Activites

• 2008/05/21 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Decision 2008/381
  • OJ L 131 21.05.2008, p. 0007
• #2866
• 2008/05/14 Council Meeting
• 2008/05/14 End of procedure in Parliament
• 2008/05/14 Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
• 2008/04/10 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • T6-0110/2008 summary

    The European Parliament adopted, by 539 votes to 31, against a legislative resolution amending the proposal for a Council decision establishing a European Migration Network. The report had been tabled for consideration in plenary by Luciana SBARBATI (ADLE, IT), on behalf of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Parliament changed the name of the organisation from European Migration Network to European Migration and Asylum Network, stating that since the network's job is to collect and exchange information on immigration and asylum, and this should be reflected in its acronym (EMAN rather than EMN). The objective of the organisation is to meet information needs of Community institutions, Member States' authorities and institutions, and the general public, as well as third countries and international organisations, on all aspects of migration and asylum, by providing information on migration, asylum and integration, including detailed statistics showing the impact of EU legislation. The other main amendments - adopted under the consultation procedure - are as follows:Extension of remit: Members introduced a series of amendments to ensure that EMAN’s remit might be broadened to include the production of analyses and comparisons of European legislation and policies and the implementation of European and international rules at national level, as well as the drawing up of recommendations and conclusions. EMAN should cooperate with all involved and interested parties and disseminate information. It should establish indicators and criteria that will help in the development of Community activities relating to migratory statistics and to asylum (for example, data and statistics concerning the number of legal and illegal immigrants, of returns, of asylum applications accepted and rejected, and of countries of origin) for the purpose of harmonising such indicators and criteria at European level, in cooperation with other competent European bodies. Parliament added that the organisation should compile and publish the EU’s and the Member States’ migration and asylum laws and any other relevant information on the subject (quotas, regularisations, terms and conditions to be met by those wishing to apply for refugee status, practices and related case-law, etc.). The exchange of information concerning requirements on the labour market in the Member States could represent a step forward in the management of economic migrants as part of a comprehensive approach at EU level. Furthermore, EMAN should produce analyses, assessments, recommendations and conclusions on the implementation in the Member States of EC directives on migration and asylum and on the compliance of national rules with European and international rules, at the request of the Commission, the European Parliament or the Council.Common indicators: with a view to ensuring the comparability of data at European level, the EMAN should be able to play a role in the progressive introduction of common indicators and criteria.Cooperation with other organisations: the EMAN should co-ordinate information and co-operate with other relevant national, European and international governmental and nongovernmental bodies. It should ensure that its activities are consistent and coordinated with the relevant Community instruments and structures in the area of migration and asylum. It must establish a national migration and asylum network, composed of a wide-range of governmental and non-governmental organisations, in particular universities, research centres, and professional associations. EMAN cooperation with the countries in which asylum-seekers and migrants originate and through which they transit shall ensure consistency in the implementation of the common immigration and asylum policy. Such cooperation shall be designed to achieve a suitable degree of cooperation with neighbouring countries in order to consolidate the European neighbourhood policy. The EMN shall give priority to interaction with third countries of origin and transit for migrants to the European Union.National Contact Points: Parliament stated that the entity designated as a National Contact Point must be neutral. The EMAN will contribute to the preparation of and approve the annual programme of activities, including an indicative amount of the minimum and maximum budget for each National Contact Point, which ensures that the basic costs arising from the proper functioning of the EMAN are covered, on the basis of a draft from the Chair. The National Contact Points shall be bound by the principles of impartiality and objectivity in all aspects of their competences. The report produced by the National Contact Points each year must include legal developments (laws and case-law).Publication and dissemination of results: the information exchanged, collected and compiled by the EMAN must be published and disseminated as widely as possible, and all involved and interested parties must be included. The content of the information publication, dissemination and exchange system must include: a European bibliography including published and unpublished academic works, in particular reports, brochures and conference papers; a European agenda announcing conferences and key events in relation to all aspects of migration and asylum; a database into which researchers and doctoral students may enter information on their theses and studies in progress. Members inserted a clause stating that the Decision must be revised within a period of six months following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. No later than 3 years after the entry into force of the Decision, the Commission must present a report accompanied, if necessary, by proposals for amendments to the decision, with a view to the possible establishment of a European Migration Monitoring Centre.Lastly, it should be noted that the text amended by Parliament takes into account the broad views of the Council on this matter.

• 2008/03/05 Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
  • A6-0066/2008
• 2008/02/27 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• #2838
• 2007/12/06 Council Meeting
  • 2838
• #2828
• 2007/11/13 Council Meeting
  • 2828
• 2007/09/27 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2007/08/10 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2007)0466 summary

    PURPOSE: to formalise the establishment of a “European Migration Network”.PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.BACKGROUND: in 2003 the Commission set up a three-year preparatory action establishing a European Migration Network (EMN), with a view to providing both the Community and the Member States with objective, reliable and up-to-date migration data.  It was set up as a new budget line (18 03 05). The EMN pilot project if fully compatible with the objectives set by the 2004 Hague Programme, which calls for the development of a common policy in the field of asylum, migration, visas and borders.A migration network is deemed essential for a number of reasons. Firstly, access to information on international migration is not always easy to obtain as it is not centrally available. Secondly, there is insufficient comparable, reliable and up-to-date information and analysis of legal and policy developments concerning asylum and migration and thirdly, there is an acute lack of accurate, up-to-date and comparable statistical data on migration and asylum.  CONTENT: the purpose of this proposal, therefore, is to formalise the EMN through the adoption of an appropriate legal instrument (a Council Decision based on Article 66 of the EU Treaty). Many of the existing structure will be maintained – although some important modifications are being introduced in a bid to improve the EMN’s working efficiency. The proposal lists the EMN’s main objective, tasks, structure, information exchange system, financing arrangements and relations with other organisation.In brief, the main elements of the formalised EMN, are as follows:Objective: The EMN’s objectives will be to meet the information needs of the Community institutions, the Member States and the general public on migration and asylum. It will do so by providing up-to-date, objective and reliable and comparable information on migration and asylum, with a view to supporting policy and decision-making in the European Union.Activities: To obtain this objective the EMN will carry out a number of activities including, inter alia: collecting and exchange existing data and information from a range of sources; undertaking an analysis of such data; creating and maintain an internet-based information exchange system; and co-operating with other relevant European and international bodies.Structure: The network itself will be composed of National Contact Points, designated by the Member States and the European Commission. The National Contact Points will need to fulfil a certain number of requirements such as offering expertise in the area of asylum and migration and having necessary IT skills. They will also need to have an ability to work and write in a second official language of the EU institutions. For its part, the Commission will be responsible for overall co-ordination of the EMN; adopting its annual programme and ensuring that the work of the EMN reflects the political priorities of the Community. The Commission will appoint a service provider to offer assistance in setting up the IT system and internet site as well as the preparation of synthesis reports and by the complexity of ensuring appropriate cooperation between the 26 National Contact Points.The Commission's responsibilities will involve:general coordination of the EMN;adoption of the EMN's annual programme of activities;one representative from the Commission will sit in the Steering Board and will chair it. He or she will be assisted by two scientific experts appointed by the Commission;ensuring that the work of the EMN reflects the political priorities of the Community in the area of migration and asylum;appointment of a service provider that will assist the Commission with the day-to-day management of the EMN, including the information exchange system of the EMN. The Commission will closely monitor the activities of this service provider, establishing clear responsibilities and working practices; involving, if necessary, working groups of National Contact Points to work closely with the service provider on particular activities. The Commission will also ensure that the National Contact Points are capable of carrying out the tasks entrusted to them. This includes checking if the National Contact Points proposed by the Member States fulfil all the necessary requirements and proposing the necessary actions to the Steering Board when it identifies persistent shortcomings in the work of a National Contact Point, which may have negative consequences in the work of the EMN;lastly, the Commission will award operating grants, co-financing the annual work programmes of the National Contact Points which fulfil all the necessary requirements.Information exchange systems and studies: the EMN will disseminate information in the form of studies and reports through a dedicated web-site. The web-site will be open to the public and the information, in principle accessible to all. Exceptions to the general rule are possible in cases where Member States communicate sensitive/confidential information.Financing: the budgetary resources needed for funding the EMN will be entered in the annual appropriations of the general budget of the EU. Such resources will co-finance (up to 80%) of the eligible costs of the National Contact Points. It will also cover the costs of the service provider, plus other expenses including evaluation and special activities. For the 2008-2013 period, appropriations totalling EUR 56.7 million are foreseen.Territorial measures: Title IV of the EC Treaty is not applicable to the United Kingdom and to Ireland, unless these Member States decide otherwise in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland annexed to the Treaties. Title IV is likewise not applicable to Denmark, by virtue of the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaties.

  • DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/justice/', 'title': 'Justice'}, FRATTINI Franco

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2007)0466
• Debate in Council: 2828
• Debate in Council: 2838
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A6-0066/2008
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T6-0110/2008
• : Decision 2008/381
• : OJ L 131 21.05.2008, p. 0007

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)