europeaid eu migration policy: key challenges and policy ......europeaid unit e/3 key policy areas 5...
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EuropeAid
EU Migration Policy: Key Challenges and Policy
Responses
Hélène Bourgade
Head of Unit – Employment, Social Inclusion and Migration Unit
European Commission, DG Development and Cooperation - EuropeAid
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Key Policy Areas
5 areas:
1. Organise legal migration 2. Make border controls more effective
and guarantee the effective functioning of internal free movement (Schengen)
3. Control irregular migration 4. Build a Europe of asylum 5. External Dimension - Cooperate with non-
EU countries in line with the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility
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What is the Policy and Legal Framework?
Intergovernmental → Community → EU
• Schengen Convention – 1985
• Amsterdam Treaty – 1997
• Tampere Programme – 1999
• The Hague Programme – 2004
• European Pact on Immigration and Asylum– 2008
• Lisbon Treaty - 2009
• The Stockholm Programme - 2009
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1) Organising Legal Migration
Key Principles of EU Policy:
• Driven by EU economic/labour market needs
• Contribute towards implementing EU 2020 agenda
• Mitigate effects of Demographic Change
• Respect principle of Union preference – EU citizens
and TCNs already present have first choice on jobs
• Fully respect principle of MS sovereignty to decide
over volumes of admissions
• Ensure fair treatment of legal migrants and
approximate their rights with those of EU citizens
• Proactively promote integration of third country
nationals
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Projected working age population (aged 15-64) in
the EU-25, 2005 to 2050
100
150
200
250
300
350
20
05
20
07
20
09
20
11
20
13
20
15
20
17
20
19
20
21
20
23
20
25
20
27
20
29
20
31
20
33
20
35
20
37
20
39
20
41
20
43
20
45
20
47
20
49
Source : Eurostat, Population projections, baseline and no migration variants
mil
lio
ns
Baseline No migration
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Organising Labour Migration
How is this achieved?:
• Standardized conditions of entry and residence
• Defining rights of legally residing migrants
• Common Basic Principles on Integration
EU legislation:
1. Common set of rights and single permit for work and
residence for all 3rd country workers
2. Common conditions and procedures of admission for
selected categories of 3rd country citizens:
• e.g. Blue Card for highly skilled workers
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Organising Legal Migration
There are currently roughly 20 million legally residing TCNs in the
EU. Legal migration is continuing, and in 2010 2.47 million new
migrants were granted residence permits.
Family
Reasons
30%
Education
21%
Labour
Migration
32%
Other
17%
- Italy, UK and Spain have been the major destinations for labour migrants since the 2000s - Family migration used to make up half of all EU inflows, but this has reduced recently to a third - The UK typically accounts for over 50% of all student visas
Main entry modes for legal migrants in 2010
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Overview of legally residing South (East) Asian citizens in the EU
Source: Eurostat, 2011
China
Banglad
esh India Nepal
Pakist
an
Sri
Lanka
Cam
bodi
a
Indo
nesia
Lao
s
Malay
sia
Myan
mar
Philip
pines
Singap
ore
Thaila
nd
Vietn
am
Total 172,143 41,514 200,328 15,320 86,432 33,870 1,030 8,759 267 10,601 1,596 65,174 4,271 24,003 18,310
Family
reunific
ation 34,170 9,436 44,863 4,599 34,442 9,004 541 1,615 145 1,423 236 12,880 471 10,047 6,585
Educati
on 78,052 12,021 51,392 4,994 25,682 7,370 229 2,621 50 7,237 309 5,020 2,841 6,391 5,546
Labour 52,010 17,692 73,279 2,187 16,894 13,111 118 2,275 15 1,194 131 25,708 656 5,591 5,111
First permits issued in EU by reason and citizenship - 2010
China Bangla
desh India Nepal Pakistan
Sri
Lanka
Camb
odia
Indone
sia Laos
Malay
sia
Myan
mar
Philippi
nes
Singa
pore
Thai-
land
Viet-
nam
700,695 140,163 304,022 13,837 222,472 160,596 16,055 28,692 8,399 12,802 5,642 250,646 4,405 107,947 193,020
All valid permits - 31.12.2010 (excl. UK, LU)
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2) Border Management, Free Movement and Schengen
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Considerations for Establishing an Area of
Free Movement
Need for TRUST among MS:
• Strong external border and harmonisation of border controls, entry and visa rules (for short-term visas)
• Enhanced police and judicial cooperation
• Coordination of policies on migration and asylum
How is this achieved?
• Common legislative standards for border controls and visa issuing +
regular evaluations:
- Schengen Borders Code
- Visa Code
• FRONTEX coordinates operational cooperation (e.g. joint surveillance
missions) and cooperation with third countries
• EU-wide IT databases for sharing of information (Schengen
Information System, Visa Information System)
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Considerations for Establishing an Area of Free Movement
But also…. Common rights granted to EU citizens:
• Right to move and reside freely (including families - parents and grand-parents, registered partners, TCNs…)
• Right to equal treatment: right to vote, entitlement to most advantages and benefits, equal access to education, social assistance etc.
• 7 million EU citizens live in another EU MS, many more travel freely within the EU
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Transitional Measures for Free Movement and Schengen Accession
Free Movement:
• Citizens of ‘new’ Member States can be deprived of free access to
other national labour markets for a maximum period of 7 years
(however, the reasoning behind this measure needs to be stated)
• This transitional measure aims to protect both host countries’
labour markets, but also origin countries from a mass exodus of
their citizens
Schengen Accession:
• New Member States aiming to access the Schengen Area have to
prove their ability to adequately secure their land, sea and air
borders.
• Respective shortcomings may lead to transitional measures,
including the gradual integration of certain borders (i. e. air
borders, but not land borders)
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Arab Spring Demonstrated the Need to Further Strengthen Schengen System
• Jan-Oct 2011: Arrival of 50,000 migrants in Italy and Malta
(out of over 1 million people displaced)
• Immediate response:
• return of irregular (economic) migrants,
• accommodation of refugees,
• launch of FRONTEX Joint Operation
• Mobilization of resources: €100 million for neighbourhood countries + €25 million for most affected EU MS
• Consequences for Schengen:
• Following a decision by Italy to grant residence permits to irregular Tunisian migrants, France reimposed internal border controls
• Concerns with the quality of certain Member State’s border control, asylum and migration systems were also raised
• Crisis of confidence in the Schengen area followed
• This created the need to amend the Schengen acquis (see below)
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Need for reforming Schengen
Commission proposals were therefore adopted to:
•Reduce recourse to unilateral initiatives by Member States to temporarily reintroduce internal border controls by allowing common, coordinated decisions at the European level. Border controls to be re-imposed as last resort for truly critical situations.
• Strengthen trust between Member States by promoting operational cooperation (FRONTEX, EASO) and strengthening monitoring of Member State migration systems (e.g. strengthen Schengen evaluation missions)
Discussions of these proposals are ongoing with Council and Parliament
Further planned initiatives at EU level:
• European entry-exit system
• Registered Traveller Programme
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3) Controlling Irregular Migration
In 2010, EU MS issued 600,000 return orders. Effective rates of return vary
significantly.
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
Return Orders Issued
Persons Returned
Return Figures for top 20 countries of origin of migrants issued return orders in 2010
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3) Controlling Irregular Migration
Key principles:
• All migrants in an irregular situation must be granted a residence permit or leave the EU
• Employers of irregular migrants should be penalised, but not migrants themselves
• Combat smuggling and trafficking of humans
• Strengthen cooperation with third countries to control illegal migration
• Readmission agreements: EU expects third countries to readmit their citizens if they are staying illegally
• Balance between control measures and the appropriate treatment of migrants
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3) Controlling Irregular Migration
How is this achieved?:
• Developing a common return policy combining:
- Legislation, in particular EU Return Directive (establishes common standards and definitions plus safeguards for respect of migrant rights)
- Operational cooperation on forced returns. • Directive defining sanctions against employers
of irregular migrants • Defining sanctions for smugglers and traffickers • Directive on combating trafficking in human
beings adopted in 2011
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4) Build a Europe of Asylum
Key Principles:
• Create a Common European Asylum System (CEAS) providing a high standard of protection to asylum seekers throughout Europe
• Ensure solidarity between MS and with third countries on refugee protection
How is this achieved?
• Common legislative standards on Reception Conditions, Asylum Procedures, Qualification for Refugee Status etc.
• Strengthening practical cooperation with assistance of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO)
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EU Trends – Asylum Inflows
The size of asylum flows has reduced in recent years:
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
700000
800000
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EU Trends – Top 15 Asylum Countries of Origin and
Recognition Rates
In 2010, 55,000 decisions (25%) resulted in the granting of a protection
status. Recognition rates varied greatly according to countries of origin, and
between MS
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
Applications
Positive Decisions
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5) The external Dimension:
A Global Approach to Migration and Mobility
• One strategic framework for EU external migration policy,
fully aligned with EU foreign policy and development cooperation
• 4 pillars: Legal migration, Irregular migration, Migration &
Development, International Protection
• Migrant-centred, addressing both migration and mobility
• Visa and readmission policies fully integrated
• Global in scope (incl. south-south migration)
• Implementation through EU dialogues and cooperation with
partner countries, with the aim to establish Mobility
partnerships or a Common Agenda on Migration and
Mobility
• Internal implications: responding to demographic changes,
labour and skill shortages, Europe 2020 Strategy, education and
employment policies
