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October 05, 2023
At the Schengen Council meeting on October 19, ministers will discuss how to step up EU crackdowns on migrant smuggling and decide on “sustainable actions, commitments and solutions.” A draft document from the Spanish Presidency of the Council gives an indication of the projects in progress.
Picture: dm1795, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
THE paper (pdf) was distributed to Member States’ delegations to the Council on 28 September and states: “Crimes involving the illicit trafficking or exploitation of persons (including children), such as migrant smuggling, different forms of Human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children remain on the agenda. extremely high threat levels, having an increasingly serious impact on vulnerable people. »
While experts in migration policy and even the EU agencies themselves noted that tighter border controls tend to incentivize smugglers to charge more money to access increasingly dangerous routes, the Spanish presidency highlights other factors:
“…the migrant smuggling market to and within the EU is propelled by emerging and worsening crises, including economic recessions, environmental emergencies caused by climate change and ongoing conflicts, as well as demographic pressures in many countries of origin. The dramatic developments of recent months in the Mediterranean and in countries across the sea will only confirm these trends.”
The presidency’s proposals revolve around four axes:
- Develop shared situational awareness
This includes proposals to increase information sharing, notably between EU military missions and law enforcement agencies, joint analysis by EU agencies, and for Europol and Frontex to “strengthen their role in research and innovation in order to identify opportunities for the development of new detection, prevention and detection capabilities. fight against migrant smuggling.
- Strengthening the EU legal framework on migrant smuggling
The Presidency takes note of the Commission’s intention to “urgently update the EU legal framework on migrant smuggling” and affirms that:
“…migrant smuggling appears more and more to be a very lucrative activity with a low risk of detection and punishment for criminals. We can wonder whether the response provided by the current legal framework is still adapted to current challenges and developing, in a context in which smugglers take ever increasing risks, are very adaptable and frequently use the tools of digital services.
The main piece of legislation in this area, the Facilitation Directive, has been heavily criticized by civil society organizations for its failure to prevent the criminalization of solidarity and humanitarian activity.
- Strengthen and integrate European operational cooperation
The presidency document calls for more joint investigations, more support from EU agencies to national law enforcement agencies, rapid implementation of recent police legislation and cooperation between “Frontex, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), INTERPOL and the European Union Navy. The Mediterranean Force (EUNAVFORMED) Operation IRINI” will be “further strengthened within the framework of the Information Exchange Centre”.
National border surveillance and intelligence analysis systems should also be fed with increasing amounts of data and information, and:
“The quality of border controls, in particular at vulnerable and high-risk entry points, should be significantly improved, to ensure systematic checks of EU information systems at the external borders.”
The importance of financial investigations is highlighted in the document, which also calls for examining “the links between migrant smuggling and other areas of crime”.
Given recent revelations about industry influence on the EU’s proposed anti-encryption legislation – as well as Europol demands for global access to data for all areas of crime – a topic likely to be of particular interest in the document is the “digitalization of migrant smuggling”.
The document notes:
“Increasingly, combating migrant smuggling requires law enforcement to have access to data, including electronic information and evidence located at home and abroad, to decrypt it support national investigations, where necessary, and to retain them for monitoring purposes. time needed to conduct an investigation and hold a fair trial. With this in mind, the recent adoption and entry into force of the Electronic Evidence Package and the future entry into force of the Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime will contribute to an effective investigation. and the prosecution of crimes.
- Dimensions of external policy
The last title of the document proposes further externalization of borders, taking note of recent action plans on the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean; the need to implement “anti-smuggling operational partnerships” with Tunisia, Niger, Morocco and the Western Balkans, to better use the network of EU immigration liaison officers and to strengthen the cooperation with the military (Common Security and Defense Policy, CSDP) missions.
Documentation
Further reading
On 28 September, the Council of the EU Working Party on External Aspects of Asylum and Migration (EMWP) discussed migrant smuggling in the Western Balkans. Representatives from Europol, Frontex and the European Asylum Agency were present to make presentations which we publish here.
Europol and Frontex have produced a joint report on the ‘digitalization of migrant smuggling’, intended to provide EU and Western Balkans officials with ‘a comprehensive picture of intelligence on the use of digital tools and services’ (sic) in migrant smuggling. and related document fraud, in order to raise awareness, consolidate existing knowledge and strengthen opportunities to take appropriate measures to address emerging threats.
The European Commission recently launched a consultation on the EU Action Plan against migrant smuggling (2021-2025). However, her strategy for the new plan does not involve an in-depth assessment of actions taken so far, and the questions she asks contributors “are clearly aimed at legitimizing a set of predetermined actions.” Statewatch’s proposal calls for a public debate on the root causes of migrant smuggling and the impact, legitimacy and effectiveness of EU measures to prevent and punish it.