WRITTEN QUESTION E-2429/99 by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Measures to prevent the smuggling of illegal immigrants.
24. 10. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 303 E/59 Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission (24 January 2000) The Commission agrees upon the importance of innovation in boosting economic growth and promoting the development of all industrial sectors in a changing world. Innovation opens up new sectors of economic and social activity. It continuously redefines the markets, bringing about new products and processes to foster the competitiveness of enterprises. Innovation is not just an economic mechanism or a technical process. It is also, as outlined by the Honourable Member, a social phenomenon. Through it, individuals and societies express their creativity, needs and desires. Innovation is therefore intimately connected to the social conditions in which it is produced. An informed public debate on the importance of innovation for our societies, in particular to enterprises, is essential. The policy debate on innovation launched by the Commission, starting with the white paper on growth, competitiveness, employment, with the green paper on innovation (1) and subsequently the Action plan on innovation (2)í already recommends promoting public recognition of the benefits of innovation. The Commission will continue to pursue an innovation-inspired enterprise policy and take new actions. there is no better guidance than the principle of For public awareness campaigns on innovation, subsidiarity. There are many initiatives and successes at national and regional in this field. The exchange of experience between initiatives taken at national level needs to be stimulated and also, where appropriate, the linking of networks at European level of successful ventures, if this helps with their dissemination and improvement. The Commission, especially in the framework of the various specific programmes of the 5th framework programme on Research and development (R+D) (1998-2002), has foreseen the appropriate mechanisms for stimulating such actions aimed at raising public awareness. These activities include the organisation of European prizes ü such as the Descartes and Archimedes prizes (3) ü, international conferences, various publications, as well as the use of advanced information and commu- nication tools (Internet sites) by Internet and CD-ROM/DVD based information services on research projects and activities, for example CORDIS (4), Prosoma (5), and others. level Such activities (implemented through calls for tender, calls for proposals for projects and accompanying measures) help identify and give public recognition and visibility to outstanding technological results, which are relevant to the advancement of science and innovation in Europe. (1) COM(95) 688 final. (2) COM(96) 589 final. (3) Call for proposals for indirect research, technological development (RTD) actions under the specific programme for RTD and demonstration on improving the human research potential and the socio-economic knowledge base. Distinctions for high-level research work. OJ C 344, 1. 12. 1999. (4) http:/www. cordis. lu/. (5) http//www. prosoma. lu/. (2000/C 303 E/053) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2429/99 by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission (16 December 1999) Subject: Measures to prevent the smuggling of illegal immigrants The smuggling of illegal immigrants into the EU Member States has become a major criminal activity. According to the statistics of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in Vienna, last year alone over 400 000 people arrived illegally in the EU, 60 % of whom came by transport organised by criminal networks. The head of the ICMPD, Jonas Widgren, considers that the trade in C 303 E/60 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 24. 10. 2000 smuggled human beings makes criminal organisations a profit of over FIM 50 million per year, so this is not a small matter. 1. What measures does the European Union propose to take to prevent the illegal and totally inhuman smuggling of illegal immigrants and the resultant flow of money to criminal organisations? 2. How will the European Union ensure that the traffic in immigration into Member States remains in the hands of the Member States, in view of the long waiting times for legal immigration and the economic gulf between Eastern Europe and the European Union? Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission (27 January 2000) The Commission shares the Honourable Memberís concerns regarding the scale of illegal immigration. Article 63 (former Article 73k) of the EC Treaty provides that the Council will, within a period of five years after the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, adopt measures on immigration policy, particularly in terms of combating illegal immigration and illegal residence, including repatriation of illegal residents. The various measures envisaged were detailed in the action plan of the Council and the Commission on how best to implement the provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam on an area of freedom, security and justice (1). The political guidelines intended to steer implementation of this action plan were set out in the Tampere European Council conclusions. The European Council also stressed the importance of more effective management of migration flows and called, among other things, for an active common policy on visas and false documents and for closer cooperation and mutual technical assistance between Member Statesí border control services. However, it also underscored the importance of tackling illegal immigration at its source, attacking the criminal networks which are ever more frequently behind the trafficking in and economic exploitation of migrants, it highlighted the while preserving the rights of victims, particularly women and children. Lastly, importance of cooperation with the countries of origin and transit. These various measures ü to which the Commission intends to make its contribution ü must be interpreted within the overall framework of the common European asylum and immigration policy defined introduction of by the Heads of State and Government. The policy also presupposes the gradual development cooperation with migrantsí countries and regions of origin and the assurance of fair treatment for nationals of third countries who are lawfully resident in the territory of the Member States. (1) OJ C 19, 23. 1. 1999. (2000/C 303 E/054) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2434/99 by Inger Schörling (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (13 December 1999) Subject: EU rules -v- Swedenís restrictive drugs policy In Sweden the rules heavily restrict the import of substances classified as narcotics, even when they are prescribed by doctors for medicinal purposes. For example, the Läkemedelsverket (Medicines Department) regulation 1997/11 allows an individual to import amphetamines for no more than five days personal use