information compiled, draw conclusions and, when appropriate, give advice;

3.3. conduct exchanges of information on expulsion matters, particularly in respect of countries of destination, airports of departure or arrival, carriers, flight routes, fares, reservation possibilities, conditions of carriage, escort requirements and charter possibilities as well as on problems in obtaining repatriation travel documents.

Cirefi will submit an annual report on its activities, and any additional reports on request, to the Council (JHA).

Personal data may not be processed and, in particular, may not be communicated by or to Cirefi.

Cirefi will not be empowered to give instructions to Member States' authorities.

The activities of Cirefi will not affect closer cooperation between Member States.

4. Cirefi, in the form of the Standing Conference as defined in paragraph 2, will meet regularly or as circumstances require; as a general rule this should be once a month. Where possible, discussions adequately prepared in advance should be structured around a particular current item of common interest to permit an efficient exchange of information.

The relevant bodies of the Council will determine priorities for Cirefi's ongoing work within the framework of the tasks assigned to it under paragraph 3.

The logistical back-up at the General Secretariat of the Council will provide Cirefi with the necessary administrative and organizational assistance and will contribute to prior and subsequent processing of agendas for Cirefi's meetings. The General Secretariat of the Council will, within its budgetary constraints, ensure provision of the staff and equipment required for Cirefi to perform its tasks.

5. The Council also notes that during the time between meetings of Cirefi as a Standing Conference as defined in paragraph 2, the national central units of the Member States concerned will exchange information directly at a multilateral or bilateral level in cases requiring immediate action. Information will be exchanged as far as possible using standard forms or as events dictate using an agreed layout.

Costs incurred by national central units, including the cost of communicating with other national central units, will be borne by the Member State concerned.

6. The Council considers that Cirefi may begin to carry out its work as defined in these conclusions from 1 January 1995.