Lords to investigate the EU Action Plan against migrant smuggling
The House of Lords EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee starts its new inquiry into the EU's Action Plan against migrant smuggling on Wednesday 15 July, when it will question a representative from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Director of Europol.
The inquiry provides an opportunity for the Committee to feed into the upcoming review of EU legislation on migrant smuggling, which the Commission announced in the Action Plan.
In the first session, at 10.30am, the Committee will hear from Andrej Mahecic, Senior External Relations Officer, UNHCR UK.
It will ask Mr Mahecic, among other things, whether EU Member States are currently doing enough to meet their obligations under the existing international framework against migrant smuggling; whether EU institutions currently cooperate with the UNHCR to address migrant smuggling; and if current EU action against migrant smuggling, including actions suggested in the Action Plan, strike the correct balance between immigration control and refugee protection.
Following on, at 11.30am, the Committee will hear from Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol.
The Committee is likely to question Mr Wainwright on issues including the intelligence collected and analysed by Europol, and whether it can shed any light on the root causes of irregular migration; whether the European Commission has prioritised the correct set of actions for this particular timeframe, and whether those actions are achievable within five years; and the proposed role for Europol under the Action Plan, including its cooperation with other EU Agencies in this respect.
The evidence sessions will take place from 10.30am, on Wednesday 15 July in Committee Room 3 of the House of Lords.
