French presidency moves quickly to combat trade in illegal migrants

Date: 20/07/2000

By John Shelley

LORRY drivers caught transporting illegal aliens into Europe would be fined a minimum of €2,000 per immigrant under measures proposed by the French presidency to tighten EU border controls in the wake of the Dover tragedy.

The proposal is contained in one of several papers drawn up by Paris following the death of 58 Chinese migrants who suffocated in a container lorry on their way into England.

Under the French plan, anyone who illegally carried people across Union borders by air, sea or land would face a hefty fine, and would also be expected to take their human cargo back to the non-EU country where it came from, or pay for the cost of doing so.

Paris has also tabled proposals to clamp down on people who make arrangements to smuggle people across borders, and measures to boost cooperation between Union member states and other countries in the fight against illegal immigration.

Many of the measures outlined by France were anticipated in the conclusions of the EU's special justice and home affairs summit in Tampere last year. But Paris has won praise for its swiftness in drawing up the plans, in response to calls for action from Union governments in the wake of the Dover tragedy. "I am impressed by the speed with which these proposals have been produced, and also the detail and the innovative approach they have used," said one diplomat.

Under proposals contained in a second paper outlining possible legislation to crack down on traffickers, all member states would be obliged to make it a criminal offence to directly or indirectly assist in the unauthorised entry, movement or residence of an alien.

EU governments would be allowed to decide for themselves whether to exempt immediate family members from the rules, but all would be required to set 'effective, proportionate and dissuasive' criminal penalties for other offenders. They would also be obliged to hand out harsher penalties if the trafficker was part of a criminal gang or was importing migrants to work illegally, especially in the sex industry.

In a third paper the presidency suggests ways in which Union and other countries could cooperate to tackle the problem, including plans to 'twin' member states with countries which 'produce' large numbers of immigrants, giving each EU country responsibility for building up links and anti-immigration programmes with a designated partner. "The beauty of this proposal is that it is informal anyway, so each member state can just go off and do it," said one diplomat.

But refugee groups have condemned the proposals and say the planned legislation would not deter people who were genuinely desperate to get into the Union. They argue that it would be far better to look at ways of legally allowing them to enter. "Unfortunately, traffickers have become the friends rather than the enemies to refugees," said Friso Roscam Abbing, spokesman for the European Council on Refugees and Exiles.

The French proposals will be discussed for the first time at an informal meeting of Union interior ministers next week.

Lorry drivers caught transporting illegal aliens into Europe would be fined a minimum of €2,000 per immigrant under measures proposed by the French Presidency to tighten EU border controls in the wake of the Dover tragedy. The proposal is contained in one of several papers drawn up by Paris following the death of 58 Chinese migrants who suffocated in a container lorry on their way into England.