Tag: immigration policy

The European Commission said yesterday (13 February) that it would help Rome to cope with the "exceptional pressure" created by thousands of illegal immigrants fleeing Tunisia for the Italian island of Lampedusa. Malta expressed fear that it would also become a landing point.

Europe is missing out on a potentially large number of high-skilled workers by provisionally not allowing the spouses of migrant workers to join their partners and also seek employment in the EU, Kathleen van der Wilk-Carlton, a board member at the Permits Foundation, told EurActiv in an interview.

Intensifying climate change is going to lead to more people being displaced in the poorest areas of the world, requiring new responses to immigration, a group of researchers has warned.

EU leaders have for the first time asked for the creation of joint charter flights to deport illegal immigrants. These flights would be financed by Frontex, the European agency in charge of the EU's external borders.

The European Union will issue new immigration policy proposals by the end of October, Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said yesterday (23 August), responding to Italy's plea for more coordinated EU action.

The renewal of the EU's justice and home affairs priorities will be a key challenge for the forthcoming Swedish EU Presidency. But despite the country's legislative credentials, Sweden's 'Stockholm Programme' is likely to fall short of its ambitions, sources told EurActiv.

Despite divisions among political groups, the European Parliament yesterday backed the EU's 'Blue Card' scheme aimed at attracting high-skilled immigrants to Europe.

Dwarfed by the financial crisis, the issue of immigration has momentarily slipped to the back of political debate, meaning that the adoption later today (15 October) of a European Pact on Immigration and Asylum by EU leaders – meant to be one of the highlights of the French EU Presidency – risks going unnoticed.

Foreign engineers or doctors applying for jobs in the EU should earn at least 1.5 times the average salary in their host country in order to be defined as "skilled workers", EU ministers agreed ahead of a justice and home affairs meeting on Thursday (25 September).

Faced with an ever-increasing flow of immigrants towards its borders, the EU has adopted a directive that defines procedures for the return of illegally resident third-country nationals. But the EU initiative received bad publicity in Latin America after being labelled the 'Directive of Shame'.

Rebutting criticism from the press and MEPs, French Minister for Immigration and Integration Brice Hortefeux insisted that an EU 'Pact on Immigration and Asylum' is essential, presenting his country's EU Presidency priorities before the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on 15 July.

France is expected to achieve the first success of its EU Presidency by officially presenting a 'European Pact on Immigration and Asylum' at informal talks between justice and home affairs ministers on 7-8 July in Cannes. The text, seen by EurActiv, has been watered down to accommodate concerns from Spain, which advocates a more open immigration policy.

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".

France is not entirely convinced about any of the candidates currently in contention for the EU top posts after 2009 and expects new names to emerge, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said yesterday (26 May).

The upcoming French Presidency of the EU will adopt a citizen-oriented approach in an attempt to reconcile Europe and the French population, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and European Affairs Secretary Jean-Pierre Jouyet said. EurActiv France reports.

Three months before France takes over the EU Presidency, President Nicolas Sarkozy used his state visit to Britain to revive the Franco-British alliance, seeking stronger cooperation on energy, climate change, immigration and defence.

While the Commission's proposals for easing the access of highly-skilled foreign workers to European labour markets were welcomed across the board in EU circles, they met criticism in the member states.

A set of proposals from the European Commisison, designed to tackle Europe's looming demographic crisis by attracting some 20m extra workers from abroad, has met with harsh criticism from German politicians, who argue that there is still enough unused labour in Germany. 

A better understanding of the links between migration and development is required to implement coherent and effective migration policies, outlines the OECD in its report, 'International Migration Outlook'. The study shows that international migration continues to grow, in response to labour needs.

Portugal, the upcoming holder of the EU presidency, said that it will push for a "realistic" approach to legal migration - one that takes care of social inclusion alongside tight border controls - to help solve Europe's looming job-shortage crisis.

Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini told justice ministers in Dresden that he will begin negotiations with countries such as Mali, Mauritania and Senegal to establish legal networks for immigration.

African Union and the EU have agreed on more co-operation to stop illegal migration through promoting socio-economic development.

More than 150,000 sub-Saharan African immigrants are in need of international assistance, according to Italian NGO International Committee for the Development of People (CISP).

Speaking exclusively to EurActiv, Ilmar Reepalu, mayor of Sweden’s third-largest city Malmö, explains the benefits of a diversity of cultures.