Spanish Socialist Javier Moreno Sánchez is rapporteur for the European Parliament on the proposed EU Blue Card Directive, the European legal migration tool for highly skilled migrants launched in 2009 and which the European Commission had proposed to revise in 2016 (see EUROPE 11567/2). While interinstitutional negotiations (trilogues) resumed last week, the leader of the Spanish MEPs S&D group spoke, on Tuesday 16 February, about the points that remain open. He also revisited the EU report on legal economic migration. (Interview by Solenn Paulic)
Agence Europe - You have inherited the EU Blue Card Directive dossier from the Briton Claude Moraes. How can we explain the deadlock on this proposal since 2016?
Javier Moreno Sánchez - When I took over the case, it had been blocked for three years. The Member States mainly had a problem with the harmonisation of regimes, both national and European. They did not want their national system to disappear.
I had to insist on giving real usefulness, real added value to this European Blue Card so that it can still be used for something.
There was also disagreement about taking into account both qualifications and competences. I am of the opinion that a migrant can be hired if they have the qualities to do so, even without the corresponding diplomas. But the Member States do not necessarily understand it that way. The negotiations therefore try to see in which sectors these skills and professional experience could be taken into account.
Although I understood that eliminating the national systems would be impossible, I advocated for at least making it easier to obtain the European card once you had received the card from the national system.
And I insist on the principle of mobility. It must be possible to go to work in another Member State after 12 months without having to repeat all the procedures. The Member State must give a rapid response and there must also be publicity for this European card.
The European Parliament also wants the EU Blue Card to be no less advantageous or more costly than national schemes (see EUROPE 11809/8).
A first trilogue took place last week under the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council. What are the most sensitive discussions about?
The trilogues had already resumed under the German Presidency and the first one this year took place under the Portuguese Presidency. This is quite positive, because both Presidencies have shown that they want to move the dossier forward. And yet, Germany was not necessarily in favour of this European card. Its national system is the one that attracts the most qualified migrants from non-Member States.
One of the most sensitive issues is the question of minimum wage levels for these highly skilled non-Member State migrants, but this is being resolved.
The current Blue Card does not work, because the wages required by Member States to issue the card are too high, a provision that constitutes a hidden barrier to their labour markets. [The Commission has therefore proposed to revise the thresholds downwards, Editor’s note].
We must find the right range of wages: sufficiently attractive for migrants and not used for social dumping. For us, this minimum wage range can be between 1 and 1.4 times the median annual wage. We can find a compromise.
Along with the issue of wages, other issues will also have to be addressed, such as how long it takes to find another job in the EU. The EU Council says that three months is enough time to find a high-skilled job (see EUROPE 11837/11). We say that six months is more reasonable, especially in the current context.
Furthermore, it should not be possible to terminate the Blue Card and residence permit immediately in the event of loss of employment, nor can an illness justify the withdrawal of the Blue Card.
I am confident that once we have found a position on wages, the rest will be settled relatively easily.
We are talking here only about highly skilled migrants. Why has the Pact on Migration and Asylum not introduced more tools for legal migration for economic purposes (see EUROPE 12566/1)?
The Pact on Migration and Asylum is completely flawed, it only talks about illegal migration and border closures. A tool should be redesigned for medium and low-skilled people. It is better to bring these people legally to Europe than to leave them in the hands of the mafia. People who migrate don't do it for fun!
But in recent years, the political situation has meant that it has not been possible to move towards this. The Commission, after consultations with the Member States, went as far as it could in its Pact. Countries do not dare to talk about labour migration in this way, because the extreme right with its populist rhetoric and lies is fooling and convincing people.
There are, however, examples that argue for this kind of cooperation at the European level. In Spain, there have been projects between companies, training projects, for example between Spain and Senegal. During the examination of the first EU Blue Card Directive, I had also presented an amendment against the brain drain, with the idea of financing the training of a doctor on the spot, for example if the EU hosted one. This had not been retained.
There is very little of this kind at European level, because the political will does not exist at the moment.