Third-country nationals: joint flights for removals of illegal emigrants. Initiative Italy

In a note sent to the delegations by the Italian Presidency, Italy sets out an explanatory memorandum of its initiative aiming to describe the objectives of the draft decision as well as a series of specific observations concerning the articles of the initiative. The purpose of this Decision is to rationalise operations for removals of third-country nationals who are the subject of removal orders taken by two or more Member States, through the organisation of joint flights. The Italian Presidency reinserts its initiative in the wider context of asylum and immigration questions and attaches the proposal to the comprehensive plan to combat illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings, adopted on 28 February 2002. It emphasises, among other things, that readmission and return policy is an integral and vital component of the fight against illegal immigration and states that a Community return policy needs to be based on common principles and common measures. The plan for the management of the external borders of the Member States of the European Union, approved by the Council on 13 June 2002, provides for rational repatriation operations. The return action programme, approved by the Council on 28 and 29 November 2002, recommends that the return of illegally resident third-country nationals should be made as efficient as possible by sharing existing capacities for such returns.�