The Vice-President of the EU Commission hopes that the reform will result in more workers for the EU states.
(Photo: Reuters)
Brussels The EU Commission wants to facilitate the immigration of workers from non-EU countries. Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas described legal migration as a “win-win” in Brussels on Wednesday. Immigrants can expect a better life and EU countries will get much-needed workers.
The labor shortage is an acute problem in most European countries – and it does not only affect high-skilled jobs. The Commission expects that the problem will be exacerbated by the aging population. According to their estimates, there will be a shortage of seven million workers in the care sector alone by 2030.
“We can’t do it without immigration,” said Schinas. Of course, it remains the right of each member state to determine the amount of annual immigration itself. Nevertheless, the Commission wants to simplify the process for everyone involved.
Recruitment in non-European countries should be made easier for employers. At the same time, the conditions for immigrants are to be improved so that moving to the EU becomes more attractive. The proposals still have to be approved by the European Parliament and the member states.
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Specifically, the Commission wants to change two directives on labor and residence law:
- The work permit for the EU should no longer be tied to a specific employer. Instead, in the future, immigrants could also change employers with the same permission. This should reduce dependency on the employer and prevent abuse. If an immigrant becomes unemployed, a grace period of at least three months will apply before he loses his residence permit.
- The rules for obtaining a long-term residence permit are also to become more flexible. Immigrants should no longer have to live in a country for five years in a row to obtain status. You can also spend the necessary five years in different EU countries. In addition, they may leave the EU for up to two years without losing the entitlements they have accumulated up to that point.
- In addition, the EU wants to set up an online job placement portal for immigrants by summer 2023. A pilot project for refugees from Ukraine is scheduled to start this summer.
Partnership with Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt
Schinas also announced that the “skilled worker partnerships” with countries in North Africa that had already been promised last year would start by the end of the year. The idea is to find targeted specialists for European employers. Talks with Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt are well advanced, said the Vice-Commissioner.
However, not all concerns in the three countries have been allayed: the governments do not want to lose their best talents to the EU. Nevertheless, the Commission intends to start talks with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Senegal and Nigeria on such partnerships in the near future.
The domestic policy spokeswoman for the Socialists in the European Parliament, Birgit Sippel, welcomed the reform: “It is particularly important that the dictatorial requirement that you only be allowed to live in one EU country for five years in order to obtain a long-term residence permit is abolished.”
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The talent pool for Ukraine refugees is also commendable, said Sippel. Overall, however, the reform does not go far enough because the admission requirements for a work permit are still too high.
Currently, three million people enter the EU legally every year. More than a million of them have an employment contract, the rest are family members or students.
More: These hurdles exist in the integration of refugees.