-
.
- Ελληνικά
The 14th meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Control Group (JPC) of Europol in Ghent, which took place in the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, concluded yesterday.
In his intervention during the discussion on the recent activities of Europol, the Head of the Cypriot Delegation, Mr Demetris Demetriou, welcomed the adoption of the Action Plan for the Eastern Mediterranean Migration Route, which, he argued, is expected to contribute positively to the reduction of illegal migration flows to Cyprus. He noted that it is necessary to focus on the fight against smuggling networks and pointed out that this Plan strengthens the role of Europol. In this context, he requested further information from the Executive Director of Europol, Catherine De Bolle, on the Agency's activities in this field.
Referring to a proposal for a Regulation on combating migrant smuggling recently presented by the European Commission, Mr. Demetriou asked for further information on the new powers envisaged for Europol, the new obligations arising for Member States and their possible impact.
In her reply, the Executive Director referred to the deployment of guest officers to migrants' arrival points in countries of first reception, including Cyprus, but also to the general support provided by Europol. Regarding the proposal for a Regulation referred to by Mr Demetriou, the Chairman of the Management Board of Europol, Mr Peter De Buysscher, replied that Europol welcomes the European Commission's proposal and that at this stage the additional competences that arise for Europol as well as the budgetary implications for Europol are being evaluated at Management Board level.
Moreover, in his intervention in a session on the fight against trafficking in human beings, Mr Demetriou said that national parliaments should make it a priority to tackle this phenomenon. He stressed that, to this end, cooperation with competent bodies should be sought and appropriate tools should be found to strengthen the prevention and fight against trafficking in persons and to better protect potential victims. In this context, he pointed out that the important role of civil society and its contribution to raising awareness in society, fostering an appropriate culture, research, training and identification of potential victims should be recognised. Finally, Demetriou stressed that trafficking in persons is linked to illegal migration and in this context he denounced its instrumentalization by Turkey, which continues to channel illegal migration flows through the occupied territories to the areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
