European Parliament 2014-2019

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Committee on Budgets

REPORT on the joint BUDG-LIBE mission to 22-24 July 2015

1. Introduction

From 22 to 24 July 2015 a joint BUDG-LIBE delegation visited Sicily to study and discuss how to address the migratory pressures that the region is facing, including in particular from a budgetary perspective.

The delegation met with representatives from the Italian authorities, relevant EU agencies, the Chairman of the inquiry committee of the Italian Chamber looking into the funding and system for reception, identification and retention of migrants, the Public Prosecutor of as well as representatives from a number of NGO's and international organisations. Additionally, the delegation visited two reception centres: the first reception and assistance centre for migrants upon arrival in Pozzallo and the reception centre for applicants for international protection in Mineo. 1

2. Meetings with the relevant stakeholders

Italian authorities

The delegation met with representatives from the Italian authorities, including:

 The Under Secretary of State, Mr Domenico Manzione

 The Prefects of Agrigento and Ragusa and the Vice-Prefect of

 The Heads of the Italian police (Questori) of Catania, Agrigento and Ragusa

 A representative of the national authorities in charge of AMIF spending, Ms Parisi

1 For detailed background information see the briefing prepared jointly by the Policy Departments C and D ahead of the joint mission, available at http://www.poldepnet.ep.parl.union.eu/poldept/webdav/site/poldept/shared/poldep_d/Delegations/20150714_bud g_Sicily.pdf.

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The Vice-Prefect of Catania, Mr Gullotti, described in detail the procedure that is followed when migrants arrive. He reminded the delegation that the Prefects act as the contact point and coordination centre between all the different authorities and NGOs involved in migration management. He stressed in this context the importance of working closely together and creating synergies between all stakeholders involved to ensure that emergency needs are met despite the scarcity of resources.

The Prefect of Agrigento (whose area of responsibility includes the island of Lampedusa), Mr Diomede, recalled the historical context and some statistics: since the beginning of 2015, 20.000 migrants have arrived in the Agrigento area, 15.000 of which in Lampedusa. He explained that the first reception Centre in Lampedusa is built to host 400 people, but 787 were at the time (22 July) staying in the Centre. He further clarified that every day around 300 migrants are transferred from Lampedusa to Porto Empedocle by ship, so as to avoid overcrowding. Mr Diomede mentioned that the Agrigento region has 20 reception centres as well as 38 centres for unaccompanied minors. He briefly touched upon the difficulties that Lampedusa is facing being a small island when managing migrants.

Mr Vardé, Prefect of Ragusa, told the delegation that in the past, migrants were arriving in smaller boats and numbers. This changed with the Arab Spring, and nowadays he reports migrants arriving in bigger boats, with potentially up to 1000 migrants arriving in one day. Since the beginning of 2015, around 8.680 persons have arrived in the port of Pozzallo; as the harbour is small, in most cases migrants are transferred from the ships that rescued them to smaller coastguard motorboats, which can bring them on shore. This transfer procedure however entails some risks, as well as additional costs. He indicated that the First Reception Centre in Pozzallo has a capacity of around 180 persons, which can be increased to 240 in emergency circumstances. He underlined that the current situation requires a unified, administrative coordination of all stakeholders.

Mr Cardona, Head of the Police in Catania, spoke on behalf of all three heads of the police and explained the role of the police when migrants arrive in Sicily. Mr Cardona underlined that there had never been public order problems related to migrants. He indicated that the police has managed to arrest around 30 traffickers in the , as well as around 107 smugglers who had by then already been convicted in first instance. He also mentioned that the Tribunal in Catania has been reinforced with additional magistrates. He also referred to close cooperation between the police and Frontex. As regards identification of migrants, he explained that many (in particular, migrants coming from Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan) are very reluctant to give their fingerprints, since they are worried about the application of the Dublin Regulation. However, migrants are always identified by taking their photos and the police do not use coercion to fingerprint them.

A government responsible for AMIF (the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund) spending, Ms Parisi, told the delegation that the use of funds in , in addition to a specific focus on the current situation of arrivals, follows three main axes, which are the ones also emerging from the EU agenda on migration: reception, integration, and voluntary returns.

Ms Parisi mentioned that Italy had just finalised its national programme under AMIF and its implementation will be guided by a steering group under the lead of the Under Secretary of

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State. Italy will receive approximately EUR 315 million from the AMIF under the current MFF.

The Under Secretary of State, Mr Domenico Manzione, first of all stressed that Italy no longer looks at the current migrant situation as an emergency but as a structural phenomenon requiring a long term response. Indeed, in 2011 Italy received 61.000 migrants, and in 2014 the number went as high as 171.000. By July 2015, Italy had already received 86.000 migrants. The Under Secretary of State explained that Italy is currently operating its migration policies according to a plan based on three pillars: 1) Solidarity, 2) Co-responsibilities between national, regional and local authorities and 3) Distribution of migrants across Italy (based on mandatory quotas for every Region) to facilitate their integration. Regarding the (first) relocation measure aiming at redistributing 40.000 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece to other EU Member States, dr. Manzione regretted the use of the legal basis of Article 78(3) TEU, which refers to a single Member State being confronted with an emergency and does not consider the phenomenon as a common challenge for the EU. He called on the EU to carefully consider how the re-distribution is done in practical terms and underlined the importance of the system being workable. The Under-Secretary of State also expressed regret that the decision does not include any provisions on returns.

This was followed by a lively debate between the Italian authorities and the delegation in which most MEPs took the floor to comment and ask questions to the representatives of the Italian authorities.

In reply to the questions, Under-Secretary of State Manzione explained that Italy spends around 800 million euros a year in migration management, whereas it will receive from the European Union around 300 million in the whole seven-year period. He also explained how public procurement procedures have been changed over the years in order to ensure that an adequate level of services is offered to migrants and asylum seekers (currently, the method used is that of selecting the most economically advantageous tender, i.e. the one offering the best value for money, instead of the cheapest one). He further referred to the upcoming reforms of the reception system for minors and the asylum system. In particular, the number of territorial committees who decide on asylum claims has been doubled to ensure a swift first instance decision on asylum requests. Moreover, as regards unaccompanied minors, a forthcoming regulation will redistribute the economic burden of their reception between different national authorities and will allow for the swift application of age-determination techniques whenever doubts arise as to the real age of an alleged minor.

The co-Head of delegation Arthuis closed the meeting by thanking and Italian authorities for their time and explanations and concluded that what emerged is the clear need to amend the Dublin regulation and the need for the Union to be more of an actor, instead of a mere spectator, in the area.

NGOs and international organisations

Over the three days, the delegation met with representatives from a number of NGO's and international organisations including; Save the Children, Internal Red Cross, Jesuit Refugee Service - Centro Astalli, Diritti e Frontiere, Emergency, Médecins Sans Frontières, UNHCR and Borderline Sicilia Onlus.

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The NGO representatives explained their daily work in and outside the different reception centres, including meeting basic needs (including health care) of migrants and informing them of their rights and responsibilities. Several NGOs also work on information campaigns aimed at the general public, for instance in order to clarify that the health risk caused by the arrival of migrants is very low. NGOs offering medical services explained that they offer not only physical, but also psychological care, given that many persons are traumatised, and that they work in cooperation with public authorities. Some NGOs regretted the lack of well-trained cultural mediators. Several NGOs underlined the importance of coordination between the Italian authorities and the NGOs, as well as between NGOs themselves, and referred in this context to a (not yet operational) Steering Group in Catania aiming at coordinating the efforts of all relevant stakeholders. Several NGOs also highlighted the need for additional funding in light of the increasing number of migrants arriving in Italy. The NGO representatives also stressed the problems faced in reception centres for unaccompanied minors, some of which were closed down given the complete absence of support measures and overnight surveillance (which results in a high risk for minors themselves). Some NGO representatives also reported delays in issuing identity documents to asylum seekers.

The Chair of the Inquiry Committee

The Committee of Inquiry has been set up by the Italian Chamber of Deputies in November 2014; it has 21 Members and is chaired by Mr Gennaro Migliore. The committee is in charge of inquiries and analysis - with the same prerogatives, powers and limits as the judicial authority - of the conditions of retention of migrants and asylum seekers in the respective centres as well as in the identification and expulsion centres. It will evaluate whether the existing system of management of each centre is economically sustainable. If needed, it will propose possible new legal instruments in order to improve the management of migration.

Mr Migliore explained how the inquiry committee works, underlining that it operates independently of the Italian government.

When talking about the structure and running of the different reception centres, Mr Migliore recalled that the tendency in the past was to gather migrants in large centres. However, in his opinion, large centres seem to be less efficient than small centres, and he referred in this context to some bad experiences with the running of the large Mineo reception centre. He was therefore hoping that the system would evolve towards more and smaller reception centres with stronger focus on the quality of reception conditions than on the costs.

Regarding financing, Mr Migliore informed the delegation that the reception centres receive EUR 35 per day per migrant (EUR 45 in the case of unaccompanied minors), out of which EUR 2.5 is to be paid out to the migrants as pocket money. He also referred to the monthly budget of the Triton operation (EUR 2.9 million) and the funds that Italy had recently received for emergency measures under the AMIF (EUR 13.7 million in addition to the ordinary amount allocated to Italy from the AMIF, see annex 1), the latter to address in particular the reception conditions for unaccompanied minors and cope with the large increase of migrants arriving in Italy in general. Finally he referred to Draft Amending Budget 5 (now Amending Budget 5) which allocates an additional EUR 57 million from the EU budget in 2015 to frontline Member States.

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Regarding cooperation, Mr Migliore mentioned that the inquiry committee cooperates closely with Frontex, EASO and Europol and that the Committee would be happy to work with and pass on updated information, including statistics, to the European Parliament.

Finally, he concluded based on the inquiry committee's interim findings that there is a clear need for an EU common asylum system with emphasis on human rights.

The Public Prosecutor of Caltagirone, in charge of the Mineo investigation

The delegation heard dr. Giuseppe Verzera, the Public prosecutor of Caltagirone, in charge of the investigation on the management of the Mineo Reception center for asylum seekers (CARA). The Prosecutor explained that one aspect of the investigation concerns the public procurement procedures for the management of the CARA, as well as whether or not the Centre receives funding for more days than the migrants actually stay. The Prosecutor clarified that the investigations concern mainly misuse of national funds coming from the Home Affairs Ministry.

Relevant EU agencies, representatives from the Triton coordination centre in Rome and representatives from the Italian Navy headquarters in Augusta

The delegation met with representatives from the international coordination centre in Rome and from the Italian Navy headquarters in Augusta, as well as with representatives of Frontex, EASO and Europol who form part of the EU regional task force (EURTF) in Catania and who will cooperate with Italian authorities in the forthcoming hotspots (as announced in the EU Agenda on migration1). .

Rear Admiral Nicola de Felice, from the Italian Navy headquarters in Augusta, showed a short documentary explaining how the Italian Navy ran the Mare Nostrum operation, an Italian humanitarian and security operation organised after the tragic death of as many as 360 persons off the island of Lampedusa on 3 October 2013.

Rear Admiral de Felice also referred to the latest tragedies of 13 and of 18 April this year when as many as respectively 400 and 800 migrants drowned off the Libyan cost. In June, a European Union military operation in the Southern Central Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR MED) was launched. The aim of this military operation is to undertake systematic efforts to identify, capture and dispose of vessels as well as enabling assets used or suspected of being used by migrant smugglers or traffickers.

Two representatives from the international coordination centre in Rome, General Antonino Iraso and Captain Filippo Ciaramelletti, briefly explained how the EU funded operation Triton is operated and coordinated: while each Member State retains control over its own forces, the Rome Centre coordinates all vessels and aircrafts which operate in the Sicilian Channel. The primary objective of the operation is border control. Saving lives is an important priority, and until July 2015, over 8.000 persons had been rescued. They further explained that, in the context of migration flows to Italy, often the scafisti (those who drive

1 In the hotspots, the European Asylum Support Office, Frontex and Europol will work on the ground with frontline Member States to swiftly identify, register and fingerprint incoming migrants: see European Agenda on Migration, page 6.

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the migrants’ boats) are migrants themselves, who have been offered a small discount, or violently forced, by smugglers to sail the boat.

Mr Florea Ganea, Frontex’ operational officer, spelled out in more details how the Triton operation functions on a daily basis, employing approximately on average 500 persons per month in Italy. He reminded the delegation that Frontex supports both surveillance and enhanced search and rescue (SAR) operations: although the latter are the primary responsibility of the Member States, Frontex contributed to 35% of SAR operations carried out. As regards hotspots, the role of Frontex is to coordinate the EU regional task force, cooperating with EASO, Europol, as well as national authorities, in order to debrief and screen migrants and assist in their identification.

Ms Lotje Made, from Europol, gave a short introduction to Europol's activities, in particular Joint Operation Team (JOT) Mare and their role in the EURTF. JOT Mare focuses on tackling organised criminal groups and collecting and analysing information on smuggling activities, with the aim of mapping all suspicious activities taking place in the Mediterranean. As regards Europol’s role in the hotspots, it will offer direct support to Italian law enforcement authorities, collecting and analysing data on the spot. She explained that the added value of hotspots would be the direct gathering of information that is normally channelled in 3 stages, thus being able to immediately select the most relevant information. While at the moment, one Europol expert was deployed in Catania, an additional two or three would need to be deployed once the EURTF would be moved to its final premises. Ms Made highlighted the problem of scarce resources (staff) that the agency is facing in light of the increasing migration flows and of the future opening of more hotspots, including in Greece.

Mr Jean-Pierre Schembri, from EASO, highlighted the enhanced role of the agency in light of the European Agenda on Migration and the hotspots concept. He clarified that EASO officers are ready to be deployed in Italy, as soon as the agreement with national authorities will be signed, in order to help with the registration of asylum seekers and, if the Italian Government so will request, the joint processing of applications. He explained that EASO had already launched a request for national experts to be deployed for the joint processing of applications. He underlined that EASO is a small organisation and additional resources are required to fulfil its new role, both regarding staff and appropriations.

3. Visit of reception centres in Pozzallo and Mineo

The Pozzallo CPSA

The Pozzallo CPSA (centre for first reception and assistance) is located in the port of Pozzallo, in the premises formerly used as customs offices. Its focus is on providing emergency first-aid and humanitarian assistance. Migrants would not ordinarily remain in the CPSA for longer than 48 hours before being transferred to another appropriate reception facility. According to the Italian authorities, the Centre is made for 180 migrants, but can host up to 240 in exceptional circumstances. Under the new reception plan put forward by the government, the port of Pozzallo is due to become one of the "hotspots" where all medical screening and identification procedures are to be carried out before onward transfer to a regional hub.

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The delegation visited the reception centre in Pozzallo, as well as the Frontex local office inside the Centre in the presence of the local mayor, Mr Luigi Ammatuna, as well as of the police authorities. At the time of the visit approximately 100 migrants were at the Centre, mostly having been transferred there from other centres; generally, migrants in the centre are disembarked directly there. The Mayor and the police authorities explained in detail the daily running of the Centre, which is divided in two separate areas for men and women (the latter was empty at the time of the visit). The common men’s area is a big room, with numerous beds and mattresses. The centre also includes a common bathroom with showers, a small medical area, and an area which, at the time of the delegation, was used for the identification of migrants. Members were able to see how this process works in practice: at the time of the visit, migrants were being photographed by the police and identified with the help of a cultural mediator/translator. Members had the opportunity to ask questions to the persons present in the centre. One of the problems of the Pozzallo centre, according to the MSF officers who work in there, is that the centre still has a reception capacity of around 200 persons, while the harbour is facing disembarkations of around 400 persons a time already since 2014; thus, reception conditions vary greatly depending on the number of persons hosted there.

The Mineo Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers (CARA)

Mineo is the largest reception centre for asylum seekers in Europe: it has a reception capacity of around 3.000 persons, although it has sometimes hosted as many as 4.000 persons. At the time of the visit, approximately 3.400 migrants were at the Centre, most of them from sub-Saharan Africa and Pakistan. Members were briefed by the Director of the centre, Mr Maccarrone, and by a representative of the police authorities about the organisation of the centre, its daily running, as well as the functioning of the asylum procedures in Italy (from identification and fingerprinting to the issuance of a provisional residence permit and the final decision on the asylum claim). The Director explained that the Centre includes 404 houses of around 160 sqm, each one accommodating up to 10 asylum seekers.

After talking to the Director and representatives from the Italian authorities, Members had an opportunity to visit the Centre, including the migrant's accommodations, and to ask questions to the migrants. They also met with a group of survivors from the 3 October 2013 tragic shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa.

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ANNEX 1: EU budget financial resources for Italy per year1

MFF 2003-2013 migration related EU funds received by Italy

According to European Commission, from 2007 to 2013 Italy received 478.7 million € from the Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows Programme (SOLID), which was channelling financial aid to the country through the following four funds:

Table 1: EU funds for migration allocated to Italy in the period 2007-2013 Fund Amount €

External Borders Fund 250.2 million

European Integration 148.7 million Fund

Return Fund 43.8 million

European Refugee Fund 36.1 million

In October 2013, following the Lampedusa tragedy, during which 359 immigrants lost their lives, the European Commission proposed a new emergency package, which allocated EUR 30 million to Italy in order to face extreme migratory pressure.

This support package, which was announced through COM(2013)869, consisted of the following elements:

Table 2: Additional support package allocated to Italy 2013 Fund Amount €

External Borders Fund 12 million and the Return Fund

Frontex Joint 7.9 million Operations in the Central Mediterranean

European Refugee Fund 10 million

The overall package aims at improving both hosting services for asylum seekers as well as surveillance and rescue capabilities.

1 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-4453_it.htm

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2014-2020 MFF - migration related EU funds received by Italy

From 2014 to 2020, Italy will receive financial assistance for migration issues through the new Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and Internal Security Fund (ISF). The first fund focuses on asylum, integration and legal matters, including return of irregulars, while the second tool covers issues such as internal security, law enforcement cooperation, border management and related IT systems. The two funds will provide Italy with the following amounts of money for the 2014-2020 period:

Table 3: EU funds for migration allocation to Italy in the 2014-2020 period

Fund Amount €

Asylum, Migration and 310.4 million Integration Fund

Internal Security Fund 212 million

In 2014, Italy received 1.7 million € from the AMIF in order to carry out the action “Consolidating reception capacities in respect of migratory flows reaching strategic border points of Italian territory – Presidium IX”. This project, which is being implemented through cooperation between the Italian authorities, the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organisation for Migration, Save the Children Italy and the Italian Red Cross, aims at supporting first arrival procedures, such as reception, medical screening, assistance to vulnerable people and unaccompanied minors, as well as monitoring reception conditions of hosting cent res for asylum seekers.

In February 2015 the Commission allocated 13.7 million € in emergency funding to Italy through the AMIF.

In addition, the AMIF is financing the European Migration Network (EMN) initiative, which has allocated 1.01 million € to the Italian National Research Council (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche) in order to finance migration related activities for the 2014-2016 period.

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ANNEX 2: Final programme

Programme

JOINT BUDG - LIBE MISSION TO SICILY

DAY 1: WEDNESDAY, 22 JULY 2015

15.00: Individual arrivals to Catania and transfer to HOTEL EXCELSIOR CATANIA Piazza G. Verga 39, 95159 Catania 16.30 - 18.00: Meetings with NGOs and international organisations: Save the Children, International Red Cross, Arci (Servizio Civile Sicilia), JRS - Centro Astalli, Diritti e Frontiere and the NGO Emergency Venue: Conference room at Hotel Excelsior

18.00 - 19.00: Meeting with: - Chair of the inquiry committee of the Italian Chamber, Mr Gennaro Migliore, looking into the funding and system for reception, identification and retention of migrants Venue: Conference room at Hotel Excelsior

19.00 - 21.00: Transfer by bus and meetings with: - The Under Secretary of State, Domenico Manzione

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- The government responsible for the AMIF spending: a representative of the Dipartimento Libertà civili - The Prefects of Catania, Agrigento and Ragusa - The Heads of the Italian police in Catania, Agrigento and Ragusa Venue: Prefettura di Catania (Via Prefettura, 14, 95124 Catania)

DAY 2: THURSDAY, 23 JULY 2015

07.30 - 09.45: Transfer by bus to Pozzallo

09.45 - 11:45: Visit of the Centro di Primo Soccorso ed Accoglienza of Pozzallo, including meeting with the mayor of Pozzallo, Mr Luigi Ammatuna Venue: Centro di Primo Soccorso ed Accoglienza of Pozzallo

11.45 – 14.00: Meeting with Médecins Sans Frontières at restaurant Sabbenerica, after which it will be possible to have lunch in the restaurant Venue: Restaurant Sabbenerica, Pozzallo

14.00 - 16.00: Transfer by bus from Pozzallo to Catania

16.00 - 18.00: Meetings with: - Staff in charge of Frontex and joint operation Triton - Representative(s) from the Triton coordination centre in Rome - Staff in charge of EASO - Staff in charge of Europol - Representative(s) from the Italian Navy headquarters of Augusta (TBC) Venue: Conference room at Hotel Excelsior

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18:00 - 19:00: Meeting with: - Public Prosecutor of Caltagirone (in charge of Mineo fraud investigation) Venue: Conference room at Hotel Excelsior

19.00 - 19.15: Break

19.15 - 20.00: Press conference Venue: Conference room at Hotel Excelsior

DAY 3: FRIDAY, 24 JULY 2015

07:45 - 9.30: Transfer by bus to Mineo

09:30 - 11.30: Visit of C.A.R.A (Centro di Accoglienza per Richiedenti Asilo) - Including exchanges with UNHCR and the NGO Borderline Sicilia Onlus Venue: Centro di Accoglienza per Richiedenti Asilo

11:30 - 13.00: Transfer by bus from Mineo to Catania Airport

13:00: Arrival in Catania Airport and end of the program

**********

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ANNEX 3: List of participants

BUDG-LIBE mission to Sicily (IT)22-24 July 2015

MEMBERS

Official Members Group Committee

Mr Jean Arthuis (Chair of BUDG) ALDE BUDG

Ms. Iliana Iotova (Vice-Chair of LIBE) S&D LIBE

Mr José Manuel Fernandes EPP BUDG

Mr. Salvatore Domenico Pogliese EPP LIBE

Mr Tomas Zdechovsky EPP BUDG

Ms. Eider Gardiazabal Rubial S&D BUDG

Ms. Claudia Tapardel S&D BUDG

M. Derek Vaughan S&D BUDG

Mr Bernd Kölmel ECR BUDG

M. Indrek Tarand Greens/EFA BUDG

Ms. Jean Lambert Greens/EFA LIBE

Accompanying Members from the committees Group Committee elected in Italy, cf. Articles 4(1)(a)

Mr Giovanni La Via EPP BUDG

Ms. Kashetu Kyenge S&D LIBE

Ms. Laura Ferrara EFDD LIBE

Mr. Ignazio Corrao EFDD LIBE

Mr Marco Zanni EFDD BUDG

Mr. Marco Valli EFDD BUDG

Accompanying Members from the committees not Group Committee elected in Italy, cf. Articles 4(1)(b)

Mr. Richard Ashworth ECR BUDG

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Political groups

EPP Anne KACZMAREK (BUDG)

S&D Hanna GORNA (BUDG)

GUE/NGL Carmen HILARIO (BUDG)

EFDD Andrea CURRI (BUDG)

Secretariat Staff

BUDG: Anne VITREY (Director Dir. D)

Mette TONSBERG (AD)

Jessie L'ECLUSE (AST)

LIBE: Rosa RAFFAELLI (AD)

Petra GOETZ (AST)

Interpreters (Technician: Mr. Pascal GODART)

Booth Title First name Last name

M. ROBERTO AQUINO IT M. PIERGIORGIO GINEFRA

Mlle INGRID CAROLINE BRENDA BEHRMANN DE Mme ULRIKE EGGER

M. PHILIPPE DEMAY FR MAD. PASCALE DILLARD

M. NEIL FRANCIS HARFORD EN M. ANDREW MCILROY

MAD. SASHKA KIRILOVA HRISTOVA

BG MAD. KRASSIMIRA IVANOVA

MAD. TEODORA MIHAYLOVA

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