EU Commission unveils plans to boost legal
migration
Pilot project aimed at Ukrainians is part of the
proposal.
BY JACOPO
BARIGAZZI
April 27,
2022 10:49 pm
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-commission-proposal-migration-pact-t-ukraine/
The
European Commission on Wednesday proposed a new package of measures to
strengthen the bloc’s approach to legal migration, after some 5 million
Ukrainian refugees have entered the EU since the Russian invasion.
The aim is
not only to provide simpler, legal pathways for migrants and reduce illegal
migration but also to address labor shortages, especially in sectors such as
healthcare. As for the Ukrainians who have come to the EU, and to whom the bloc
has temporarily provided full rights, the Commission proposal includes a pilot
project just for them.
On average
“between two-and-a-half to three million legal migrants every year [arrive in]
the European Union … compared with 150,000-200,000 that arrive irregularly,”
Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said while presenting the package at a
press conference. “And we need them,” she added, because of labor shortages in
many sectors. For example, according to the Commission, in the long-term care
sector, there are expected to be up to 7 million job openings for healthcare
professionals and care workers by 2030.
The
proposal aims to reform two pieces of existing legislation: The first change
relates to the single permit that allows migrants to work and obtain residence.
The process for getting this permit will be streamlined and shortened, the
Commission said, as time delays can deter employers from international
recruitment.
The second
reform is for the long-term residence directive. So far, this has been
underused and the new proposal would allow non-EU nationals to accumulate
residence periods in different member states in order to meet the 5-year
residence criteria needed to stay in the long term, as well as improving the
right to family reunification.
The
Commission plan also includes setting up a so-called EU Talent Pool, an EU-wide
platform to match employers with people who have the skills they are unable to
find in the local labor market.
It also
envisages a pilot scheme of the EU Talent Pool just for Ukrainians. There are also
plans to launch “talent partnerships” with non-EU countries to improve access
to work and training, in a bid to prevent smuggling and also to improve
cooperation with countries on returns and readmissions of those who arrived
illegally. The first such partnerships are planned with North African
countries, in particular Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, by the end of the year.
Legal
migration is a shared competence between the EU and member states. The latest
package of measures is part of a reform of asylum rules across the EU that the
Commission presented in September 2020 — the so-called Migration Pact — but
that has not been agreed amid deep divisions among member states. However,
Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas, who was also on the podium Wednesday,
said this package does “not necessarily” have to be adopted at the same time as
the other proposals on the table.
Humanitarian
organizations, employers associations and many political parties and figures on
the left and center right welcomed the proposal. But at the same time, “we do
not expect this legal migration package to be the silver bullet that will
address irregular migration overall,” said Jeroen Lenaers, an MEP from the
conservative European People’s Party, who also told POLITICO he liked many
ideas in the package.
“Our best
chance for a durable solution is the migration pact is already in the hands of
the co-legislators, and is where we expect progress from the member states,” he
said.
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