by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the
Commission and Council
(05 September
2002)
Subject: Mass repatriation of Afghan refugees
|
E-2565/02
Reply
(20 February 2003)
Following
the collapse of the Taliban regime and the setting up of new political
institutions in Afghanistan, the question of the adoption of programmes for the
repatriation of Afghan nationals now in the territory of EU Member States is
being examined by the Member States concerned and at EU level. Some Member
States have already set up such programmes.
As regards
EU action in this area, it should be recalled that the Seville European Council
asked the Council to adopt, before the end of 2002, a repatriation programme
based on the Commission's Green Paper on return and incorporating "the
best possible facilities for early return to Afghanistan" (Conclusion 30).
With a
view to implementing the Seville conclusions, the Danish Presidency has
submitted a draft programme on return to Afghanistan. It is currently being examined by the competent Council bodies
and was submitted to the Council for an initial exchange of views on
15 October 2002. The Council
adopted the Plan at its meeting on 28 November 2002.
The
Council notes that this Plan for return to Afghanistan should be seen in the
context of the creation of a general EU programme, which is also in
progress. In adopting this Plan, the
Council considered that, at the present time, return to Afghanistan from the EU
should be initiated and that the status of Afghans who decide not to avail
themselves of voluntary repatriation shall continue to be governed by the
relevant national legislation in full respect of the 1951 Convention relating
to the status of refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The Council also acknowledged the important active role that can
be played by Member States individually, as well as by the Community as a
whole. To this end, the Plan identifies
where coordination at European level will have the greatest impact and where
complementarity of Member State and Community actions can be sought. The responsibility for implementing the Plan
rests mainly with Member States, while the role of the Commission is more
coordinative in nature.