European Migration: Western Balkans

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 24 May 2016.

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Photo of Karen Lumley Karen Lumley Conservative, Redditch 12:00, 24 May 2016

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of recent steps to reduce migration to Europe through the western Balkans.

Photo of Philip Hammond Philip Hammond Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Since agreement was reached between the EU and Turkey on additional measures to control migration to Europe, we have seen a very significant reduction in the number of migrants arriving in Greece and transiting through the western Balkans.

Photo of Karen Lumley Karen Lumley Conservative, Redditch

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the root cause of the migration pushing people through the Balkans has been the civil war in Syria? Does he agree that this country must certainly never be part of the Schengen area, which could allow people to be pushed to the UK?

Photo of Philip Hammond Philip Hammond Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

I strongly agree with my hon. Friend’s point. Of course we must not be part of the Schengen area. We will not be part of the Schengen area, and thanks to the special arrangements we have negotiated with the European Union, we are able to enjoy the benefits of membership without being forced to take part in the passport-free area.

I would say to my hon. Friend that although the Syrian civil war was clearly the immediate cause of the flow of refugees that Europe faced, primarily last year, statistics show that about 50% of those arriving in Greece are actually not from Syria or the surrounding area but come from further afield. What started as an exodus from the Syrian civil war and the Daesh occupation has become a wider movement of people.

Photo of Andrew Gwynne Andrew Gwynne Shadow Minister (Health)

The measures introduced by our European partners—working with others countries, particularly in the former Yugoslavia —such as the civil protection mechanism are starting to have an impact in the region. What further work can be done to share information through Europol to make sure that we really tackle the scourge of smuggling across eastern and central Europe?

Photo of Philip Hammond Philip Hammond Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

The hon. Gentleman is right: sharing information between European security agencies, intelligence agencies and border police is key to breaking the business model of the smugglers. That is one of the key elements to solving this problem. Such people are being exploited by the organised criminal gangs that are taking their money, often for very little in return, and we need to nail them.

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn Shadow Foreign Secretary

On migration to Europe, there has been a great deal of discussion recently about potential new EU member states. Article 49 of the treaty, which deals with countries applying to join the EU, says:

“The applicant State shall address its application to the Council, which shall act unanimously”.

It is therefore clear that each existing member state has a veto. However, this weekend a serving member of the Government went on national television and denied this. One of the seven principles of public life is:

“Holders of public office should be truthful.”

Will the Foreign Secretary therefore take this opportunity to confirm the correct position, as the Prime Minister has already done on Sunday?

Photo of Philip Hammond Philip Hammond Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Yes, I am very happy to do so. As we have said ad nauseam, everyone single member state has a veto on the accession of any new member state. In our case, any proposal to expand the European Union would require the approval of this House. I can assure the House that those safeguards remain in place and are undiluted, and all my colleagues in the Government should be fully aware of that situation.