Luxembourg, 05/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - Throughout the EU, third country nationals are not going to be able to benefit from the status of long term residency after five years. Particularly if this acquired status (with the key residency permit of at least five years) they will have the right to reside in another Member State and to benefit from this particular status there. This right to mobility is the main innovation of the draft directive on long term residents on which Ministers of the Interior reached a political agreement on Thursday. The directive fixes the principle of equal treatment of long term residents and nationals (for jobs, education and welfare benefits) but the agreement was only gained following numerous derogations, particularly that on the right to work for a long term resident in who changes country.
Long term status will be obtained after five consecutive years of residency in the same Member State. Only Italy opposed this up till now, because its legislation set the threshold at six years. In order to overcome this obstacle, integration conditions will be required "according to national law". For example, a country could demand a good knowledge of the language of the country, as a condition for granting this status. Periods of absence would not count if they are less than ten months in the five year period and if they are not over five consecutive months.
In the first State (that which granted the long term status), the resident will have the right to self-employed or salaried work. A country could maintain restrictions to access to certain specific activities if the national or Community legislation "reserves them for national citizens, or those of the EU or the EEA", to public functions, for example. Long term residents will have the right to education and training but grants will only be given "according to national law". This provision, requested by Germany, was accepted on Thursday by its partners in order to gain an agreement. In the same way, recognition of vocational qualifications will be done "according to national procedures". Countries will grant access to social security and welfare benefits only "according to the definition of national law" and with the possibility of limiting essential benefits.
If the long term resident settles in another Member State, rights in principle will stay the same but there are more exceptions. States can limit the number of people exercising this right if a quota system exists already in their national legislation or at the time of the directive's adoption - which is notably the case in Austria. Access to work can be limited by each country, not only for categories of jobs reserved for nationals or Europeans but also for all activities depending on the situation in the labour market. The second country would also demand the resident "some integration conditions" and proof of stable resources.
By obtaining an agreement his month, the Fifteen have respected the commitment taken a year ago at Seville. The agreement was made possible on Thursday because Germany, which was requesting further derogations on access to work and France, which wanted fewer, agreed to the Presidency proposed compromise. A number of diplomats judged on Thursday that the final compromise was balanced. The political agreement will not become definitive until after the lifting of several parliamentary reservations. The Commission will present a specific proposal on refugees, which were in the end, excluded from the directive's field of application.