Labour market performance and migration flows - European ...

Chapter IFinal ReportWhile progress was made on the integration of third-country migrants working within theEU, a structured labour-migration strategy targeting legal economic immigration and firstentry of third-country migrants for employment activities lagged behind. Therefore, a moreconcrete approach on how first-entry could benefit EU economic competitiveness remainedunderdeveloped. This was particularly evident in the following illustrative cases. In July2001, the Commission presented a proposal drafting conditions and rules of admissiontargeting entry and residence of migrants for the purpose of paid employment and selfemploymentactivities. 38 As there was no consensus on this issue, the Commission had towithdraw this proposal in 2006. The difficulty of adopting common legal positions withregard to labour migration among Member States was highlighted once again in regard to theHague Programme (Carrera 2007, p. 4). Indeed, the European Council made clear here thatlabour immigration was a national competence and that adopting common legal positions withregard to labour migrants was still far-fetched. Again, in 2007 the Commission proposed theadoption of common sanctions for employers recruiting third-country nationals withoutemployment permission. However, this proposal has faced strident opposition and has notbeen adopted as yet. 39In sum, the European Commission’s emphasis on developing a common labour migrationframework has been at odds with the desire of EU Member States to retain their prerogativesin this sphere and to resist a community policy which would circumscribe or curb nationaldecision-making. These inherent tensions at the EU level not only hindered the elaboration ofa common EU labour strategy, but have indirectly got in the way of identifying andresponding to labour-market needs in the Euro-Mediterranean region.6.2 The Global Approach to Migration and Economic Immigration since 2005: an Integrative orPartial Process?Since 2005, the interconnectedness between establishing and regulating legal migrationchannels, a more holistic approach to migration, and a more coherent EU labour strategy withregard to economic immigration has been stressed.On the one hand, more attention is paid to the need to regulate migration flows in order tofight irregular migration and address challenges linked to demographic gaps in Europe andtheir repercussions on labour markets. For instance, in December 2005, the Commissionissued a Policy Plan on Legal Migration which further set out the roadmap that the EU wouldembark on in order to concretise the Hague Programme. 40 This policy plan explicitlyaddresses policy features and legislative measures related to economic migrants such as theconditions of entry and residence of economic migrants. More specifically, it puts forwardfive legislative proposals on economic immigration to be adopted in the period 2007-2009and divides economic migrants into four categories: highly qualified workers, seasonal38 European Commission, “Proposal for a Council Directive on the conditions of entry and residence for the purpose of paid employment and self-employment activities”, COM (2001)0386 final, Brussels,http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2001:0386:FIN:EN:PDF.39 “Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council providing for sanctions against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals " COM (2007) 249 final,Brussels,http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52007PC0249:EN:NOT.40 Communication from the Commission – Policy Plan on Legal Migration SEC(2005)1680,http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2005/com2005_0669en01.pdf.83