(Back)Figures
used by the European Union : The European Commission on numbers of undocumented
migrants
"Study
on the links between legal and illegal migration", June 2004, COM(2004)412
Extracts
from Part II, page 11:
The
problems of identifying the size and characteristics of migrant populations and
recorded flows, both legal and illegal are well documented. By definition, as
illegal migrants do not identify themselves to the authorities, it is difficult
to establish a clear picture of the scale of illegal migration in the Member
States of the European Union.
Estimates
of illegal migration flows can only be derived from existing indicators linked
to the phenomenon, such as the numbers of refused entries and removals,
apprehensions of illegal migrants at the border or in the country, rejected
applications for asylum or other forms of international protection, or
applications for national regularisation procedures. To these numbers must be
added the considerable number of those who do not apply for any form of
international protection, either because they entered legally or they
“overstay”.
From
these indicators, estimates of annual inflows of illegal migration into the EU
are thought to reach over six figures. More precise figures cannot be considered
reliable. Moreover, such estimates do not add to the understanding of the
complexities of illegal migration and are open to misinterpretation. The scale
of illegal migration is nevertheless considered to be significant, and the
reduction of illegal migration flows is a political priority at both national
and EU level.
It
is therefore important to have an understanding of who illegal migrants are, and
why they come to the EU in order to establish effective policy solutions to
combat the phenomenon.
English:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/cnc/2004/com2004_0412en01.pdf
French: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/fr/com/cnc/2004/com2004_0412fr01.pdf
Dutch: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/nl/com/cnc/2004/com2004_0412nl01.pdf
German: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/de/com/cnc/2004/com2004_0412de01.pdf
Spanish: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/es/com/cnc/2004/com2004_0412es01.pdf
Italian: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/it/com/cnc/2004/com2004_0412it01.pdf
Other languages: http://www.europa.eu.int/prelex/detail_dossier_real.cfm?CL=en&DosId=191270