New Borders in the Southeastern Europe and Their Impact on the Stability in the Region of Central European Initiative (CEI) 12 December 2002
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New borders in the southeastern Europe and their impact on the stability in the region of Central European Initiative (CEI) 12 december 2002 Part III. Inna Pidluska: Issues of Migration in the Region in the Context of the Enlargement: a Ukrainian perspective ................................................................ 2 Roman Solovei: Possible ways of activization of trade and economic relations at regional and cross-border levels in the triange Moldova-Romania-Ukraine...... 25 Natalia Belitser: Conflicting security concerns across the Ukraine-Moldova border ................................................................................................................. 40 Sergiu Spataru, Ion Lupan: National Control System (NSC) of transactions with strategic goods in the Republic of Moldova - reality and future perspectives. Role of custom control in respective system .................................................... 65 Grigorii Perepelita: The influence of regional factors on possible scenarios of development of Moldova-Transdniestria-Ukraine relations............................... 82 Vitalii Kulik: Settlement of the Transdniestrian conflict as a way to the regional stability zone in Eastern Europa ...................................................................... 103 Gabriela Chiorean: The Indirect Impact of Increasing Border Security........... 121 Vladimir Galca: Smuggling as a cross-border crime........................................ 128 Valentin Niculescu: The Operation of the Romania Border Police at the Eastern Border................................................................................................................ 135 Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................. 139 1 Issues of Migration in the Region in the Context of the EU Enlargement: a Ukrainian Perspective I.Pidluska, President of the Europe XXI Foundation, Kyiv, Ukraine Introduction. The East-West European migration in the region: issues and contexts International migration is seen as one of the key challenges of the new globalizing world that needs in-depth study, thorough analysis and adequate policies to deal with. The migration pressures from the poor East and South to the wealthy West and North have added to the growing feelings of insecurity in the European Union member states and raised both justified and unjustified concerns among the populations and the governments. Those feelings and concerns, rational and irrational alike, have added to prejudice against and suspicion of “the others” - not only (potential) immigrants, illegal “guest workers” and asylum seekers from outside Europe, but also eastern and southern Europeans, sometimes even including nationals of the states preparing for the accession to the EU. After the euphoria of the newly-achieved freedom of Central and Eastern Europe, brought by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the former Soviet block, began to fade, the migration policies of the EU member states, already strongly unwelcoming to international migration, began to move fast in the direction of stricter measures designed to limit immigration and regulate movement of people from outside the EU, which gave the way to claims that the Berlin Wall could be substituted shortly with a “Schengen Wall” that would keep out not only potential illegal immigrants but also discourage travel and hinder business and culture exchange within a wider Europe. As the EU enlargement process gains momentum and a number of countries of Central and Eastern Europe are preparing to join the EU and introduce the Schengen regime, it becomes increasingly obvious that neither the EU, not the candidate states are fully prepared for the new situation that will emerge in their relations with the rest of the European continent, i.e., the non-accession countries to the east and south of what will soon become the border of an enlarged European Union. Though readiness to start a meaningful dialogue on the issues of the movement of people from Eastern Europe to Western Europe has been declared by the European Union and individual member states, the issue remains largely underexplored and, therefore, surrounded by myths, assumptions and “guestimates”. The analysis – and much more so, the implementation – of immigration policies is made even more difficult by the fact that the EU, the accession countries’, as well as East European non-accession countries’ immigration policies themselves are undergoing thorough transformation, and the institutions responsible for their implementation are in flux. There are three dimensions of the migration dilemma in the region as seen in the context of the EU enlargement. First, while the EU enlargement is seen as an irreversible and generally supported process that may be beneficial to non-accession Eastern European countries as well, the current member states of the European Union are apprehensive of the influx of the mass of immigrants (seen primarily as cheap labour force for the informal sector) from the accession states. The decision to introduce restrictions on free movement of labour force from the would-be new EU member states of Central and Eastern Europe at least till 2011 has given rise to resentment and criticism of the “second-class membership” in the accession states. Second, both the current and the future member states of the EU are anxious about migration from further East, primarily from their 2 neighbour states – Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, and the Russian Federation. Hence, the adoption of restrictive immigration and visa policies by the candidate states vis-à-vis their neighbour countries is seen by the official EU as demonstration of their commitment to adhere to the EU policies but perceived by many in the accession states as a move that may hinder their own interests in relations with their neighbour countries – particularly, when shared history and/or substantial economic interests are present. Third, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, those preparing for membership and those that are not alike, have been donors of migrants to Western Europe themselves and have been used as transit routes of transnational illegal migration and organised trafficking in human beings to Western Europe. Neither of those states is able to counter the challenge of illegal migration alone. The three countries in focus – Moldova, Romania and Ukraine - have common borders and a number of common challenges in the field of management of migration flows and borders controls that they need to respond to in a cooperative manner. The purpose of this article is to explore some of those challenges from a Ukrainian perspective and suggest solutions that may be useful for dealing with the issues in the context of the EU enlargement. As Ukraine has been seen as one of the key elements of the EU efforts to manage migration flows from and through Eastern Europe, and as the major transit migration route through Moldova and Romania goes through Ukraine, the focus of article is on the Ukrainian case. The article seeks to consider the trends and statistics of westbound migration from Ukraine and of international illegal migration through the Ukrainian territory, and to discuss possible responses to the new challenges that stem from the introduction of visas by the neighbouring applicant countries, tightening of border procedures and the struggle against illegal migration, as well as to formulate proposals for measures to be taken in order to make sure that new arrangements do not hinder cross- border exchange, personal, tourist and business contacts between Ukraine, Moldova and Romania and between Ukraine, the region and the enlarged EU in general. Background: different situations, common problems The issue of migration in the area needs to be considered taking into account three different situations of the countries in focus: Moldova, Romania and Ukraine. Romania is preparing to joint the European Union and, therefore, its priority is to fulfill the membership requirements, the compliance with the Schengen acquis included. Though most of its resources, capacity and attention are devoted to fulfilling that goal, the country is experiencing substantial difficulties. While fewer Romanians leave the country to settle in Western Europe every year1, countering migration through the Romanian territory remains a major challenge. Although Romania concluded readmission agreements with Austria, Benelux, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, and continued negotiations with Portugal, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus, China, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Turkey, Latvia, Yugoslavia, Lebanon and Iran, although the Romanian authorities currently apply restrictive visa requirements to nationals of 85 states regarded as major donors of illegal migration2, and although an agreement with Moldova regulating mutual 1 In 1990, 96,919 Romanians permanently settled abroad, compared to 18,148 in 1994 and 21,635 in 1997, according to the European Parliament report, February 1999. 2 According to Romanian Mission to the EU, Florin Saghi, Counsellor, August 1998, http://www.europarl.eu.int/workingpapers/libe/104/romania_en.htm 3 travel of citizens and tightening border controls was signed on June 29, 2001, Romania was the last among the CEE accession states to receive visa-free travel arrangements with the EU3. One of the major reasons for that was its slow progress in dealing with