WRITTEN QUESTION No. 109/98 by Guido VICECONTE to the Council. Mass landings of refugees on the south-western coasts of the European Union
16. 6. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 187/49 (98/C 187/78) WRITTEN QUESTION P-3755/97 by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Council (17 November 1997) Subject: Kurds and political asylum The Kurds are neither bandits nor infiltrators and the refugees who have been arriving in Italy (those of Kurdish origin, at least) have created problems at international level as regards political asylum. We cannot ignore the fact that the men in question, who are being assailed and pursued in a secret war which (unfortunately for them) has little impact on civilian society, are oppressed (often violently) and cannot live peaceably on either Iraqi, Iranian, Syrian or Turkish territory. If the Kurds do not deserve refugee status, who does deserve it? No international organization is willing to take the initial step, even on purely humanitarian grounds › a shameful situation which Europe should be the first to remedy. Given that Europe needs to give some consideration to the meaning, in a civilized society, of political asylum and to the need to accommodate new arrivals and find work for them within the EU Member States, and since, following the conclusion of the Schengen agreements, Puglia must now be regarded as a European, rather than an Italian border, could the Council and the Commission ensure that the serious problem of the Kurds vis-a‘-vis Europe is dealt withj as a matter of urgency, with the immediate involvement of the UN Security Council? It should be borne in mind that ignoring the Kurdish questioní is likely to make matters worse, by causing the Kurds to flee to other European countries or by provoking a dangerous armed conflict on a distrastrous scale which will be impossible to control. (98/C 187/79) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3927/97 by Giampaolo DíAndrea (PPE), Pierluigi Castagnetti (PPE), Antonio Graziani (PPE), Gerardo Bianco (PPE) and Maria Colombo Svevo (PPE) to the Council (10 December 1997) Subject: Illegal immigration In recent times there has been a huge increase in the number of illegal immigrants, most of them Kurds, attempting to enter the EU through Italy in what amounts to an exodus from areas in the grip of ethnic conflicts, where, there can be no doubt, human rights are being trampled underfoot. What action does the European Union intend to take with a view to both stemming the flow and helping to ensure respect for the rights of such ethnic minorities, thus enabling them to lead a life of dignity? (98/C 187/80) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0109/98 by Guido Viceconte (UPE) to the Council (23 January 1998) Subject: Mass landings of refugees on the south-western coasts of the European Union Over recent months the Unionís Mediterranean coasts have been invaded by thousands of refugees from Albania and Turkey. Appropriate action has been taken by the Italian authorities to take such refugees in on a temporary basis and process any asylum applications in compliance with the Schengen rules. As became clear at the technical meeting held just recently between police chiefs, such migratory pressures cannot but increase in the future, given the demographic and economic situation in the countries around the south-west Mediterranean area. The important political issues raised, the supranational dimension, the involvement of criminal networks and the fact that the situation will deteriorate in the future make it necessary for the Union to take urgent, concerted action with a view to organizing an appropriate response on EU territory and at the same time formulating a policy aimed at removing the political, social and economic causes of the problem at source