Second Progress Report of the Special Representaive of the Council of Europe for National Refugees and Over-population
Progress report
| Doc. 694
| 30 September 1957
Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction - Page 2
ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE
A. Vocational training - Page 2
B. Greater freedom of movement for manpower - Page 6
C. Overseas emigration - Page 8
D. Period of validity of passports and cost of issue and renewal - Page 9
E. Reduced railway fares for migrant workers - Page 10
F. Participation in meetings of governmental or non-governmental international organisations - Page 11
G. Relations with [international organisations - Page 11
H. Visit to the United States - Page 12
RESETTLEMENT FUND
I. Italian Government project for the construction of individual dwellings for Italian workers in France - Page 15
J. Housing project of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for German refugees in the Hamburg and Karlsruhe areas - Page 16
K. Project of the Greek Government for the re-organisation of the vocational training schools of the National Institute under the patronage of His Majesty the King of Greece - Page 17
L. Projects of the Government of the Republic of Turkey - Page 18
M. Project of the Italian Government for the construction of a reception centre for emigrants at Verona (Italy) - Page 19
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1
1. This Report covers the period from 1st October 1956 to 30th September 1957. Part I deals with activities of the Special Representative in the general field of over-population, in accordance with the mandate conferred on him by Resolution (56) 8 of the Committee of Ministers. Part II reports on the achievements of the Resettlement Fund for National Refugees and Over-population established under the Partial Agreement of 16th April 1956.
Activities of the Special Representative
1.1.1 Vocational training
2. In my first Progress Report submitted in October 1956 I discussed some of the problems facing the Western European countries because of the rapid development of mechanisation, the introduction of automation on an increasing scale and the progress achieved through the industrial use of nuclear energy. I then drew the attention of the Committee of Ministers and the Consultative Assembly to one of the most immediate consequences of this typically XXth century phenomenon, namely the urgent need for all countries to re-train part of their unskilled, manpower and give young workers an adequate apprenticeship in the work awaiting them, which demands more and more technical ability.
3. For this reason, at the second meeting of the Special Representative's Advisory Committee, in November 1956, I raised the question of vocational training within the framework of the Council of Europe countries.
4. After a preliminary exchange of views on this question, the Advisory Committee agreed that, in accordance with his duties described in paragraph I of Resolution (56) 8, the Special Representative should supply a stimulus to the Member Governments in this field and examine the possibility of the Council of Europe Resettlement Fund providing loans to improve or facilitate the organisation of vocational training services in the less fortunate countries.
5. At its third meeting, held in Paris on 20th May last, I supplied the Advisory Committee with all the information I had obtained from the I. L. 0., 0. E. E. C, and I. C. E. M., with which I have been in the closest collaboration since the earliest days of my work as Council of Europe Special Representative, as well as from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the International Federation of Christian Trade Unions, which have joined us in our efforts and have been sending representatives to meetings of the Advisory Committee since May 1957.
6. The information at my disposal has confirmed me in the view that the problem of skilled labour, particularly as it affects the migration of labour from one European country to another and overseas, will be insoluble without clearly defined vocational training programmes, sometimes on a broader than national scale.
7. It would appear, moreover :
a that a drive to meet the demand for skilled labour should be regarded as a matter of some urgency in either emigration or immigration countries, according to circumstances, with respect to the following sectors : building, metallurgy, the hotel industry, electricity, skilled farm workers and agricultural mechanics ;
b that action is needed to improve vocational training in the mining industry. (The E. C. S. C. is rightly concerning itself with this problem, and I intend to approach its competent organs with a view to co-ordinating our efforts);
c that the hotel industry is experiencing a shortage of labour in certain immigration countries, even in the off-season, and new vocational training facilities should therefore be provided iii this field;
d that substantial assistance is required to train workers for the new industries now being created in the under-developed areas.
8. I need not dwell on the fact that meeting the demand for skilled labour generally means a more economic use of such labour. Though the money required to provide vocational training for unskilled workers will involve the Governments in additional public expenditure, the resulting increase in supplies of manpower will lead to fuller employment, increased production and, in some cases, a reduction in the burden of " unemployment allowances " .
9. In view of the social and economic factors outlined above, the Advisory Committee has endorsed the Special Representative's grounds for concerning himself with this problem.
10. It has unanimously agreed with him :
a that the vocational training problem is a particularly serious one for the European countries;
b that it is of concern not only to the over-populated or emigration countries, but also to the immigration countries and to any European country which is dependent on supplies of skilled labour to keep pace with faster industrialisation through automation and thus maintain the economic and social standards of its citizens.
11. I would formally request the Committee of Ministers and the Consultative Assembly to agree to this principle, which, in my view, represents the basis for essential action in the field of vocational training.
12. If useful work is to be done in this field and any action already taken by international organisations is to be given due support, it is my personal view that the basic problems of vocational training should, first, be examined by a committee of qualified experts asked to pronounce on the possibility :
o f guiding Member Governments in vocational training matters;
o f carrying out on a European basis certain concrete vocational training projects designed to provide more skilled labour in particular sectors.
The Advisory Committee has endorsed this approach.
13. True to the principle of avoiding duplication with the work of other international organisations, I took advantage of the increasingly close collaboration which I have established with 0. E. E. C. since my appointment as Special Representative of Council of Europe to ask the Secretary-General of that Organisation whether the special Working Party of its Manpower Committee which studies vocational training questions might be invited to give a technical opinion on certain problems facing Western European countries, which are now receiving my particular attention. These are :
a How to overcome the shortage of vocational training instructors;
b How to make effective use of the techniques of accelerated vocational training, which are proving more and more essential to meet the urgent need for skilled labour in certain trades;
c To examine, and, if necessary, consider overhauling methods now employed in European countries for the vocational training of young workers;
d To examine, within the scope of the problems of intra and extra-European movements of manpower, at what place vocational training should be given (i.e. whether it should be given in the country of origin, the country to which the worker is to move or partly in each);
e How to bring pressure to bear on the countries concerned to conclude or improve bilateral and multilateral agreements covering vocational training programmes designed to make it easier for industries in another country to employ foreign labour;
f Ways and means of assisting countries lacking the resources to train their surplus population.
14. The Executive Committee of 0. E. E. C. has kindly acceded to my request, and the experts of the OEEC Manpower Committee will furnish an opinion on the above questions in the next few weeks-questions which I deliberately limited in number and range.
15. I shall therefore have an opportunity to examine their Report at a forthcoming meeting of the Advisory Committee and, by the beginning of next year, I hope to be able to submit my conclusions together with concrete proposals to the Governments.
16. As for the possibility of the Resettlement Fund providing loans for vocational training purposes, first,chances of experimenting in this field have been offered by the Greek Government, in a project for the equipment of vocational training centres at the National Institute of H. M. the King of the Hellenes, by the Government of the Turkish Republic in a project for building a reception centre for national refugees, equipped with a vocational training centre, at Touzla (Istanbul), and by the Italian Government, which has included a centre for accelerated vocational training in its plans for building a reception centre for emigrants at Verona. Further reference will be made to these projects in the section of this Report devoted to the work of the Resettlement Fund.
1.1.2 Greater freedom of movement for manpower
17. Having been instructed in paragraph 6 of Resolution (56) 8 of the Committee of Ministers " to facilitate the political and moral support of the Council of Europe for the activities of the specialised organisations ", I should be failing in my duty if I did not draw the attention of the Council of Europe, and particularly of the Consultative Assembly, to 0. E. E. C.'s achievements in facilitating the movements of manpower in Europe.
18. The latest report of the OEEC Manpower Liberalisation Group, which shows how the Decision governing the employment of nationals of member countries was applied in 1956, reveals that the period of intense economic activity which the member countries are now experiencing has influenced the employment of foreign labour and resulted in the issue of more labour permits.
19. The figures appended below, which show the number of permits first issued or renewed by the European countries with the highest intake of foreign labour give some idea of this increase up to 1st January 1957. Austria : 9,290 permits first issued or renewed in 1954, — 11,910 permits first issued or renewed in 1956. Belgium : 45,702 permits first issued or renewed in 1954, — 69,313 permits first issued or renewed in 1956. France : 94,851 permits first issued or renewed in 1954, — 150,333 permits first issued or renewed in 1956. Germany : 19,142 permits first issued or renewed in 1954, — 32,223 permits first issued or renewed in 1956. Sweden : 15,468 permits first issued or renewed in 1954, —• 30,209 permits first issued or renewed in 1956. Switzerland : 284,616 permits first issued or renewed in 1954, — 354,718 permits first issued or renewed in 1956. United Kingdom: 30,872 permits first issued or renewed in 1954, — 38,158 permits first issued or renewed in 1956.
Note
20. The OEEC report points out, however, that in some cases the formalities for issuing permits are still too complex and that joint action with the trade union organisations would he necessary in certain countries to break down local resistance to the employment of foreign labour at a time when it is in the interests of local labour to remove the obstacles to greater production in certain sectors.
21. I should like to take this opportunity of commending to the Member Governments of the Council of Europe the recommendations of 0. E. E. C. on the simplification of labour permit formalities, and of renewing my last year's appeal in this connection, namely that the arrangements of the Council of 0. E. E. C. for liberalising movements of manpower should be applied by the Member Governments of the Council of Europe in as liberal and courageous a manner as possible.
22. As for the information campaign among workers, I have already been in touch with the relevant trade union organisations with the object of studying with them, through the national trade unions, how we can best inform the workers of the benefits of manpower mobility, the future trend of which will also be influenced by new forms of European co-operation arising from the Rome Treaty and the possible establishment of a " free trade area ".
1.1.3 Overseas emigration
23. By virtue of my close relations with international organisations, I was able to attend the 46th Session of the Council of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration, at which I reported on the demographic work of the Council of Europe and the prospects of the Resettlement Fund.
24. The Council of Europe will be informed of the achievements and prospects of the I. C. E. M. in the annual report of that body, but, as Special Representative of the Council of Europe for National Refugees and Overpopulation, I wish to go out of my way to pay tribute to the work done by the I. C. E. M. on behalf of the Hungarian refugees. There can be no doubt that, but for the prompt intervention of the I. C. E. M., the Hungarian refugee problem in Austria might have become more serious than it was.
25. However, thanks to the I. C. E. M., 144,654 of the 171, 365 refugees who reached Austria between 1st November 1956 and 15th August 1957, have so far been moved to other European countries or away from Europe.
26. As for overseas migration, which at present serves as a safety-valve for the over-populated European countries, and which I am under official instructions to follow closely, the ICEM Report will show, among other things, that there has been a very marked falling-off of migration, particularly from Southern Europe and towards Latin America (mainly to Argentina and Brazil). This downward trend which amounted to 56 % in 1956 as compared with 1954 (about 20,000 emigrants in 1956 as against 46,000 in 1954) may continue in 1957.
27. One of the reasons for this phenomenon is a shortage of skilled labour. That is why I have asked the I. C. E. M. to co-operate with the I. L. O. and O. E. E. C. and myself in the vocational training programme which I have outlined above.
28. I would add, as an indication, that ICEM estimates for overseas emigration in 1957 are as follows :
Normal Programme - 124,360
Hungarian Programme :
a Overseas - 49,520
b Intra-European - 8,370
c From Yugoslavia - 7,925
65,815
Far Eastern Programme - 2,700
Programme for refugees from the Middle East - 15,150
Other migrants - 100
TOTAL - 208,125
1.1.4 Period of validity of passports and cost of issue and renewal
29. My attention having been drawn to these problems, I thought it advisable to report on them to the Advisory Committee at its third meeting last May. The OEEC representative informed us of the various recommendations on the subject addressed by the Council of 0. E. E. C. to its member countries. Information on the way in which these recommendations have been followed will be available in the near future. The representatives of Belgium and the Netherlands have already informed the Special Representative that the validity of passports has been extended in their countries to 4 and 5 years respectively, in accordance with the recommendations of 0. E. E. C. and the Council of Europe. Moreover, the representative of Italy has stated that a Bill to extend the validity of passports from one to five years has been tabled in Parliament.
30. In connection with manpower migration facilities, I would urge Member Governments of the Council of Europe which have not yet done so to take steps to implement the recommendations of 0. E. E. C. and the Council of Europe as soon as possible.
1.1.5 Reduced railway fares for migrant workers
31. The Special Representative has been asked by Italian workers living in France to urge the Italian Government to restore this facility to migrant workers wishing to spend their holidays in Italy, thus returning to the pre-1948 situation and following the example of certain member countries of the Council of Europe.
32. At the meeting of the Advisory Committee in May 1957, I asked the Italian representative to convey to his Government this appeal by the Italian workers.
33. A favourable decision by the Italian or any other Government in this matter would be all to the good, both nationally and on the plane of European co-operation. I would add that Italian workers in France taking their annual leave are entitled to the same reduced fares on the French Railways as French workers.
1.1.6 Participation in meetings of governmental or non-governmental international organisations
34. Either through the Special Representative, or through one of the officials of the Refugees and Over-population Division, the Council of Europe has taken an active part in the following meetings of international organisations concerned with emigration or manpower problems :
34.1 Executive Committee of U. N. R. E. F. (Geneva). (27th January-2nd February 1957).
34.2 OEEC Manpower Committee (Paris). (19th-22nd February 1957).
34.3 OEEC Manpower Committee (Paris). (26th-30th March 1957).
34.4 I. C. E. M. (Geneva). (7th-12th April 1957).
34.5 Preparatory Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (Nice). (Social and Humanitarian Committee for Refugees). (26th-29th April 1957).
34.6 Conference of Non-governmental Organisations for Refugees (Geneva). (26th-29th May 1957).
34.7 Executive Committee of U. N. R. E. F. (Geneva). (2nd-7tli June 1957).
34.8 Executive Committee of the International Association for Vocational Guidance (Geneva). (5th-8th June 1957).
34.9 Group of Experts on the shortage of skilled labour (Paris). (OEEC Manpower Committee). (lst-5th July 1957).
34.10 Special Session of the Executive Committee of U. N. R. E. F. (Geneva). (10th-12th July 1957).
34.11 Conference of organisations interested in migration problems (Geneva). (5th-9th August 1957).
34.12 Third International Catholic Congress on Migration (Assisi). (22nd-28th September 1957).
1.1.7 Relations with international organisations
35. Co-operation with international organisations, such as the I. L. O., O. E. E. C, I. C. E. M. and the Office of the U. N. High Commissioner for Refugees, has been extended to include also the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the International Federation of Christian Trade Unions, which possess consultative status with the Council of Europe. Representatives of these organisations take an active part in the work of the Special Representative and the proceedings of the Advisory Committee. They are also permanently in close touch with the Refugees and Over-population Division of the Council of Europe, which, under Resolution (56) 8 of the Committee of Ministers, provides the secretariat of the Special Representative and, by regulation, also acts as the secretariat for the Governing Body, Administrative Council and Auditing Board of the Resettlement Fund.
36. I take this opportunity of expressing my warmest thanks to all the above-mentioned Organisations for the help they have given me, and of once more assuring the Committee of Ministers and the Consultative Assembly that there is no duplication or overlapping with the work of the competent intergovernmental organisations in the field covered by my terms of reference.
37. I would add that co-ordination with the departments of international organisations responsible for matters within my purview is further ensured by informal meetings between the heads of such departments and the Head of the Refugees and Over-population Division of the Council of Europe.
1.1.8 Visit to the United States
38. From 18th to 29th March 1957 I paid a visit to the United States to give the American Administration and certain international or private organisations an account of the activities of the Council of Europe in the field covered by my terms of reference.
39. I was accompanied on this journey by M. W. Middelman, Chairman of the Administrative Council of the Resettlement Fund and by an official of the External Relations Department of the Council of Europe.
40. I made it clear to those I met that we had come to the United States not to ask for money, but merely to throw light upon this token of European solidarity : the appointmerit of a Special Representative and the creation of a Council of Europe Resettlement Fund for National Refugees and Over-population.
41. Our contacts with the American Administration began on Tuesday, 19th March, with a meeting at the State Department presided over by Mr. John Wesley Jones, Deputy Assist-tant Secretary for European Affairs, and attended by Heads of Departments concerned with European affairs and economic co-operation.
Note
42. This first meeting with the United States Administration was followed by an interview with Mr. Scott McLeod, Administrator, Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs, at which Mr. George L. Warren, Adviser on Refugees and Migration, and Mr. Abba Schwartz, Legal Adviser to the American Delegation to ICEM meetings were also present.
43. Those with whom I spoke showed a keen interest in the Special Representative's terms of reference and the aim of the Resettlement Fund. The work now begun by the Fund was particularly warmly received by Mr. Robert L. Garner, President of the International Finance Corporation.
44. After an exchange of views with Mr. Samuel C. Waugh, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Export-Import Bank of Washington, on ways in which this Bank might provide assistance in the building of houses for migrant workers, I had a long conversation with Mr. Francis E. Walter, Republican Member of Congress, Chairman of the Legal Committee of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Emigration.
45. Mr. Walter much appreciated what the Council of Europe was doing in the demographic and social field and offered to draw attention to its achievement in this field in the " Congressional Record ".
46. This was succeeded by further meetings with: Mr. Per Jacobsen, Director of the International Monetary Fund, Senator Arthur V. Watkins (Republican), Senator H. Douglas (Democrat) and Mr. W. A. B. Iliff, Vice-President of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. After a press conference at the State Department and an interview with Mr. Douglas Dillon, Deputy Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs, my stay in Washington ended with a visit to Mr. M. Maxwell Rabb, Private Secretary to President Eisenhower, and Mr. Sherman Adams, Head of the President's Household Staff.
47. On 25th March, I proceeded to New York where I met the following notabilities: Mr. Henry Cabot Lodge, Permanent United States Representative to the United Nations, Mr. Norman S. Buchanan, Director of the Rockefeller Foundation, Mr. Alfred Barth, Vice-President of the Chase Manhattan Bank, Mr. Valdemar Neilson, Assistant Director of the Ford Foundation, Mr. Moses A. Leavitt, Executive Vice-Chairman, Joint Distribution Committee, Mr. George S. Franklin Jr., Executive Director, Council of Foreign Relations, Mr. Lewis L. Hoskins, Executive Secretary, American Friends Service Committee and Mgr. Wycislo, National Catholic Welfare Conference.
48. After a lunch-discussion on the work of the Council of Europe in the field covered by my terms of reference, organised by the American Council of Voluntary Agencies for Foreign Service and presided over by Dr. Roland Elliot (National Churches of Christ), my visit to the United States terminated on 28th March 1957 with a press conference in a room at the headquarters of the United Nations followed by a dinner discussion organised at U. N. Headquarters by the Council on Foreign Relations and presided over by Mr. William Hallam Tuck, former Director of the I. R. 0.
49. I returned from my visit to Washington and New York with the impression that not enough is known about the general work of the Council of Europe. As regards the problem of local integration and of the intra-European migration of surplus population, the efforts of the Council of Europe were much appreciated by the Americans I spoke with, who realised, in particular, that this was a field covered neither by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner nor by the I. C. E. M.
50. To sum up, I believe that this visit to the United States has enabled us to make useful contacts with circles interested in problems relating to my work as Special Representative. For my part, I shall do my utmost to maintain and broaden these contacts.
51. As for the Resettlement Fund, the fact that its aims and machinery are intermediate between the system of free assistance by Governments or voluntary organisations and that of commercial loans made a favourable impression upon the financial leaders to whom we had access. This impression was enhanced by the fact that what has been achieved in setting up the Fund, modest though it may be, is entirely clue to the efforts of certain European countries.
Resettlement Fund
52. From October 1956 onwards the Council of Europe Resettlement Fund entered the phase of practical achievement.
53. I propose to deal in this report with the projects financed by the Fund up to 30th September 1957, reserving details concerning the administration and financial policy of the Fund for the Administrative Council's Report, which will be submitted in January 1958. The Statutory Provisions require me, as Special Representative, to submit this report to the Committee of Ministers each year.
1.1.9 Italian Government project for the construction of individual dwellings for Italian tvorkers in France
54. Being concerned at the moral and social consequences of the housing shortage in France which obliges Italian workers to leave their wives and families in their home country, the Italian Government has encouraged the formation in France of housing co-operatives. These take the form of " Beaver Associations " (Associations de Castors), which enjoy all the facilities available under French worker's housing legislation.
55. Since, however, these facilities are not available until the work is well under way, the Italian Government applied to the Resettlement Fund for the capital to begin operations (purchase of land and basic materials, cost of plans, etc.), which could not have been raised by the workers.
56. With these considerations in mind, the Italian Government submitted to the Fund on 26th November 1956, an initial pilot-scheme for the construction of twenty individual dwellings at Forbach (Moselle). The Société Franco-Italienne des Castors de Forbach was commissioned to carry out the work at an estimated cost of 60 million French francs.
57. The Resettlement Fund has provided a loan 6 million francs repayable in 12 years, to enable the Castors de Forbach to purchase the site and carry out the preliminary work.
58. The French Government has agreed to pay the interest on the Fund's loan.
59. The work at Forbach was officially inaugurated on 22nd June 1957. Other projects of the same kind are in course of preparation at other French centres where there is a substantial influx of Italian workers. A second co-operative has already been set up at Rombas (Moselle).
1.1.10 Housing project of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for German refugees in the Hamburg and Karlsruhe areas
60. In connection with its social housing programme for national refugees, which has been one of its major concerns since the outset, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany submitted the following projects to the Fund on 27th February 1957 :
a At Hamburg : 38 single family houses with a floor area of some 58 sq. metres and a garden.
b At Karlsruhe :
50 singl e family houses with a floor area of some 79 sq. metres;
100 flat s (3 rooms, kitchen, bathroom and cellar space) with a floor area of some 61 sq. metres.
100 flats (2 rooms, kitchen, bathroom and cellar space) with a floor area of some 50 sq. metres.
61. The housing project at Karlsruhe forms part of a general plan to build a new " satellite " town known as Waldstadt with a population of 20,000 inhabitants.
62. The purpose of the two projects is to provide homes for national refugees at their new place of work, this being essential if they are to be quickly absorbed into the economic, social and political life of the country.
63. The projects of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany will cost about §1,600,000, towards which the Resettlement Fund has granted a loan of §490,000 (35 % of the total cost) repayable in 20 years.
64. The Fund's contribution to this social scheme is not merely a symbol of European solidarity; it is also a way of helping national refugees to become integrated in the economic life of their home country in accordance with one of the fundamental aims of the Fund.
1.1.11 Project of the Greek Government for the reorganisation of the vocational training schools of the National Institute under the patronage of his Majesty the king of Greece
65. On 7th May 1957 the Greek Government put before the Fund a project for the re-organisation of the Vocational Training Schools of the National Institute under the patronage of His Majesty the King of Greece.
66. This project will fulfil a vital need of the country. The serious difficulties caused by the 140,000 victims of the civil war, the 10,000 refugees from countries behind the Iron Curtain and the natural population increase of about 30,000 per annum are aggravated by the poverty of the soil, the under-equipment of industry and the fact that a high percentage of the workers are unskilled. The vocational training of young workers is therefore an essential preliminary not only to the economic recovery of the country but also to the emigration of surplus manpower.
67. The purpose of the Greek Government's object is to turn one of the Institute's seventeen schools (one at Amarousion) into an experimental school. The purpose of the loan from the Fund will be to improve the teaching system, provide further training for the instructors, build a masonry workshop and a two-storey building and purchase modern equipment.
68. The Fund has granted a loan of $61,500 repayable in 15 years, which will cover the whole outlay on premises and equipment.
1.1.12 Projects of the Government of the Republic of Turkey
69. On 14th May 1957, the Turkish Government submitted to the organs of the Fund three projects providing for :
a the building of 100 rural dwellings in the Province of Nigde;
b the building of a reception centre for national refugees at Touzla (Istanbul), equipped with a vocational training centre;
c the resettlement of 100 families in the Province of Mus (pronounced Moosh).
70. The building of 100 rural dwellings in the Province of Nigde will enable 100 families to settle where there is suitable agricultural land.
71. The building of a reception centre at Touzla will enable more up-to-date and rational services to be provided and thus place the authorities in a better position to meet the influx of Turkish refugees from Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, which seems likely to continue for a long time to come.
72. By settling 100 families of agricultural workers in the plain of Mus, the Turkish Governments is providing work for surplus manpower at present unemployed.
73. These three pilot schemes submitted by the Turkish Government, involving a total outlay of about $900,000, are to receive a loan of $372,000 from the Fund on terms still to be arranged.
1.1.13 Project of the Italian Government for the construction of a reception centre for emigrants at Verona (Italy)
74. On 23rd May 1957, the Italian Government submitted to the Fund a project for the construction of a reception centre for emigrants at Verona.
75. In the report accompanying its loan application, the Italian Government pointed out that " since April 1956 there have been new outlets for Italian workers in Central Europe and, in particular, in the Federal Republic of Germany. This new flow of migrants made it urgently necessary to establish a centre at Verona with services for the recruitment, placing in employment and transport of migrants ".
76. The Italian Government wishes to transform the new reception centre, hastily constructed with makeshift material provided by the municipality of Verona, into a modern institution capable of giving migrant workers effective assistance. It will be equipped both with administrative services and with a centre for accelerated vocational training, a sick-bay, bathrooms, dormitories and a canteen.
77. The Fund's contribution to this project will be a loan of §560,000 repayable in 20 years.
78. The projects so far received and approved by the Fund are in keeping with the Governing Body's recommendation that some priority be given to the construction of dwellings and reception centres. It is probable, however, that future projects submitted to the Resettlement Fund will tend to be of a similar social nature but more concerned with production, their purpose being either to further the local absorption of surplus labour, or to facilitate individual emigration by means of loans, in accordance with one of the objects of the Fund. The Fund might also play an important part in helping to solve the problem of vocational training, if money can be found to repay the annual instalments on loans granted for this purpose.
79. I think I may conclude from the foregoing that, during the period covered by this report, the Council of Europe Resettlement Fund has survived its " teething troubles " with some success. Its future activities will depend to some extent on the interest shown by member countries by submitting further projects.
80. Difficulties there have undoubtedly been. In administrative matters, they have been the direct consequence of setting up a new institution of an unprecedented kind under the Council of Europe. With regard to financial policy, which will be fully discussed in the annual report of the Fund, I will simply mention here that the present state of the money market offers no encouragement for the large-scale re-financing policy, which the Fund is aiming to pursue, with a view to achieving a wide range of schemes despite the limited capital now at its disposal.
81. The organs of the Fund are trying hard to find a satisfactory solution to these difficulties. As regards the capital resources of the Fund, I have the honour to inform the Committee of Ministers and the Consultative Assembly that the French Government, which originally subscribed only 1/4 of its shares, decided last November to take up its full allocation (§1,840,000). Moreover, the Belgian Government, which also subscribed 1/4 of its shares, has announced its intention of taking up further shares available to it in accordance with the Appendix to the Articles of Agreement of the Fund (maximum: $330,000). Finally, the Government of the Turkish Republic, which has already paid up 1/4 of its shares ($195,000), is also considering the possibility of subscribing all the shares placed at its disposal ($780,000).
2
Paris, 30th September 1957
Sir,
In accordance with Article IV of Resolution (56) 8 defining the functions of the Special Representative, I have the honour to enclose my second Progress Report.
I should be grateful if you would transmit it to the Committee of Ministers and to the Consultative Assembly.
I remain,
Your obedient Servant,
Signed : Pierre SCHNEITEH
Special Representative for National Refugees and Over-population
The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg
