16 September 2002

Over the past 13 years, Europe did indeed start by returning to its history. As the political, economic and military fault lines which divided it into two were removed, it found its way back to the main features of its previous existence, the constant intermingling of peoples and cultures and the ceaseless, voluntary or enforced, movements of populations extending to every corner of our continent. Thanks to the progress of European integration, but also because of the tragedies which have occurred in crisis regions such as the Balkans and the Caucasus, migratory flows within Europe itself have increased markedly.

At the same time, Europe returned to its geography. A characteristic of this geography is its extent, stretching from Reykjavik to Vladivostok, an area of which the Council of Europe is now the institutional incarnation. But another feature of Europe’s geography is its territorial continuity with Asia, and yet another is its proximity with regions which have experienced little economic development and have high population densities. I think in particular about the southern shore of the Mediterranean. And it is true that migratory flows into Europe have hardly slowed in the recent period, and the hardening of policies on the reception and movements of persons has very often had as its main effect growth of the influx of illegal immigrants.

The new Europe which emerged from the upheavals between 1989 and 1991 is still being constructed. Our conference can lay another stone of this "common European home", reconciling Europe with its history and geography. We must resist the temptation to build a fortress Europe, for castles, drawbridges and battlements have never prevented life from going on, with its opportunities and its risks. The events of 11 September 2001 were a painful reminder of this, but we can also make a positive statement about this: we, as Europeans, are both the promoters and the prime beneficiaries of an open and interdependent world!

We must not, however, be unrealistic. Europe "cannot accommodate all the misery of the world". Hence the concept of controlled management of migration, a concept central to our discussions and underlying the strategy devised by the CDMG. Our conference is to study ways of implementing this strategy, which is based on an objective analysis of the economic and social situation of Council of Europe member states. It is also based on their current and future needs in terms of employment and demography, care being taken at the same time to ensure that the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe are respected, first and foremost human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Committee of Ministers, which I am representing here, attaches great importance to the migration issue. Since the foundation of the Council of Europe, it has endeavoured to establish a legal framework relating to the rights and living conditions of migrants. It has drawn up a number of specific legal instruments such as the European Convention on Establishment in 1955, the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers in 1977, and, more recently, in 1992, the Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level. At the same time, the Committee of Ministers has always ensured that the Council of Europe’s fundamental texts take account of what is a major problem for our European societies. This concern, the most striking reflection of which is the European Social Charter, reveals Council of Europe member states’ wish to work for the recognition of foreign residents’ rights and for their integration.

Now, more than ever, every government has to face the complex problem of migration. There is a general tendency, frequently under pressure from public opinion, to take action through a tightening up of the laws relating to migrants and a strengthening of border control systems. Yet in spite of, or because of, the restrictions introduced, the increase in the number of migrants in irregular situations seems to be impossible to control. The care which must be taken when analysing such a delicate problem cannot be allowed to give way to any hesitancy about the principles at stake. The fact that a migrant is in an unlawful situation does not diminish in the slightest his or her dignity as a human being. He or she has inalienable and universal rights: human rights.

It is not, however, very meaningful to speak of the problem of illegal immigration without, at the same time, emphasising the exponential growth in the numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers. Right of asylum is very much being put to the test in the industrialised countries, for various reasons, among them the growing numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers and the wrongful use of asylum procedures by migrants seeking to evade immigration restrictions. The principles laid down in the 1951 Geneva Convention, and its 1967 Protocol, nevertheless remain fully valid.

Under its intergovernmental work programme, the Council of Europe is taking action on these two interrelated questions through two subsidiary bodies of the Committee of Ministers, namely the European Committee on Migration and the Ad hoc Committee of Experts on Legal Aspects of Territorial Asylum, Refugees and Stateless Persons, abbreviated to "CAHAR". Thanks to these committees’ efforts, the Council of Europe has been able to make a valuable contribution in respect of issues of concern to all member states, inter alia by developing a common standard-setting approach through the adoption of numerous recommendations, the most recent of which, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 26 March 2002, relates to the legal status of persons admitted for family reunification.

Even more recently, the migration issue has become even more politically acute. So the Committee of Ministers has agreed that this question should be included on the agenda for the next high level "quadripartite" meeting between the Council of Europe and the European Union, to be held in Strasbourg on 25 September. This will enable the two institutions to exchange information about their current activities and/or planned activities, and will indicate both organisations’ desire to take their co-operation further in this field. In his address of 26 June 2002 to the Parliamentary Assembly, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, the country which currently chairs the Committee of Ministers, made his views quite clear on this subject: "The serious problem of immigration, and the problem of migration in general, cannot be solved by the European Union alone. The EU gives the impression of wanting to devote itself solely to the consequences of illegal clandestine immigration, neglecting the need to control lawful immigration. The European Union, which frequently claims to be pragmatic and to concern itself with the shorter term, might lead us to assume that it wishes to transform its fifteen member states into a kind of fortress. On these issues, we must speak with exemplary clarity. The European Union, which needs immigrants, must not close its gates. All the countries of Europe must continue to accept people who, worldwide, are persecuted on grounds of race, gender, or religious or political beliefs. The Council of Europe must play its part in finding a European solution to the problem of illegal, clandestine immigration, which turns miserable migrants in their own countries into miserable immigrants in ours. In this wide-ranging area, the European Union and the Council of Europe will gain from co-operating with each other as closely as possible".

It is interesting to note that when Mr Juncker made the address which I have just quoted, his main aim was the holding of a third Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe member states before the end of 2003. This proposal, which received strong support from the Secretary General and the Parliamentary Assembly, is now being discussed by the Committee of Ministers. It could not be more topical, for a report is currently being drawn up on this subject with a view to a possible decision at the 111th session of the Committee of Ministers, scheduled for 6 and 7 November, in Strasbourg. Without going into detail, so as to respect the still confidential nature of the relevant discussions, I shall merely add that the migration question is given due importance in this report …

Is there any need to say more on this subject in order to help you to understand the amount of attention devoted by the Committee of Ministers to the proceedings of our conference and the interest with which it awaits the results? Some of the proposals being discussed here, particularly the idea of setting up a European Migration Observatory, have already given rise to both interest and support from the Committee of Ministers. As a representative of the country which is preparing to take over the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers from Luxembourg, I undertake to follow up with all the attention that they deserve your conclusions and recommendations. The six months of the Maltese chairmanship, which is to begin immediately after the 111th session of the Committee of Ministers, must bring about the progress which we are all expecting.