Notes from Seville” “

The Summit of EU heads of state and of government, concluding Spain’s six months’ Presidency of the EU, was held in Seville on 21 and 22 June. Denmark is due to take over the revolving Presidency on 1st July. Below we give a brief résumé of the main decisions taken on the questions of asylum and immigration, development, security and the Middle East. Asylum and immigration: The conclusions of the Summit speak of the “need to develop a joint policy of the European Union on the questions of asylum and immigration that may on the one hand promote the integration of the immigrants legally resident in the EU and on the other combat clandestine immigration and the trade in human beings”. The proposal to impose sanctions in the form of the suspension of aid, or the abrogation of accords of cooperation with those countries of origin or of transit of clandestine migration that fail to collaborate with the EU authorities in combating illegal immigration, was rejected, thanks to the French and Swedish vetos, to which the support of the Uk was added in extremis. The Summit urged the Council and the Commission to adopt common measures relating to visas, accords of re-admission, repatriation and expulsion. The European Council further “considers it necessary to proceed to a systematic evaluation of relations with the third countries that fail to cooperate in combating illegal immigration”, declaring that “an insufficient cooperation on the part of one country could make it more difficult to develop relations between the country in question and the Union”. Lastly, the Council asked that the regulations relating to the status of refugee, to the right to be joined by members of the immigrant’s family, and to the status of long-term residents be approved without further delay (by June 2003). It asked that the common regulations on asylum procedures also be approved (by 2003). Johannesburg: The Summit approved the general EU positions defined last month on the world Summit on sustainable development scheduled to be held in the South African capital at the end of August. It reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to increase the allocation of state aid to development. It also pledged to do its utmost to ensure that other developed countries participate in the EU programme for globalization, trade and finance to favour the access of the less developed countries to the markets of the “rich” countries. The Summit also recalled “the importance, in the context of sustainable development, of maintaining the objective of food security as a fundamental element of the fight against poverty”. European policy of security and defence: The Council took two decisions of particular importance: the decision to assume control of the police mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 2003 in substitution for the UN command, and the willingness to take over from NATO in the role of peacekeeping in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Council also adopted a “Draft Declaration of the European Council on the contribution of European foreign policy and joint security, including European policy of security and defence, to the campaign against terrorism”. In this declaration it is confirmed that this “will remain a priority objective of the European Union and one of the mainstays of its external policy relations”. The future actions of the Union in the areas of foreign policy, joint security and defence policy will be concentrated on the prevention of conflicts, on the promotion of human rights and democracy, on the exchange of intelligence, and on the examination of military and civil capabilities to better protect the civil populations. Middle East: The heads of state and of government adopted a Declaration on the Middle East in which the dramatic nature of the current situation is underlined. The peaceful solution of the crisis may be obtained, they declare, only with the active involvement of the international Community. The declaration also emphasizes that “a solution can only be achieved through negotiation”, and expresses the hope that “the final objective should be two States that live side by side within secure and recognized frontiers and that maintain normal relations with the surrounding countries”. The Declaration affirms that “walls will not bring peace”, and condemns all terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. It also emphasizes that “the reform of the Palestinian Authority is of fundamental importance”. G.A.G.