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Cini: European Union Politics 2e
Chapter 19
Tony Blair's Speech to the European Parliament in Brussels on 23 June 2005
In 2005 EU heads of state and government agreed a new five-year programme for closer co-operation in justice and home affairs (JHA) . With the end of the 'Tampere ' agenda in May 2004 a new draft programme for JHA, the so-called 'Hague Programme' for the years 2005-2010, to make the EU an area of common 'freedom, justice and security ', was produced under the Dutch presidency. The British government came under pressure during the summit not to use the UK's opt-out over asylum policies. Member states of the EU agreed to give up their national vetoes in order to accelerate the creation of cross-border cooperation on asylum and illegal immigration policies. Blair's speech to the EP below also demonstrates the necessity and importance of the EU's common policy on asylum and immigration.
"Migration has doubled in the past 20 years. Much of the migration is healthy and welcome. But it must be managed. Illegal immigration is an issue for all our nations, and a human tragedy for many thousands of people. It is estimated that 70 per cent of illegal immigrants have their passage facilitated by organized crime groups. Then there is the repugnant practice of human trafficking whereby organized gangs move people from one region to another with the intention of exploiting them when they arrive. Between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked globally each year. Every year over 100,000 women are victims of trafficking in the European Union. Again, a relevant JHA agenda would focus on these issues: implementing the EU action plan on counter-terrorism which has huge potential to improve law enforcement as well as addressing the radicalisation and recruitment of terrorists; cross-border intelligence and policing on organized crime; developing proposals to hit the people and drug traffickers hard, in opening up their bank accounts, harassing their activities, arresting their leading members and bring them to justice; getting returns agreements for failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries and others; developing biometric technology to make Europe's borders secure. "
Web Links
Amnesty International EU Office
www.amnesty-eu.org/
EU Immigration weblog – News on developments in EU Immigration Law and Immigration Policy
blogs.law.harvard.edu/euimmigration/
European Council on Refugees and Exiles
www.ecre.org/
Eurasylum
www.eurasylum.org/portal/DesktopDefault.aspx
Further Learning Resources
Centre for European Reform (CER) – Justice and Home Affairs
www.cer.org.uk/jha_new/index_jha_new.html
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) – Justice and Home Affairs
www.ceps.be/Article.php?article_id=16
Geddes, Andrew ( 2005) , ' Europe 's Border Relationships and International Migration Relations ', . Journal of Common Market Studies , Vol.43, No.4, pp. 787-806
Boswell , Christina (2003), The 'external dimension' of EU immigration and asylum policy , International Affairs, Vol.79, Issue 3, pp. 619-638 .