Athens, 28 February 2022

Hellenic Parliament delegation participates in 10th meeting of Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol

On Monday February 28, a Hellenic Parliament delegation, consisting of Standing Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice members, MPs Konstantinos Karagounis and Stavros Keletsis, participated, -via teleconference-,  in the proceedings of the 10th meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group (JPSG) on Europol, which took place in Paris.

Main topics of discussion were the Agency's activities over the past six months, Europol's contribution to the fight against migrant smuggling and the assessment of risks and opportunities from the use of artificial intelligence in Europol's activities. Keynote speakers were Europol Executive Director De Bolle and European Data Protection Supervisor Wiewiorowski.

Mr Karagounis in his intervention on the fight against migrant smuggling noted that the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean still remains extremely pressing, also calling attention to Turkey’s intolerable and inhumane tactic of migrant instrumentalization. He called for the full implementation of the EU - Turkey Statement (2016) provisions, noting that the latter must effectively prevent illegal immigration flows and contribute to the dismantling of human trafficking networks. He also called on Turkey to allow the return of illegally-staying foreign nationals, which has been suspended since March 2020, using the pandemic as an excuse. As a final point, regarding the new Pact on Immigration and Asylum, Mr Karagounis stressed the need to seek balance between responsibility and solidarity.

Mr J.P. Lecouffe, Deputy Executive Director of Europol Operations answered to Mr Karagounis stressing Europol’s particular interest and closemonitoring of the situation in our country, considering it a high priority for the Organisation, a fact proven by the assignment of 18 officers to Greece. Furthermore, the European Commission's Deputy Director-General for Immigration and Home Affairs, Mr J. Luchner, referred to the European Commission's strong interest in the full implementation of the Joint Statement on the part of Turkey, also calling on it to honour its commitments.

In his speech, Mr Keletsis noted the Union’s weaknesses in the field of foreign policy and defense, as evidenced by the war raging in Ukraine, but also the failure to reach an agreement in the negotiations on the New Pact on Immigration and Asylum.  He called on all partners to proceed together, with understanding, collectively, in solidarity but also more decisively, recalling that instrumentalization of immigration by authoritarian leaders is a dangerous weapon in an ongoing hybrid war that affects the whole of Europe. He therefore called for the amendment of Europol Regulation to be more effective in tackling organised crime, migrant smuggling and terrorism, better coordination between Member States and enhanced cooperation with third countries involved, more support tools for law enforcement authorities and respect for the protection of individual rights and humanitarian values which is what Europe stands for.

 

 

 

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