In a bid to make the EU attractive to skilled non-EU migrants, the European Commission is proposing to promote EU long-term residency status for non-EU citizens, though some have questioned its impact, as many immigration issues remain within the competencies of member states.
Facing an increasing shortage of skilled workers across the bloc, the Commission is proposing a legislative package that revises existing EU laws on long-term residence permits and the so-called “single permit” to live and work in the EU.
The European Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee, together with some migration experts like Beate Gminder, Deputy Director-General for Migration Policy at the European Commission, discussed the Commission’s proposal on Tuesday (25 October).
Twenty-three million non-EU citizens currently reside in the EU, but of the 10 million with long-term or permanent residence permits, “only three million hold an EU long-term residence permit,” Gminder told MEPs.
“So we have seven million people who only hold a national permit,” she continued.
If adopted in its current form, the Commission’s proposal, which was examined by the Parliament’s committee on Tuesday, would ensure that EU residence permit holders have the same rights as national permit holders.
Questionable impact
Moving between EU member states would also be made easier for those with long-term residence permits, according to the proposal.
On top of that, obtaining such a permit will also be made easier for third-country nationals who hop between EU states within the five-year period needed to receive permanent residence status, it adds.
But some experts doubt how much of an impact the new rules would have.
Compared to EU citizens, non-EU nationals living in the EU with long-term residence permits would be less likely to move to other EU countries, said Jonathan Chaloff, an OECD migration expert who was invited to the parliamentary debate.
This is because they have “invested in their human capital”, such as learning a new language, which would not pay off if they moved to another EU country.
According to him, long-term residence permit rules must also coincide with national citizenship rules, particularly as “the goal of many migrants is naturalisation.”
But Volt MEP Damian Boeselager is more optimistic as he considers that non-EU citizens living in the EU have not yet been given the opportunity to reside in different EU member states. “Maybe we need to enable them,” he told Chaloff.
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Renew wants to go further
The Commission also calls for applications for the “single” work and residence permit to be simplified and the deadlines for issuance to be shortened.
The permit, currently tied to a fixed job, would also allow workers to change jobs during their stay to counteract exploitation by employers.
But according to the liberal Renew Europe group, the Commission’s proposals do not go far enough.
They argue that it should be possible to change from asylum or refugee status to immigrant status with the “single” permit.
“We should not only look at which people want to come to the Union, but we also have to deal with those who already live in the Union but do not have a work permit,” said Renew MEP Jan-Christoph Oetjen, promising he would propose an amendment to the Commission’s proposal to that effect.
But according to Gminder, this debate “has to be conducted in the member states” since it is not within the Commission’s competence.
The German Bundestag did indeed discuss a bill that would allow such a change of legal status last week as it is featured in the coalition’s agreement.
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EU competing for highly skilled workers
The EU is falling behind in attracting highly skilled workers, for instance, compared to the US, Chaloff also stressed.
Though there are some legal hurdles, the Blue Card available to highly qualified migrants comes with few formal hurdles, even less than what qualified foreign workers face in other OECD countries, he added.
According to him, the recruitment process depends above all on the employers.
To change this, the Commission is proposing “Talent Pool”, an online platform to help employers recruit skilled workers from abroad – though Chaloff says this must offer an advantage over already existing private platforms if it were to work.
For example, he suggests that the platform only allows those who fulfil the legal requirements for EU immigration to register there.
This would assure employers that once they find someone on the platform, the subsequent procedure would be simplified.
Recruitment of foreign skilled workers should in particular be made easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to conservative German MEP Lena Düpont. “Large [companies] can do it more easily,” she added.
Boeselager, who agrees with Chaloff, said that such a proposal would require close coordination with national labour offices.
According to Gminder, the talent pool also needs an appropriate legal basis.
A similar platform was set up for Ukrainians who fled to the EU following the war as a “small pilot project”, though the online platform for skilled workers would be targeted at non-EU citizens still living outside the EU.
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[Edited by Oliver Noyan/ Daniel Eck/Nathalie Weatherald]
Source: euractiv.com
