91998E3364

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3364/98

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(16 November 1998)

Subject: Revision of the Geneva Convention on refugees

The Austrian Presidency has issued a strategy document on migration and asylum policy. The document contains proposals to revise or abrogate the provisions of the 1951 Geneva Convention on refugees concerning the legal obligation on the Member States to provide persons in need with international protection. The right to asylum is radically curtailed as it is treated not as a personal civil right but as a an offer from the refugees' host state. The Austrian Presidency's document states that the final text will be submitted in December 1998 either as an adopted conclusion or as an interim stage of the debate. Will the Council, therefore, say whether it is aware of the justifiably strong reactions of the Non-Governmental Organizations, political groups and Members of the European Parliament and the press to the proposals to abrogate the Geneva Convention and what is its position in this respect? Does it intend to amend its text significantly in response to those reactions?

Reply

(22 and 23 February 1999)

1. The Austrian Presidency's strategy paper on migration and asylum policy is a discussion document which aims at provoking further thought and consideration about how to get to grips with problems in the areas of migration and asylum. It does not claim to lay down future European Union policy in these areas but does try to ensure that in determining such policy, the decision-makers have at their disposal information on which to take their decisions.

2. Misunderstandings have clearly arisen following the release of the paper. However, it was never the Austrian Presidency's intention to call into question the future of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. The revised paper, which was officially forwarded to the European Parliament on 7 October 1998, has made this clear. It recommends a restructuring of the protection system which takes account of developments and does not interfere with the Geneva Convention but supplements it with an additional model; this additional complementary mechanism would not involve any changes in the case of protection against persecution as defined in the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. The integrity of the Geneva Convention is thus not compromised.