Labour market performance and migration flows - European ...

European CommissionOccasional Paper 60, Volume ISchengen Agreement refers to third-country nationals and to frontier crossings, it leaves moreintricate issues related to residence permits and citizenship to national governments. 1181.2 The development of a labour migration strategy in the framework of the EU commonmigration policy (1992-2005)A pivotal moment in the development of a common EU migration strategy was the signing of theTreaty of Maastricht in 1992. The latter established the right of EU citizens to move and reside freelyin a common space. Its major breakthrough was that it integrated intergovernmental cooperation onimmigration and asylum-related issues into the third pillar of the EU (Justice and Home Affairs).While this treaty enhances freedom of movement for EU citizens, it makes clear that third-countrynationals are not to be beneficiaries of these developments and that issues related to immigration andasylum will be dealt within the third pillar.At this stage, cooperation in migration-related issues remained intergovernmental as EU memberstates were disinclined to transfer national competences and decision-making to the communitylevel. 119 It became clear though – despite this disinclination – that the elaboration of a commonEuropean migration policy was not achievable without the communitarisation of some nationalcompetences.The Amsterdam Treaty, which came into force in 1999, marked the beginning of the era ofcommunitarisation in EU migration, and provided the foundations for the current migration policymakingat the EU level. 120 Areas pertaining to immigration, asylum and to the free movement ofpersons were transferred from the third to the first EU pillar (community level). The main impetusunderlying the treaty was that with the creation of an area without internal borders, there was anobvious need to devise common frameworks regulating external border crossings, asylum andimmigration. From an analytical point of view, the Amsterdam Treaty laid the foundations forcertain legal frameworks in the domain of legal migration and stated that employment is a matter ofhigh salience. But the Treaty does not provide clear measures pertaining to labour migration, 121 norto long-term border crossings. 122 In short, the legal foundations regulating labour migrationremained rudimentary at this stage.Considered as the cornerstone for a common European immigration and asylum system, the SpecialTampere European Council (1999) adopted various policy orientations and priorities in the fourrealms: partnerships with countries of origin, 123 the development of a common EU asylum system,the fair treatment of third-country nationals, and the management of migration flows.It should be noted that the EU was more concerned at this stage with consolidating the pillars formigration management with a view to creating “a genuine European area of justice” 124 than withfocusing intently on a common labour strategy arising out of migration flows.A common thread linking the development of the EU’s migration policy and a common labourmarket is the Lisbon Strategy, 2000. 125 Since this date, increasing attention has been given over to118 It was only in the Dublin Convention (1990) signed as an intergovernmental agreement that The first foundations for further legislation concerning asylum claims within the EEC wereestablished.119 Thus, although the Maastricht Treaty started the process of harmonization among EU countries, diverse national legislative frameworks in the area of migration were still predominant.120 The Treaty of Amsterdam foresaw a five-year transitional period (May 2004) in order to delegate power to the Community level in major migration matters.121 See article 63, 3 (a) of the treaty available fromhttp://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2006:321E:0001:0331:EN:pdf.122 This is relevant to the movement of third-country economic migrants.123 In the wake of the Tampere programme, regulations and partnerships making sure that migration becomes a main and overarching element in policy-making dialogue within the EUand between the EU and origin countries were put in place. We cite for instance, Regulation no. 491/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2004 whichestablished a programme for financial and technical assistance to third countries in the realms of migration and asylum (AENEAS).124 See Tampere European Council 15 and 16 October 1999, presidency conclusions available on http://www.europarl.europa.eu/summits/tam_en.htm.166