Brussels, 24/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Centre for Migration Policies was officially launched at the round table discussion on highly skilled labour flows, held in Brussels on 18 April. Some 200 people attended the meeting, hosted by MEP Vittorio Prodi (ALDE, Italy), to discuss whether highly skilled immigrants should be allowed to bring their families into the EU, the consequences for poor countries of losing their intellectual and professional elite, and the scope of the draft directive on the conditions of entry for highly skilled labour, which the Commission will publish in September 2007, as was confirmed by Stefania Pasquetti, representing DG JHA of the European Commission.
Ms Pasquetti pointed out that in 2003, in all its communications, the European Commission was saying that Europe needed immigration. On 1 January 2005, the EU had 460 million citizens, of whom 29 million lived in a member state other than the one where they were born, and 19 million were from third countries. “The Commission is well aware that we will need these migrants in the future,” she said, referring to Eurostat's calculations that, by 2050, the EU25 (i.e. not including Bulgaria and Romania) would have 52 million fewer workers. 52 million migrant workers will, therefore, be needed, she said. Confronted with this situation, the Commission was examining, notably, the consequences of the ageing of the population. Ms Pasquetti said the solution would be better management of migratory flows, taking into account Europe's needs, in partnership with the countries of origin. She also said that the EU was not attractive to highly skilled workers, and this explained why university educated people didn't come to Europe, but went instead to Canada, the United States and Australia. Only ten of the 27 EU states have plans to attract skilled workers, she went on. This would result, in the medium-term, in problems in the EU caused by shortages of qualified staff. “The EU is not competitive at international level,” Ms Pasquetti said, and she announced that the Commission planned to publish a study on this issue in July 2007, followed by the draft directive in September. There was a need for a quicker administrative procedure providing incentives for third country citizens living legally in the EU, a kind of “blue card”, which would allow highly skilled workers to move from one member state to another. “There is a need for a fast-track system,” Ms Pasquetti said in conclusion. It should be noted that it will still be up to member states, exclusively, to grant these cards. (For more information, see EUROPE 9343.) (gb)