Tag: Migration

The EU has gained valuable experience in recent years in achieving visa-free travel for the citizens living in its neighbourhood. After the countries of the Western Balkans, the next on their way toward achieving visa-free travel are its eastern partners, with Russia, Ukraine and Moldova leading the way. However, this goal is unlikely to be achieved in the short term.

Immigration within and to the European Union dropped significantly due to the economic recession, according to a recently published report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The European Commission's proposed changes to the Schengen rules would not lead to any 'renationalisation' of borders and the EU would retain authority as to when internal border checks are reinstated, argues Yves Pascouau of the European Policy Centre.

Multinational companies and unions are struggling to find common ground on European Commission proposals for an EU directive on intra-corporate transfers (ICTs), which aims to make it easier for key staff members with special skills to work in the EU on a temporary basis.

With a 9 May deadline fast approaching for the EU's 'group of wise men' to submit its report on the challenges facing Europe until 2030, EurActiv has gained an insight into the team's secretive work over the past 18 months.

Europe's migration policy is failing to capitalise on the creative potential that comes with cultural diversity, according to a leading expert on urban planning, who warned that the EU's Blue Card scheme treats people as "economic units".

The EU's justice commissioner on 2 July described illegal immigration via Turkey a risk to Greek democracy and called again on Ankara to do more to combat people-traffickers.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso yesterday (27 November) reassured local authorities that he would do his utmost to ensure that municipalities and regions can directly access the EU integration fund for migrants, which has so far been administered by national authorities.

The European Parliament's civil liberties committee yesterday (4 November) approved the Blue Card scheme for highly-qualified migrants. The text sets minimum salary requirements at 1.7 times the national average wage.

As EU leaders prepare to give the green light to a European Pact on Immigration and Asylum later this week, businesses underline that immigration is not only about controlling borders and illegal workers, but also about attracting highly skilled people to Europe thanks to smoother and faster allocation of work and residence permits.

The Spanish government has launched an 'information crusade" to explain the merits of the recently adopted EU Directive on the return of illegal immigrants, which gained sorry publicity in Latin America after being labelled "The Shame Directive".

After several years of difficult negotiations, the European Parliament is finally expected to give the green light to a controversial 'Return Directive', setting universal conditions for sending "illegally staying third-country nationals" in Europe back where they came from.

European leaders should be more energetic in warning the Italian Government about hate rhetoric against immigrants, says Romanian Socialist MEP Adrian Severin in an interview with EurActiv.

The main EU institutions have reached agreement on common European procedures for the return of illegal immigrants to their countries of origin. In essence EU countries will soon have more power to repatriate illegal immigrants, as these will be unable to further take advantage of loopholes in national legislation.

The leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe parliamentary group wants the EU to take advantage of the experience of Canada instead of blindly following a restrictive policy focusing on deportation, he argued in an interview with EurActiv. He also shared his views on 'Mr. Europe' and the next European elections. 

The Commission's Blue Card initiative on the conditions of EU entry and residence for highly qualified employment is "a step towards a common European policy that promotes different sets of rights for different groups of people", writes Manuela Lusetich, migration project officer at Solidar.

The EU has seen a shift towards "an externalisation of migration policy" towards the Mediterranean countries of the Middle East and North Africa (Med-MENA) – as proven by current Association Agreements – according to a study by Ounia Doukouré and Helen Oger for the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies.

Commission President José Manuel Barroso and EU President José Sócrates spoke out in favour of a joint EU-Africa strategy with a special focus on development, migration, as well as energy and climate change.

The Bulgarian government would be well advised to attract workers who have found jobs abroad back to the country, said the chairman of Bulgaria's Economic and Social Council in an exclusive interview with EurActiv partner portal Dnevnik.bg.

Instead, Europe should provide helicopters and off-road vehicles to stop the traffic from sub-Saharan Africa says European Affairs Minister Abdulati Alobidi.

Asylum seekers and 'sans-papiers' are some of the most vulnerable groups of the EU population, finds Caritas Europa's third report on poverty in Europe, which highlights poverty and social exclusion of migrants in Europe.

Following an initiative of their French colleague Nicolas Sarkozy, the interior ministers of the EU's six biggest member states have agreed to examine the possibility of asking potential EU immigrants to sign an 'integration contract'. 

At a time when migration is being recognised as both a problem and a necessity for Europe, the Commission has come up with a package aimed at managing long-term migration flows and dealing with short-term crisis situations.

At the end of a week of rioting in the Paris suburbs, EurActiv looks at discussions on disaffection amongst European immigrant communities and its links to the terrorist threat.