Plan could meet resistance from member states opposed to joint EU approach to legal immigration.

10 January 2007

AMSTERDAM — The European Commission wants to introduce a 'green card' that would be valid across the entire European Union.

The work permits are aimed at highly educated expats, a spokesman for EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said on Tuesday.

The EC decided more than a year ago to draw up a green card system. Concrete proposals will be unveiled in September.
 
The system of work permits will be modelled on the US example. Foreigners can gain a green card to work in America if they meet US labour market conditions.

If foreigners are highly educated and have good English-language skills they can come into consideration for a green card.

The EC plan could meet with heavy resistance from EU member states. Germany, for example, is opposed to a joint EU approach to legal immigration.

But EU member states have agreed on a joint approach to illegal immigration, such as border patrols on the edge of the union to restrict the inflow of African asylum seekers.

Frattini's spokesman stressed that the EC will never propose to let in a certain number of immigrants. That will remain a matter for the member states themselves.

But what is new, is the idea for a green card that allows a worker who has gained entry to one country as a highly-educated expat to also go and work in other EU countries.

It is not yet clear how many years the expat worker will be allowed to remain in the EU.

Europe is in need of highly-educated expats to compete with other economically-strong regions. The EU earlier agreed on a target to become the most competitive economy in 2010.

But the EC is still considering methods to combat, for example, the possibility that large numbers of doctors and nurses might emigrate from poor African nations such as Malawi to Europe.

The world's poorer countries are already facing 'brain drain' problems in which highly-educated workers emigrate from their own nation and leave it even more underdeveloped.

At the same time, Brussels wants highly-educated expats who have spent several years in Europe to return back to their home countries to help their further development.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2006]

Subject: EU news