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EU Commissioner Vitorino proposes a structural EU Immigration Policy
Amsterdam, July 13, 2001.
The EU Commission adopted on Wednesday 11 July a proposal for a Council Directive regulating the entry of paid employees of outside EU nationals.
At the Tampere summit of October 1999 the European Council set out a mandate for the Commission to develop a common Immigration and Asylum policy.
The Commission wants to open a new phase in the EU immigration policies.
In a speech in London on July 9, Vitorino stresses the importance of the economic and the demographic need to develop a common immigration policy.
In certain specialized sectors of the economy there is a shortage of bright brains, which is aggravated by the problem of the declining and ageing of the European population.
The 'zero- immigration' policies of the member states were in practice not implemented.
The Commission therefore proposes to look at the reality of today.
"On the one hand migratory pressures will continue and that on the other hand in a context of economic growth and a declining and ageing population, Europe needs immigrants. In this context our objective is not the quantitative increase in migratory flows but better management in qualitative terms so as to realise more fully the potential of immigrants' admitted."
The four new policy principals
According to the Commission, the key elements of the Community policy should be:
- A comprehensive approach to the management of migratory flows
so as to find a balance between humanitarian and economic admission and the fight against illegal immigration and especially the reduction of smuggling and trafficking;
- Fair treatment for third country nationals (aiming as far as possible for comparable rights and obligations to those of nationals of the Member State concerned);
- Partnership with the countries of origin in the management of flows including policies of co-development;
- and in the long term a common policy for asylum.
What's next?
The Commission hopes to change the thinking on migration policies by these proposals.
"It is important to take a fresh look at migration phenomena, taking account of the economic and demographic development within the Union as well as the situation in the countries of origin."
In October 2001 there will held in Brussels a ministerial conference on the subject.
The European Council in Laeken, at the end of the year, will decide on the next steps to be taken.
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