Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - A common immigration policy for Europe: Principles, actions and tools {SEC(2008) 2026} {SEC(2008) 2027} (presented by the Commission)
Date: 2008-06-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU migration policy, admission of aliens, border control, foreign policy, illegal migration, integration of migrants, migration control, political cooperation

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 17.6.2008 
COM(2008) 359 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

A Common Immigration Policy for Europe:  
Principles, actions and tools 

{SEC(2008) 2026} 
{SEC(2008) 2027} 

(presented by the Commission) 

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I. 

INTRODUCTION 

Immigration  into  the  EU  is  a  reality.  Today  immigration,  which  for  the  purpose  of  this 
paper refers to nationals from third countries and not to EU citizens, represents around 3.8% 
of the total population in the EU1. Since 2002, there have been between 1.5 and 2 million net 
arrivals  per  year  in  the  EU.  On  1  January  2006,  there  were  18.5  million  third-country 
nationals resident in the EU. 

There are no reasons to believe that immigration flows will decrease.  

Based on its humanitarian traditions, Europe must continue to show solidarity with refugees 
and persons in need of protection. Economic differences between developed and developing 
countries/regions,  globalisation,  trade,  political  problems  and  instability  in  the  countries  of 
origin, possibilities to find work in the developed countries are among the main push and pull 
factors for international mobility of people. 

In  a  context  of  an  ageing  Europe,  the  potential  contribution  of  immigration  to  EU 
economic  performance  is  significant.  Europeans  are  living  longer,  the  so  called  "baby 
boom" generation is nearing retirement and birth rates are low. In 2007 the active population 
in the EU, i.e. the total of those in employment and unemployment, was around 235 million 
on  average2  According  to  the  latest  population  projections3,  by  2060,  the  working  age 
population  of  the  EU  is  projected  to  fall  by  almost  50  million  even  with  continued  net 
immigration similar to historical levels and by around 110 million without such immigration. 
Such  evolutions  present  risks  for  the  sustainability  of  pensions,  health  and  social  protection 
systems and require increased public spending4.  

Immigration is a reality which needs to be managed effectively. In an open Europe with 
out internal borders, no Member State can manage immigration on its own. We have to 
deal  with  an  area  without  internal  borders  that,  since  20  December  2007,  includes  24 
countries  and  almost  405  millions  persons,  as  well  as  with  a  common  visa  policy.  The  EU 
economies are profoundly integrated, although many differences in the economic performance 
and  in  the  labour  markets  still  subsist.  Moreover,  the  EU  has  become  an  increasingly 
important player on the global scene, and its common external action is constantly enlarging 
to new domains; immigration is one of this. All of this means that policies and measures taken 
by  Member  States  in  this  domain  do  no  longer  affect  only  their  national  situation,  but  can 
have repercussions on other Member States and on the EU as a whole.  

The  EU  has  been  working  to  build  a  common  policy  since  1999,  when  for  the  first  time 
competence in this domain was clearly recognised by the EC Treaty. A number of Common 

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4 

The  figure  of  3,8%  refers  to  the  percentage  of  the  EU  population  who  are  third-country  nationals:  It 
should be noted that many of these are not themselves immigrants but descendants of immigrants who 
have not taken citizenship of their country of residence.  
Eurostat, population and social conditions statistics. 
Eurostat  population  projections  EUROPOP2008,  2008-based  convergence  scenario,  convergence  year 
2150. 
See  Economic  Policy  Committee  and  European  Commission  (DG  ECFIN),  (2006),  ‘The  impact  of 
ageing on public expenditure: projections for the EU-25 Member States on pensions, health-care, long-
term  care,  education  and  unemployment  transfers  (2004-2050)’,  European  Economy,  Special  Reports 
No 1, 2006. 

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instruments  and  policies  are  in  place,  which  address  immigration  both  in  its  internal  and 
external dimensions. 

These  achievements  are  not  sufficient.  A  common  policy  vision  is  needed  which  builds  on 
past  achievements  and  aims  at  providing  a  more  coherent  and  forthcoming  framework  for 
future action by the Member States and the EU itself. The added value of the EU will be in 
providing European instruments where they are needed and providing the right framework for 
achieving  coherence  where  Member  States  act  on  the  basis  of  their  competences. 
Transparency  and  mutual  trust  are  now  more  than  necessary  for  this  common  vision  to  be 
effective and deliver results 

While  to  a  certain  extent  immigration  may  help  to  alleviate  the  challenges  arising  from 
population ageing, it will play a more crucial role in helping to address future labour and skill 
shortages  as  well  as  to  increase  the  EU's  growth  potential  and  prosperity,  complementing 
ongoing structural reforms. This is why immigration has become an important factor for the 
development  of  the  EU's  Lisbon  Strategy  for  growth  and  jobs,  which  recognises  that 
appropriate  management  of  economic 
is  an  essential  element  of  EU 
competitiveness. This has also been recognized by the 2008 Spring European Council. 

immigration 

Apart from the economic potential, immigration can also enrich European societies in terms 
of cultural diversity. However, the positive potential of immigration can only be realised if 
integration into host societies is successful. This requires an approach which does not only 
look  at  the  benefit  for  the  host  society  but  takes  also  account  of  the  interests  of  the 
immigrants: Europe is and shall continue to be a welcoming environment for those who have 
been  granted  the  right  to  stay,  be  they  labour  immigrants,  family  members,  students  or 
persons in need of international protection. Rising to this challenge poses a complex mix of 
questions. While access to the labour market is a key path to integration, current figures show 
that, overall, the unemployment rates for immigrants remain often higher than those for EU 
nationals  although  there  are  great  variations  between  Member  States.  Furthermore, 
immigrants  are  often  more  exposed  to  being  employed  in  precarious  work,  jobs  of  lower 
quality or jobs for which they are over-qualified, with the result that their skills are not fully 
utilised  (“brain  waste”).  This  contributes  to  making  immigrants  more  likely  to  undertake 
undeclared work. Female non-EU migrants face particular difficulties in the labour market. In 
addition, the language skills of immigrants and the educational path of their children remain 
often  unsatisfactory,  raising  concerns  regarding  their  future  personal  and  professional 
development.  

Mechanisms  based  on  solidarity  among  Member  States  and  the  EU  for  burden  sharing  and 
policy  coordination  are  needed.  This  requires  funding  for  border  management  control, 
integration policies and other purposes and therefore there is an impact on public finances of 
national,  regional  and  local  communities.  Handling  immigration  well  also  requires  close 
cooperation with third countries in order to deal with situations of mutual interest, including 
problems caused by "brain drain" and policy responses such as circular migration.  

Managing  immigration  effectively  means  addressing  also  different  issues  linked  to  the 
security  of  our  societies  and  of  immigrants'  themselves.  This  requires  fighting  illegal 
immigration and criminal activities related to it, striking the right balance between individual 
integrity and collective security concerns. Illegal employment needs to be tackled as it creates 
situations of abuse and violation of fundamental rights and freedoms. It also undermines legal 
immigration and has negative implications with regard to cohesion and fair competition. 

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This new vision for the further development of the common European immigration policy 
was presented by the Commission in its Communication of 5 December 20075. The European 
Council  in  December  2007  stated  that  the  development  of  a  common  immigration  policy 
complementing  Member  States'  policies  remains  a  fundamental  priority  and  asked  the 
Commission  to  put  forward  proposals  in  2008.  A  common  immigration  policy  represents  a 
fundamental  priority  for  the  EU6  if  we  want  to  be  successful  together  in  harnessing  the 
benefits  and  addressing  the  challenges  at  stake.  This  common  policy  should  aim  at  a  co-
ordinated  and  integrated  approach  to  immigration  both  at  a  European,  national  and  regional 
level.  This  implies  looking  at  the  different  dimensions  of  the  phenomenon  and  factoring 
immigration into the main strands of EU policy - prosperity, solidarity and security. 

•  This  policy  should  be  developed  in  partnership  and  solidarity  between  the  Member 
States and the Commission, in response to the call for a renewed political commitment on 
immigration from the December 2007 European Council.  

•  It  should  build  on  a  set  of  politically  binding  common  principles  to  be  agreed  at  the 

highest political level and then be delivered through concrete actions.  

•  Implementation of these measures should be followed up by means of a specific common 

methodology and a monitoring mechanism.  

•  It should build on the universal values of human dignity, freedom, equality and solidarity 
espoused  by  the  EU,  including  full  respect  of  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  rights  and  the 
European Convention of Human Rights. Based on its humanitarian traditions, Europe will 
also continue showing solidarity with refugees and persons in need of protection7 

The  wider  EU  renewed  social  agenda  for  access,  opportunity  and  solidarity,  to  be 
presented by the Commission before the summer will encourage an integrated and inclusive 
society,  where  opportunities  are  open  to  everyone.  In  particular,  it  will  provide  new  tools 
which will also help develop the new common immigration policy.  

This Communication will be adopted together with the Policy Plan on Asylum. Both papers 
seek to deliver the remaining elements concerning immigration and asylum of the 2004 Hague 
Programme.  

In spring next year, the Commission intends to present a comprehensive communication with 
specific suggestions on how to take forward the works in the Justice, Freedom and Security 
area as a whole in view of the new five-year Programme in this domain, to be adopted in the 
second half of 2009. 

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COM (2007) 780 final. 
Although  developing  this  policy  must  go  hand  in  hand  with  the  gradual  removal  of  the  existing 
transitional arrangements that still restrict the free movement of nationals of some EU Member States, 
this communication only addresses issues related to the immigration of third-country nationals and does 
not deal with intra-EU or intra-regional movements of EU nationals. 
This  aspect  will  be  further  developed  when  building  the  second  phase  of  the  Common  European 
Asylum System. See the "Policy Plan on Asylum: an integrated approach to protection across the EU", 
presented together with this Communication – COM (2008) 360. 

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II. 

COMMON  PRINCIPLES  UNDERLYING  THE  FURTHER  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE 
COMMON IMMIGRATION POLICY 

The text which follows proposes ten common principles on which the common immigration 
policy  will  be  articulated,  grouped  under  the  three  headings  of  prosperity,  security  and 
solidarity.  After  stating  each  principle  the  text  then  indicates,  to  illustrate  their  future 
implementation,  examples  of  concrete  actions  to  be  pursued  at  either  EU  or  Member  State 
level as appropriate and designed to implement the principle in practice.  

PROSPERITY: 
development of the EU 

the  contribution  of 

legal 

immigration 

to 

the  socio-economic 

The 2008 Spring European Council asked the Commission to address the dimensions of "the 
employment  and  social  impact  of  migration  of  third-country  nationals"  in  the  context  of  its 
proposals for a common immigration policy8. Future economic immigration into the EU will 
need to be assessed inter alia in the light of the match between skills of the immigrants and 
national labour market needs; promoting opportunities for legal immigration should be based 
on  this  assessment.  Besides  opening  up  labour  immigration  avenues,  other  categories  of 
immigrants should be given the chance and the means to enter and reside legally in the EU, 
on  a  temporary  or  permanent  basis.  Integration  of  legal  immigrants  will  be  fostered.  This 
requires a clear commitment from both the host societies and the immigrants themselves.  

1. 

Prosperity and Immigration: Clear rules and a level playing field 

The  common  immigration  policy  should  promote  legal  immigration,  which 
should be governed by clear, transparent and fair rules. Third-country citizens 
should  be  provided  with  the  information  necessary  to  understand  the 
requirements and procedures for legal entry and stay in the EU. Fair treatment 
of  third-country  nationals  who  reside  legally  on  the  territory  of  the  Member 
States  should  be  ensured,  with  the  aim  of  approximating  their  legal  status  to 
that of EU nationals.  

In order to make this happen the EU and its Member States need to: 

•  Continue to define clear and transparent rules for the entry and residence of third-country 

nationals, including for exercising a paid or self-employed activity; 

•  Provide  information  to  potential  immigrants  and  applicants,  including  on  their  rights  and 

on the rules they have to comply with once they are legally resident in the EU; 

•  Clarify the rules and offer assistance and support in countries of both origin and destination 

for fulfilment of entry and residence requirements; 

•  Strive  for  a  common  visa  policy  that  allows  flexible  responses  to  movements  of  natural 
persons  on  a  temporary  basis  and  for  professional  or  educational  purposes  (e.g.  intra-
corporate transferees, contractual service suppliers, independent professionals and business 
visitors, students, researchers, government representatives or officials, staff of international 
or regional organisations. 

8 

Presidency Conclusions, Brussels 13/14 March 2008, point 14. 

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2. 

Prosperity and Immigration: Matching skills and needs 

As  part  of  the  Lisbon  Strategy,  immigration  for  economic  purposes  should 
respond to a common needs-based assessment of EU labour markets addressing 
all skills levels and sectors in order to enhance the knowledge-based economy of 
Europe, to advance economic growth and to meet labour market requirements. 
This  should  be  done  with  full  respect  for  the  principle  of  Community 
preference,  for  the  right  of  Member  States  to  determine  volumes  of  admission 
and  for  the  rights  of  the  immigrants  and  by  actively  involving  social  partners 
and the regional and local authorities.  

In order to make this happen the EU and its Member States need to:  

•  Engage, as requested by the spring 2008 European Council, in a comprehensive assessment 
of  the  future  skills  requirements  in  Europe  up  to  2020,  taking  account  of  the  impact  of 
technological  change,  ageing  populations,  emigration  flows  and  changes  in  the  global 
division  of  labour.  Current  and  medium-term  labour  market  needs  at  all  skill  levels  and 
sectors in Member States will also be assessed regularly;  

•  Start  developing  national  "Immigration  profiles"9  that  give  an  integrated  vision  of  the 
situation  of  immigration  within  each  Member  State  at  a  given  moment,  in  particular  as 
regards  the  participation  in  the  national  labour  market  and  the  skills  composition  of 
immigration flows (both actual and potential). In support of this, ensure the availability of 
consistent, comprehensive and comparable data on immigration, including information on 
stocks and flows, at both EU and national levels;  

•  Increase the availability and effectiveness of labour-matching policies and tools, including 
enhanced  education  and  training  for  third-country  workers  in  order  to  adapt  the  skills 
brought  by  immigrants  to  the  characteristics  of  national  labour  markets,  promotion  of 
appropriate mechanisms for the recognition of professional qualifications acquired outside 
the EU and provision of information and training in countries of origin; 

•  Analyse the current situation and future trends in regard to immigrants' entrepreneurship as 
well  as  the  current  legislative  and  operational  barriers  that  may  be  encountered  by 
immigrants willing to set up business in the EU. On the basis of such assessment, propose 
measures to support immigrants' entrepreneurship;  

•  Invest  more  in  measures  aimed  at  bringing  unemployed  and  economically  inactive  third- 
country nationals already legally residing in the EU Member States into employment (e.g. 
training nurses and other health workers), with a particular focus on women; 

9 

"Immigration Profiles" will bring together in a structured manner all the information needed to promote 
the  evidence-based  approach  to  migration  management.  The  labour  market  needs  will  be  a  central 
aspect  of  these  profiles.  Besides  gathering  information  on  the  current  labour  market  situation, 
unemployment  rates,  labour  demand  and  supply,  they  will  also  aim  at  identifying  potential  skill 
shortages  by  sector  and  occupation.  Establishing  immigration  profiles  will  allow  the  EU  and  its 
Member States to launch labour matching schemes both inside the EU as well as with third countries. 
Immigration profiles will also gather information on skills available among transnational communities, 
the  composition  of  migration  flows,  also  in  terms  of  gender  and  age,  and  incoming  and  outgoing 
financial flows linked with migration, including migrant remittances. 

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•  Identify  measures  that  can  offer  a  real  alternative  to  illegal  employment  or  create 

incentives for legal employment. 

3. 

Prosperity and Immigration: Integration is the key to successful immigration 

The integration of legal immigrants should be improved by strengthened efforts 
from host Member States and contribution from immigrants themselves (“two-
way-process”), in accordance with the Common Basic Principles on Integration 
adopted  in  2004.  Immigrants  should  be  provided  with  opportunities  to 
participate and develop their full potential. European societies should enhance 
their  capacity  to  manage  immigration-related  diversity  and  enhance  social 
cohesion.  

In order to make this happen the EU and its Member States need to: 

•  Strengthen  further  the  mainstreaming  approach  of  the  EU  Framework  for  Integration 
including  civic  participation,  integration  into  the  labour  market,  social  inclusion,  anti-
discrimination,  equal  opportunities,  education  and  youth-related  measures,  intercultural 
dialogue and diversity management; 

•  Develop  mutual  learning  and  exchange  of  best  practices  to  strengthen  the  ability  of  host 
countries  to  manage  their  increasing  diversity,  including  measures  to  address  the 
educational  challenges  faced  by  immigrant  pupils.  Develop  common  indicators  and 
adequate  statistical  capacity  to  be  used  by  Member  States  to  evaluate  integration  policy 
outcomes; 

•  Support the development of specific integration programmes for newly arrived immigrants; 
including  facilitation  of  acquisition  of  language  skills  and  emphasizing  practical  inter-
cultural  skills  needed  for  effective  adaptation  as  well  as  the  commitment  to  fundamental 
European  values;  this  could  be  further  explored  by  identifying  the  basic  rights  and 
obligations for newly arrived immigrants, in the framework of specific national procedures 
(e.g.  integration  curricula,  explicit  integration  commitments,  welcoming  programmes, 
national plans for citizenship and integration, civic introduction or orientation courses); 

•  Foster  diversity  management  in  the  work  place  and  render  advancement  opportunities 
available  also  for  legally  residing  and  working  third-country  nationals.  Policy  efforts 
should  aim  to  ensure  a  social  ladder  for  all  workers  in  the  EU,  guarantee  fundamental 
social rights and favour good labour standards and social cohesion. Within this context due 
attention should be paid to the participation of immigrant women in the labour market and 
to immigrants who are furthest from the labour market; 

•  Ensure  a  non-discriminatory  and  effective  access  of  legal  immigrants  to  health  care  and 
social protection, and an effective application of EU law providing third country nationals 
with  the  same  treatment  as  EU  nationals  as  regards  the  coordination  of  social  security 
schemes  across  the  EU10.  Furthermore,  the  EU  and  the  Member  States  should  promote 

10 

In 2003, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 859/2003 (OJ L 124, 
20.5.2003) extends the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 to third country nationals who are 
(1) legally residing in the EU and (2) in a cross border situation. In July 2007, the Commission adopted 
a  proposal  extending  the  provisions  of  Regulation  883/04,  which  will  replace  Regulation  (EEC)  No 

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transparency in the rules applying to pensions entitlements in case migrants wish to return 
to their country of origin; 

•  Explore increased participation at local, national and European levels to reflect the multiple 

and evolving identities of European societies; 

•  Explore  the  links  between  new  patterns  of  immigration,  such  as  circular  migration,  and 

integration; 

•  Assess the implementation and the need for modification of Council Directive 2003/86/EC 

on the right to family reunification; 

•  Continue  hosting  refugees  and  persons  in  need  of  protection  and  further  develop  this 
humanitarian tradition when building the second phase of the Common European Asylum 
System11. 

SOLIDARITY:  coordination  between  Member  States  and  cooperation  with  third 

countries 

A  common  immigration  policy  must  be  based  on  solidarity  among  the  Member  States,  as 
enshrined  in  the  EC  Treaty.  Solidarity  and  responsibility  are  essential  in  an  area  where 
competences  are  shared  between  the  European  Community  and  the  Member  States.  The 
implementation  of  the  common  policy  can  only  be  successful  if  it  is  based  on  joint  efforts. 
While Member States have different historical, economic and demographic backgrounds that 
determine their national immigration policies, these clearly have an impact beyond national 
borders  and  therefore  no  Member  State  can  effectively  control  or  deal  with  all  aspects  of 
immigration on their own and therefore decisions likely to have an impact on other Member 
States  need  to  be  coordinated.  Financial  burden-sharing  is  another  concrete  expression  of 
solidarity. Indeed, managing immigration has an impact on public finances. EU funds can be 
used  to  promote  delivery  of  the  common  principles  and  national  resources  should  also  be 
pooled,  where  appropriate,  to  ensure  efficiency.  An  additional  dimension  of  solidarity  has 
been  added  with  the  "Global  Approach  to  Migration":  with  the  aim  to  achieve  a  better 
management of migration flows in the interest of all actors involved, including diasporas and 
immigrant communities, countries of origin and transit need to be associated with EU action 
and  migration  issues  need  to  be  part  of  the  EU's  dialogue  with  third-countries  and  its 
development cooperation policy.  

4. 

Solidarity and Immigration: Transparency, trust and cooperation 

The common immigration policy should be founded on a high level of political 
and  operational  solidarity,  mutual  trust,  transparency,  shared  responsibility 
and joint efforts from the European Union and its Member States. 

11 

1408/71,  to  third  country  nationals  who  are  (1)  legally  residing  in  the  EU  and  (2)  in  a  cross  border 
situation – COM (2007) 439. 
See  the  "Policy  Plan  on  Asylum:  an  integrated  approach  to  protection  across  the  EU",  presented 
together with this Communication – COM (2008) 360. 

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In order to make this happen the EU and its Member States need to: 

•  Strengthen  information  sharing  and  joint  discussion  within  the  EU,  with  a  view  to 
exchanging best practices, increasing mutual trust and adopting coordinated approaches to 
issues  of  mutual  interest,  while  taking  into  account  differences  in  immigration  traditions 
and realities;  

•  Set up and/or improve the functioning of the necessary mechanisms to monitor the impact 
of national immigration measures beyond national borders within the EU, so to overcome 
inconsistencies and improve coordination at EU level;  

•  Develop  interoperable  systems  and  increase  the  pooling  of  technical  means  (mutual 
support mechanisms and teams) making strategic use of financial and human resources to 
achieve a more effective immigration management; 

•  Improve  internal  and  external  communication  of  EU  immigration  policies,  its  objectives 

and strategies, to allow the Union to speak with a common voice. 

5. 

Solidarity and Immigration: Efficient and coherent use of available means 

The  solidarity  required  to  enable  the  common  immigration  policies  to  achieve 
their strategic goals should include a strong financial component that takes into 
account the specific situation of the external borders of certain Member States 
and the specific migratory challenges faced by them. 

In order to make this happen the EU and its Member States need to:  

•  Ensure, in accordance with the principle of sound financial management, the strategic use 
of  the  General  Programme  on  Solidarity  and  Management  of  Migration  Flows  (2007  – 
2013)  as  a  burden-sharing  mechanism  to  complement Member  States'  national  budgetary 
resources;  

•  Explore the full potential of the mix of mechanisms existing in the four instruments of the 
General  Programme  to  reinforce  the  capacity  of  Member  States  to  implement  effective 
policies and at the same time to respond to urgent needs or specific developments, such as 
situations of mass influx; 

•  Constantly  review  for  each  instrument  of  the  Programme  the  distribution  key  for  the 
allocation of the resources to Member States and adjust it as necessary to reflect increasing 
demands and new developments; 

•  Improve  coordination  of  activities  funded  through  Community  and  national  resources  in 
view  of  increasing  transparency,  coherence  and  efficiency  to  avoid  overlaps  and  to  fulfil 
policy objectives of immigration policy as well as other related policy areas. 

6. 

Solidarity and Immigration: Partnership with third-countries 

Effective  management  of  migration  flows  requires  genuine  partnership  and 
cooperation  with  third  countries.  Migration  issues  should  be  fully  integrated 
into  the  Union's  development  cooperation  and  other  external  policies.  The  EU 
should  work  in  close  tandem  with  partner  countries  on  opportunities  for  legal 

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mobility, capacities for migration management, identification of migratory push 
factors,  protecting  fundamental  rights,  fighting  illegal  flows  and  enhancing 
possibilities to let migration work in service of development.  

In order to make this happen the EU and its Member States need to: 

•  Support  third-countries  in  developing  their  national  legislative  framework  and  establish 
immigration and asylum systems, with full respect to relevant international conventions; 

•  Reinforce  cooperation,  support  and  capacity-building  in  partner  countries  with  a  view  to 
developing  policies  for  well-managed  migration,  identifying  migratory  push  factors  and 
supporting  the  development  of  effective  adaptation  measures;  mitigating  brain  drain  by 
actions  in  particular  in  the  areas  of  training,  recruitment,  return,  decent  work,  ethical 
recruitment  standards  and  by  assessing  trends  in  their  own  national  labour  markets, 
complying  with  decent  work  standards,  developing  education  and  vocational  training 
systems  in  line  with  labour  markets'  needs,  realising  the  development  potential  of 
remittances,  in  particular  through  the  improvement  of  statistics,  the  reduction  of 
transaction costs and supporting financial sector development; 

•  Make  coherent  and  strategic  use  of  all  the  policy  instruments  developed  in  recent  years 
within the framework of the "Global Approach to Migration", including migration profiles 
of third-countries and cooperation platforms; 

•  For  the  candidate  and  potential  candidate  countries,  which  already  have  well  developed 
cooperation mechanisms with the EU, use the new policy instruments, where appropriate, 
to reinforce the existing cooperation;  

•  Engage  closely  with  the  African  partners  with  a  view  to  jointly  implementing  the  2006 
"Rabat  process"  on  migration  and  development  and  the  EU-Africa  Partnership  on 
Migration, Mobility and Employment agreed in Lisbon in December 2007; 

•  Continue  using  our  political  and  sectorial  dialogues  with  the  European  Neighbourhood 
countries  and  with  Latin  America  and  the  Caribbean  as  well  as  with  Asia  to  deepen  our 
mutual  understanding  of  the  migration  challenges  faced  and  to  strengthen  the  existing 
cooperation; 

•  Agree,  together  with  interested  Member  States,  mobility  partnerships  with  partner 
countries, paving the way for management arrangements for labour immigration with long-
term strategic partners as well as cooperation on return issues; 

•  Work  with  countries  of  origin,  in  full  accordance  with  the  principle  of  shared 
responsibility,  in  order  to  raise  awareness  of  the  need  to  discourage  their  citizens  from 
illegally entering and residing on EU territory; 

•  Provide  real  possibilities  for  circular  migration,  by  setting  up  or  strengthening  legal  and 
operational measures granting legal immigrants the right to priority access to further legal 
residence in the EU; 

•  Include provisions on social security coordination in the association agreements concluded 
between  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  and  third  countries.  Apart  from  the  principle  of 

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equal  treatment,  such  provisions  could  cover  portability  of  acquired  social  rights,  in 
particular transfer of pension rights. 

•  Ensure  that  appropriate  resources  are  made  available  and  used  efficiently  within  all  the 
relevant  national  and  Community  financial  instruments  to  implement  the  "Global 
Approach to Migration" in all its dimensions, while respecting the financing already agreed 
at Community level. 

SECURITY: effective fight against illegal immigration 

The  prevention  and  reduction  of  illegal  immigration  in  all  its  dimensions  is  critical  for  the 
credibility  and  public  acceptance  of  the  policies  on  legal  immigration.  Control  of  access  to 
the  EU  territory  must  be  reinforced  in  order  to  promote  a  truly  integrated  border 
management,  while  ensuring  easy  access  for  bona  fide  travellers  and  persons  in  need  of 
protection  and  keeping  Europe  open  to  the  world.  Despite  being  a  phenomenon  which  also 
involves many EU citizens, undeclared work and illegal employment can act as pull factors of 
illegal  immigration  and  must  therefore  be  addressed.  Stepping  up  the  fight  against  migrant 
smuggling and all aspects of trafficking in human beings is a key priority of the EU and its 
Member  States.  A  sustainable  and  effective  return  policy  –  based  on  clear,  transparent  and 
fair rules – should support Member States that need to repatriate third-country nationals who 
do  not,  or  who  no  longer,  fulfil  the  conditions  for  staying  in  the  EU.  Indiscriminate  large-
scale mass regularisations of immigrants in an illegal situation do not constitute a lasting and 
effective  tool  for  migration  management  and  should  be  prevented.  All  these  policies  and 
measures  shall  fully  respect  the  dignity,  fundamental  rights  and  freedoms  of  the  persons 
concerned.  

7. 

Security and Immigration: A visa policy that serves the interests of Europe and 
its partners 

The  common  visa  policy  should  facilitate  the  entry  of  bona  fide  visitors  and 
enhance  security.  New  technologies  should  be  used,  where  appropriate,  to 
enable  differentiated,  risk-based  checks  on  visa  applicants  with  extensive 
sharing  of  information  between  Member  States,  whilst  fully  respecting  data 
protection and privacy laws.  

In order to make this happen the EU and its Member States need to: 

•  Establish an integrated, four-tier approach so that checks are carried out systematically at 
each stage when immigrants are travelling to the Union (at consulates, at arrival, inside the 
territory and at departure);  

•  Replace  the  current  national  Schengen  visas  by  uniform  European  Schengen  visas, 
allowing  for  equal  treatment  of  all  visa  applicants  and  fully  harmonised  application  of 
criteria for security checks; 

•  Issue  visas  at  Common  Consular  Centres  representing  several  or  all  Member  States, 
allowing  for  economies  of  scale  as  well  as  easy  access  for  visa  applicants  from  all  third 
countries; 

•  Explore the possibility of setting up a system requiring third-country nationals to obtain an 

electronic authorisation to travel before leaving for EU territory; 

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•  Explore further the opportunities to facilitate visa issuing and to improve coordination in 

visa procedures, also regarding longer-term visas. 

8. 

Security and Immigration: Integrated border management 

The integrity of the Schengen area without internal border controls on persons 
should be preserved. The integrated management of the external borders should 
be  strengthened  and  policies  on  border  controls  should  develop  in  coherence 
with policies on custom controls and on prevention of other safety and security-
related threats. 

In order to make this happen the EU and its Member States need to:  

•  Reinforce  the  operational  dimension  of  the  European  Agency  for  the  Management  of 
Operational  Cooperation  at  the  External  Borders  of  the  Member  States  of  the  European 
Union  (FRONTEX),  including  by  extending  its  capacity  with  regard  to  operational 
command, and its powers to initiate operations involving border controls in areas identified 
as high-risk areas and exposed to exceptional migratory pressure;  

•  Develop an integrated approach to enhance the use of new technologies, including existing 
and  planned  IT  tools,  moving  towards  integration  of  the  individual  functionalities  of 
different systems forming part of the overall IT architecture; ensure use of the full potential 
of the 7th research framework programme; 

•  Continue to build on the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) concept, by 
improving coordination within Member States, between Member States, and between the 
means used and activities carried out by Member States for the purpose of relevant policies 
related to surveillance and maintaining internal security; 

•  Develop a coordinated, strategic approach to cooperation with third countries at European 
level,  with  targeted  support  to  build  up  a  sustainable,  effective  border  management 
capacity in key partner countries of transit and origin, with a prominent role to be played 
by FRONTEX carrying out border assistance missions in those countries; 

•  Continue  to  support  the  build-up  of  state-of-the-art,  uniform,  interoperable  capacity  of 
Member States for border control through extended means of European financial solidarity, 
and  to  develop  new  mechanisms  for  efficient,  operational  burden-sharing  to  support 
Member States facing, currently or in the future, recurrent and massive arrivals of illegal 
immigrants, by combining European and pooled national resources;  

•  Increase cooperation between Member States' authorities to develop a one-stop-shop at the 
land  borders,  where  each  traveller  is,  as  a  general  rule,  subject  to  one  check  by  one 
authority.  

9. 

Security and Immigration: Stepping up the fight against illegal immigration and 
zero tolerance for trafficking in human beings 

The  EU  and  its  Member  States  should  develop  a  coherent  policy  on  fighting 
illegal  immigration  and  trafficking  in  human  beings.  Undeclared  work  and 

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illegal  employment12  in  their  various  forms  should  be  effectively  combated  via 
preventive  measures,  law  enforcement  and  sanctions.  Protection  and  support 
for victims of human trafficking should be reinforced.  

In order to make this happen the EU and its Member States need to: 

•  Provide  for  appropriate  financial  and  human  resources  to  investigate  smuggling  and 
trafficking cases and to raise the number and quality of controls, in particular in the form 
of workplace inspections;  

•  Involve  workers'  and  employers'  representatives  actively  in  the  fight  against  undeclared 

work and illegal employment; 

•  Develop  risk  analysis  tools  and  enhance  cooperation  and  cross-checks  by  different 
administrations in order to increase the rate of detection of undeclared work involving both 
illegally and legally residing third-country nationals; 

•  Facilitate  exchanges  of  good  practices,  more  systematic  policy  evaluation  and  better 

measurement of undeclared work and illegal employment;  

•  Increase the use of biometrics as an important tool to fight against illegal immigration and 

human trafficking; 

•  Ensure  that  illegally  residing  third-country  nationals  have  access  to  services  that  are 
essential  to  guarantee  fundamental  human  rights  (e.g.  education  of  children,  basic  health 
care); 

•  Protect  and  assist  victims  of  human  trafficking,  in  particular  women  and  children  by 
assessing  and  reviewing  the  existing  common  regime;  continue  developing  legal  and 
operational possibilities to facilitate victims' recovery and reintegration in the host or home 
society, including by means of specifically targeted programmes; 

•  Strengthen the existing legal framework on combating the facilitation of illegal entry and 
stay as well as the sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material to take 
new criminal phenomena into account;  

•  Step up EU action at regional and international level, so as to ensure that the international 
instruments  applicable  in  the  area  of  migrant  smuggling  and  human  trafficking  are 
effectively  implemented,  by  means  of  more  consistent,  continuous  and  effective 
cooperation. 

12 

Undeclared  work  and  illegal  employment  of  EU  nationals  should  also  be  tackled  by  Member  States. 
The internal EU side of this problem is not developed in this paper. 

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10. 

Security and Immigration: Effective and sustainable return policies 

Effective return measures are an indispensable component of the EU’s policy on 
illegal  immigration.  Indiscriminate  large-scale  regularisations  of  illegally 
staying  persons  should  be  avoided,  while  leaving  open  the  possibility  for 
individual regularisations based on fair and transparent criteria.  

In order to make this happen, the EU and its Member States need to: 

•  Give a genuine European dimension to return policy by ensuring full mutual recognition of 

return decisions; 

•  Reinforce  practical  cooperation  among  Member  States  in  the  implementation  of  return 
measures  and  strengthen  the  role  of  FRONTEX  with regard to joint return operations by 
air; 

•  Monitor  the  implementation  and  application  of  the  directive  on  common  standards  and 
procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals (once in 
force); 

•  Devise  measures  to  facilitate  identification  of  undocumented  returnees  and  to  prevent 

identity theft; 

•  Take  steps  to  ensure  that  all  third  countries  comply  with  the  obligation  to  accept 

readmission of their own nationals; 

•  Evaluate  all  existing  readmission  agreements  with  a  view  to  facilitate  their  practical 

implementation and to draw lessons for the negotiation of future agreements; 

•  Develop a common approach on regularisation, including minimum requirements for early 

information sharing; 

•  Consider the possibility of introducing a European laissez-passer to facilitate the return of 

undocumented migrants. 

III. 

CONCLUSIONS: GOVERNANCE OF IMMIGRATION 

The  European  Council  is  invited  to  endorse  the  common  principles  proposed  by  this 
Communication on which the common immigration policy will build upon. These principles 
will be implemented through concrete actions, as suggested above, and followed up regularly 
through a new monitoring and evaluation mechanism including a regular assessment.  

The common immigration policy will be delivered in partnership and solidarity between the 
Member States and the EU institutions. This framework should be flexible enough to adapt to 
change, mainly linked to the economic situation, market and technological developments. In 
particular, the common immigration policy will be taken forward through: 

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1. 

Coordinated and coherent action by the EU and its Member States: 

•  The common principles and concrete measures of the common immigration policy 
will be implemented in full transparency at European, national or regional level, 
as appropriate; 

•  In  order  to  strike  the  right  balance  between  labour  market  needs,  economic 
impacts, social outcomes, integration policies and external policy objectives, there 
will  be  stronger coordination between the EU and the national, regional and 
local  level,  especially  in  the  areas  of  statistics  and  economic,  social  and 
development policies; 

•  Immigration issues will be taken into consideration in all other policies which 
may be connected to it ("mainstreaming"). The economic, social and international 
dimensions  of  immigration  should  be  factored  into  all  related  policy  areas, 
including  development;  trade;  cohesion  policy;  employment  and  social  policy; 
environment;  research;  education;  health;  agriculture  and  fisheries;  security  and 
foreign policy and economic and fiscal policy; 

•  Mechanisms to promote timely consultation of relevant stakeholders on further 
policy developments, including the regional and local authorities, social partners, 
academic  experts,  international  organisations,  immigrant  associations  and  civil 
society will be established and/or strengthened; 

•  Exchange of best practices, mutual learning at all levels and wide and effective 
dissemination of knowledge about the most effective immigration and integration 
policies will be fostered. 

2. 

A common methodology for the EU and its Member States to ensure transparency, 
mutual trust and coherence. This methodology consists of the following elements: 

•  The  common  principles  will  be  translated  into  common  objectives  and 
indicators for the EU and each Member State to ensure their implementation. 

•  The  agreed  common  objectives  and  indicators  will  be  factored  into  national 
immigration  profiles  that  will  be  developed  in  cooperation  with  each  Member 
State  to  increase  knowledge  of  immigration  flows.  These  profiles  will  ascertain 
the  national  labour  market  situation  and  immigration  patterns  and  help  to 
strengthen the evidence base for immigration policies that effectively address the 
priority  needs  of  the  Member  States.  They  will  bring  together  all  relevant 
information  needed  and  their  scope  will  cover  both  immigrants  already  in  their 
territory  and  potential  immigrants.  These  profiles  will  look  at  the  skills 
composition of the immigrant population and identify future labour needs; 

•  In  order  to  monitor,  evaluate  and  follow-up  the  development  of  action  on 
immigration, the Member States will annually report to the Commission on the 
implementation  of  the  common  objectives  and  on  their  national  immigration 
profiles.  

•  Member  States  national  reports  will  serve  as  the  basis  for  the  Commission's 

annual synthesis report which will also be sent to European Parliament. 

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•  On the basis of the Commission's synthesis report, the annual Spring European 
issue 

the  situation  and 

Council  will  make  a  political  assessment  of 
recommendations, as appropriate.  

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ANNEX 

SUMMARY – THE TEN COMMON PRINCIPLES 

(1) 

Prosperity and Immigration: Clear rules and a level playing field 

The common immigration policy should promote legal immigration, which should be 
governed  by  clear,  transparent  and  fair  rules.  Third-country  citizens  should  be 
provided  with  the  information  necessary  to  understand  the  requirements  and 
procedures  for  legal  entry  and  stay  in  the  EU.  Fair  treatment  of  third  country 
nationals who reside legally on the territory of the Member States should be ensured, 
with the aim of approximating their legal status to that of EU nationals.  

(2) 

Prosperity and Immigration: Matching skills and needs 

As part of the Lisbon Strategy, immigration for economic purposes should respond to 
a common needs-based assessment of EU labour markets addressing all skills levels 
and sectors in order to enhance the knowledge based economy of Europe, to advance 
economic  growth  and  to  meet  labour  market  requirements.  This  should  be  done  in 
full respect of the principle of Community preference, for the right of Member States 
to  determine  volumes  of  admission  and  of  the  rights  of  the  immigrants  and  by 
actively involving social partners and the regional and local authorities. 

(3) 

Prosperity and Immigration: Integration is the key to successful immigration 

The integration of legal immigrants should be improved by strengthened efforts 
from host Member States and contribution from immigrants themselves (“two-way-
process”), in accordance with the Common Basic Principles on Integration adopted 
in 2004. Immigrants should be provided with opportunities to participate and develop 
their  full  potential.  European  societies  should  enhance  their  capacity  to  manage 
immigration-related diversity and enhance social cohesion. 

(4) 

Solidarity and Immigration: Transparency, trust and cooperation 

The common immigration policy should be founded on a high level of political and 
operational  solidarity,  mutual  trust,  transparency,  shared  responsibility  and  joint 
efforts from the European Union and its Member States. 

(5) 

Solidarity and Immigration: Effective and coherent use of available means 

The solidarity required to enable the common immigration policies to achieve their 
strategic  goals  should  comprise  a  strong  financial  component  that  takes  into 
account  the  specific  situation  of  the  external  borders  of  certain  Member  States  and 
the specific migratory challenges faced by them 

(6) 

Solidarity and Immigration: Partnership with third-countries 

An  effective  management  of  migration  flows  requires  genuine  partnership  and 
cooperation  with  third  countries. Migration issues should be fully integrated into 
the  Union's  development  cooperation  and  other  external  policies.  The  EU  should 
work  in  close  tandem  with  partner  countries  on  opportunities  for  legal  mobility, 

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capacities  for  migration  management,  identification  of  migratory  push  factors, 
protecting fundamental rights, fighting illegal flows and enhancing possibilities to let 
migration work in service of development. 

(7) 

Security and Immigration: A visa policy that serves the interests of Europe 

The common visa policy should facilitate the entry of bona fide visitors and enhance 
security.  New 
to  enable 
differentiated,  risk-based  checks  on  visa  applicants  with  extensive  sharing  of 
information  between  Member  States,  whilst  fully  respecting  data  protection  and 
privacy laws. 

technologies  should  be  used,  where  appropriate, 

(8) 

Security and Immigration: Integrated border management 

The integrity of the Schengen area without internal border controls on persons should 
be  preserved.  The  integrated  management  of  the  external  borders  should  be 
strengthened and policies border controls should develop in coherence with policies 
on custom controls and on prevention of other safety and security related threats. 

(9) 

Security and Immigration: Stepping up the fight against illegal immigration and 
zero tolerance for trafficking in human beings 

The EU and its Member States should develop a coherent policy on fighting illegal 
immigration  and  trafficking  in  human  beings.  Undeclared  work  and  illegal 
employment  in  its  different  dimensions  should  be  effectively  combated  via 
preventive  measures,  law  enforcement  and  sanctions.  Protection  and  support  for 
victims of human trafficking should be reinforced. 

(10) 

Security and Immigration: Sustainable and effective return policies 

Effective  return  measures  are  an  indispensible  component  of  the  EU’s  policy 
against  illegal  immigration.  Indiscriminate  large-scale  regularisations  of  illegally 
staying persons should be avoided, while leaving open the possibility for individual 
regularisations based on fair and transparent criteria. 

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