Europe is launching two immigration plans at the same time. On one hand EU needs to integrate migrants, and to attract them because the population is getting older, the work force will decline in the upcoming years by about 20 millions of people. On the other hand a plan to stop irregular migrations and to help migrants in their own countries is day after day urgent, the EU Commission affirms.
That’s why the European Union is considering to bring aid and investments directly to migrants’ homes. In that way, the European Commission affirms, local development of African and Middle East countries would be supported.
Migration, agreements between EU and extra-EU countries
After the EU-Turkey agreement , a larger agreement is taking place, which will include a series of partnerships to sign with extra-EU countries to stop migration flows toward Europe and strengthen the returns in exchange of investments and aids finalized to put an end to the migrants trafficking by the creation of legal routes.
While to answer to the uncertainty about the financial funds to start this plan of partnerships in a short time, the Commission thinks to increase the Trust Fund for Africa will be strengthened with €1 billion, consisting of €500 million from the European Development Fund Reserve and €500 million requested from Member States. For the long run, in autumn 2016, the Commission will make a proposal for a new Fund in order to mobilise investments in developing third countries: €3.1 billion will be mobilised to this end, expected to trigger total investments of up to €31 billion and the potential to increase to €62 billion if Member States and other partners match the EU contribution. <<Our goal, while staying focused on saving lives at sea and dismantling smugglers’ networks, is to support the countries that host so many people and foster growth in our partner countries. We are ready to increase financial and operational support and to invest in long-term economic and social development, security, rule of law and human rights, improving people’s life and tackling the drivers of migration. Our duty, and also our interest, is to give people the chance and the means for a safe and decent life >> the High Representative Federica Mogherini .
Initially the countries involved will be Jordan and Lebanon in Middle East, Nigeria, Niger, Tunisia, Senegal, Mali, Ethiopia.
“The engagement of every member state needs to go in the direction of shared responsibility and actions. It is necessary to implement human corridors even for the education for refugees students by implementing microcredit programs and start-up of small enterprises in third countries . It is urgent to reopen the regular routes for the economic migration also to give a response to a demographic decline in EU countries and taking into account the importance of supporting the mobility from third countries to EU, such as students, researchers, trainees and volunteers- as considered by the Directive recently approved by the EU Parliament- but also professionals, qualified workers that will be able to enrich our society” Silvia Costa S&D Mep and president of the Culture Committee at the EU Parliament said.
While the Liberals and Democrats leader remains critical and underlines the risk to take the EU-Turkey agreement as a model “If the aim is to make compacts copy pasting the EU-Turkey agreement, we oppose to that, because that is not an agreement for refugees it is a tragedy. They have to live in awful conditions, sometimes being driven back into war zones, stuck between IS and a Turkish wall, or even shot at the border. That agreement cannot be taken as a model”.
Blue card to attract talented migrants
The EU Commission presented a plan to integrate migrants arriving to Europe and the reform of the Blue card for highly qualified migrants. The EU Commission support the idea that a fast and efficient integration that could contribute to improve the labour operation, to face demographic challenges and to improve the economic balance sustainability.
Indeed the aim is to enforce the protection of people coming to Europe, the cost of non-integration otherwise will be higher than the investments for their inclusion.
Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs, and Citizenship, said: “If we want to manage migration in the long-term, we have to start making those investments now, in the interest of us all. The early and effective integration of third-country nationals is key to making migration a benefit for the economy and cohesion of our society. At the same time, we have to better equip our systems to deal with labour market and skills shortages in the future. The revised EU Blue Card scheme will make it easier and more attractive for highly skilled third-country nationals to come and work in the EU and strengthen our economic growth”.
The EU Commission underlines the lack of skills in many sectors such as the health system and the telecommunications and technologies, because EU population is becoming older .
Nowadays, talented migrants choose other destinations, only 31% of highly-educated migrants to OECD countries chose the EU as a destination. In the meantime these persons will be able to get training in Europe, they will represent a bridge between EU and their countries of origin. Furthermore, with the reform of the Blue card , the procedure for a long term stay and the access to labour market will be easier. Relatives of the person with the Blue card will have the possibility to move together with the person to Europe .
It remains to observe if the Blue card, as reformed now, will be efficiently implemented by EU states: in the past only Germany have used the Blue card as a matter of fact.
@IreneGiuntella
Europe is launching two immigration plans at the same time. On one hand EU needs to integrate migrants, and to attract them because the population is getting older, the work force will decline in the upcoming years by about 20 millions of people. On the other hand a plan to stop irregular migrations and to help migrants in their own countries is day after day urgent, the EU Commission affirms.
That’s why the European Union is considering to bring aid and investments directly to migrants’ homes. In that way, the European Commission affirms, local development of African and Middle East countries would be supported.
