TNAG-2953-FCO40-4230-Hong-Kong-European-Community-visa-regime-for-British-Nationa-1993 — Page 75

ร

pa.

14.

Reference..

RESTRICTED

Mr Ricketts

Mr Masterme -

Mo ticketts she to

Wtter out

Reference: raw.VISA.dbj

MULD

345/5

RE:

2 2 SEP 1993

DES OFFI

INDEX

BDTCS/BNOS:

1.

EUROPEAN VISA POLICY

We spoke about the ad hoc Immigration Working Group which will meet in Brussels 21/22 September. The senior UK representative will be Mr Rawsthorne from the Home Office. MVD (Mr Lewty) and possibly ECD (I) will be represented on the FCO side. This is an important forum which deals with a range of issues. The visa sub-group (which met on 7 September - UK representatives from MVD and the Home Office were not able to lobby for Hong Kong) is among the sub-groups reporting to it. The Immigration Working Group reports to the Frontiers Coordinators (the UK is represented at DUS level by the Home Office), who advise the Council of Ministers.

2.

The Schengen lobbying exercise made it evident that we need to continue to take whatever opportunities present themselves to press Hong Kong's case for continued visa free access for BDTCs and BN (0)s and to refute suggestions that Hong Kong represents a jumping off point for illegal immigration from China to Europe. Hong Kong will expect this of us.

The message will of course need tailoring for the various audiences.

3. I think that we should try to get some of these Hong Kong points over at the Immigration Working Group Meeting. It would be best if Mr Rawsthorne, as the senior representative, made them. I suggest that the way to engage Mr Rawsthorne would be to ask him to make a statement at the Immigration Working Group Working Group to set the record straight following exchanges at the May meeting, when a number of delegations noted a significant increase in the number of migrants coming to Europe from China and alleged that Hong Kong was a source of these movements. (Back papers attached for your information). This is a request which we could hope that he would be willing to carry out. As a supplementary, you could ask him to make further points either in the meeting, or in the margins. The main point might be that the BN (0) s and BDTCS who enter European countries from Hong Kong are not by any definition an immigration problem. I attach a draft speaking note along these lines.

4. I have discussedthis approach with ECD (I) and MVD. Both would be happy to lobby in the margins. MVD caution that to raise visas for Hong Kong per se in the plenary could be counter productive (given the 4 - 5 counting Spain - Member States have visa regimes and presumably would not be chary of advancing counter arguments). MVD also point out that the Home Office will make our points about Hong Kong not being a spring board - not necessarily at this meeting. As I see it,

CODE 18-77

Page 75Page 76

CODE 18-77