COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Enhancing legal pathways to Europe: an indispensable part of a balanced and comprehensive migration policy A contribution from the European Commission to the Leaders’ meeting in Salzburg on 19-20 September 2018
Date: 2018-09-12
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU migration policy, foreign national, integration of migrants, migrant, migrant worker, migration control, occupational migration, resettlement of persons, residence permit, work permit

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 12.9.2018  COM(2018) 635 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Enhancing legal pathways to Europe: an indispensable part of a balanced and comprehensive migration policy   A contribution from the European Commission to the Leaders’ meeting in  Salzburg on 19-20 September 2018                                                   
 
 
“I want to promote a new European policy on legal migration. Such a policy could help us to 
address shortages of specific skills and attract talent to better cope with the demographic 
challenges of the European Union. I want Europe to become at least as attractive as the 
favourite migration destinations such as Australia, Canada and the USA. As a first step, I intend 
to review the “Blue Card” legislation and its unsatisfactory state of implementation.  

I also believe that we need to deal more robustly with irregular migration, notably through 
better cooperation with third countries, including on readmission.” 

Political guidelines for the next European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, Candidate for 
President of the European Commission, 22 October 2014 

1.  INTRODUCTION 

Global migration and mobility already are and will continue to be inherent features of the 21st 
century.  In  this  context,  the  EU  is  committed  to  continue  taking  all  the  necessary  steps  to 
achieve  a  fair  and  balanced  EU  migration  policy,  founded  on  common  values,  and  which 
effectively manages both irregular and regular migration flows in a comprehensive manner. In 
its  June  2018  conclusions,  the  European  Council  reconfirmed  that  a  precondition  for  a 
functioning  EU  migration  policy  is  a  comprehensive  approach,  where  actions  both  on  the 
internal and external sides go hand in hand to ensure an effective control of the EU’s external 
borders, a firm return policy and a well-managed legal migration and asylum policy.  

The  common  efforts  tackling  irregular  migration  flows  have  led  to  solid  progress.  The  same 
political  determination  is  also  needed  when  it  comes  to  developing  legal  pathways  to  Europe, 
which  requires  a stepping  up  of  efforts.  Controlled  legal  migration,  whether  for  humanitarian 
reasons  or  based  on  labour  market  needs,  is  and  should  remain  an  indispensable  part  of  a 
balanced  and  comprehensive  migration  policy,  as  also  set  out  in  the  European  Agenda  on 
Migration1. This entails putting in place a more efficient legal migration policy which is able to 
factor  in  the  needs  of  the  European  economy.  It  also  entails  reinforcing  our  cooperation  with 
third  countries,  including  through  the  ongoing  need  to  offer  safe  and  controlled  pathways 
through  resettlement.  Last  but  not  least,  carrying  legal  pathways  through  to  the  end  means 
ensuring effective integration policies for those third-country nationals staying legally in the EU. 

In a steadily improving EU economy, one policy imperative must be the full activation, training 
and  upskilling  of  the  EU  workforce.  But  for  the  EU  to  remain  competitive  in  the  global 
economy  it  also  needs  to  attract  qualified  and  talented  people  from  around  the  world  -  while 
fully  respecting  Member  States'  national  competences  in  deciding  how  many  labour  migrants 
coming from third countries to admit to their territories.  

We  therefore  need  to  step  up  our  work  on  legal  pathways.  We  need  to  take  forward  essential 
measures such as the reform of the EU Blue Card proposed by the Commission, which would 
improve the EU’s ability to attract and retain highly skilled third-country nationals, turning this 
targeted  migration  into  an  opportunity  and  benefit  for  the  economy  and  society.  We  need  to 
make  legal  pathways  a  compelling  part  of  our  partnership  approach  with  third  countries.  We 
cannot neglect this indispensable part of the comprehensive approach. 

1   Commission Communication on "A European Agenda on Migration" of 13.5.2015, COM (2015)240 final. 

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2.  LEGAL PATHWAYS: KEY ELEMENTS FOR BETTER MANAGED MIGRATION  

Since  2003,  the  EU  has  developed  a  broad  range  of  instruments  to  put  in  place  a  common 
framework for the management of legal migration, while  Member States  remain competent to 
determine the number of labour migrants to be admitted from third countries. This framework 
offers  a  number  of  opportunities  for  third-country  nationals  who  wish  to  benefit  from  legal 
migration  to  Europe,  namely  as  workers,  including  the  highly  skilled  ones,  students  or 
researchers,  as  well  as  through  family  reunification.  An  overall  evaluation  of  the  Union 
legislation on legal migration has been carried out in the last two years under a fitness check and 
the Commission will publish the results of this evaluation at a later stage. With this in mind, this 
Communication does not address all legal pathways but focuses on the humanitarian avenue of 
resettlement and the avenues for labour migration.  

2.1 Labour migration and the Blue Card 

Well-managed  labour  migration  would  not  only  help  reduce  the  incentives  to  use  irregular 
routes but at the same time will enable the EU to attract the right mix of talent and skills and to 
match admissions with labour market needs, contributing to the overall prosperity of the EU.  

Labour migration policy and integration strategies in Europe should be conceived and designed 
in  full  synergy  with  existing  labour  market  contexts,  as  well  as  with  social  policies  and 
institutions.  As  the  world  of  work  keeps  changing,  it  is  essential  to  design  policies  which  are 
responsive  to  labour  market  needs  and  allow  for  a  common  approach  across  government 
services in the EU.  

With  the  Commission's  proposal  to  establish  a  European  Labour  Authority2,  the  EU  can  go  a 
step  further  in  improving  the  cooperation  and  coordination  between  national  labour  market 
authorities, in order to facilitate the management of a more integrated European labour market. 
The Authority will, in the first instance, cover a number of existing tools and structures related 
to  cross-border  mobility,  such  as  EURES  (the  European  job  mobility  portal),  European  social 
security  coordination  and  the  European  health  insurance  card.  Its  activities  will  cover  third-
country  nationals  who  are  legally  resident  in  the  Union,  such  as  EU  Blue  Card  holders,  intra-
corporate transferees or long-term residents and their families. The Authority will also draw on 
available  expertise  on  employment  trends  and  skills  forecasting  to  perform  labour  market 
analyses.  This  will  help  inform  on  sectors  and  occupations  where  there  are  labour  market 
shortfalls across Europe. 

The  case  for  enhancing  legal  pathways  to  Europe  is  even  more  valid  and  urgent  today  in  the 
light of recent and future trends.  

In  recent  years,  thanks  to  efforts  at  all  levels,  Europe  has  benefitted  from  robust  growth  and 
strong  job  creation.  Unemployment  in  the  EU  is  at  its  lowest  in  a  decade,  and  the  number  of 
people employed has reached an all-time high. While this is still not felt evenly across Europe, 
there  are  a  rising  number  of  unfilled  vacancies  in  several  Member  States  and  evidence  of 
structural skill shortages in some economic sectors, such as the Information and Communication 
Technology,  or  health,  as  well  as  in  specific  occupations3.  The  share  of  employers  reporting 
difficulties to fill jobs is on the rise, reaching on average more than 40%, and is even higher than 

2  COM (2018)131 final. 
3  

In the first quarter of 2018, there were at least 3.8 million unfilled vacancies in the EU as a whole, while the 
job  vacancy  rate  (the  proportion  of  vacant  posts  to  total  posts)  has  been  steadily  increasing  since  2012, 
reaching 2.2%in Q1-2018, (being close or higher than 3% in Member States such as Czech Republic, Belgium, 
Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria). Source: Eurostat, Job vacancy statistics. 

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50%  in  Germany,  Poland,  Slovakia  and  Hungary4.  The  occupations  with  the  most  common 
shortages  include  skilled  trades,  engineers,  technicians  and  IT  professionals,  but  also 
occupations requiring less formal skills such as sales representatives and drivers5. 

These trends will have an increasing impact in the future as the EU is facing a gradual shrinking 
of its working-age population (15-64). This is expected to intensify: as a result of demographic 
ageing, also taking into account recent migration trends, the working age population is projected 
to decline by around 22 million (a reduction of 7%) in the next two decades. Even if a higher 
participation of women and older workers in the labour market is likely to compensate for this 
trend in part, projections6 in terms of overall labour force point in the same direction: in the near 
future (over the period 2015-2035), it is estimated that the labour force in the EU will decrease 
by 18.3 million (a reduction of 7.4%)7. 

At  the  same  time,  the  demand  for  specific  skills  is  likely  to  increase  and  change  in  line  with 
societal and technological developments. For instance, it is expected that the demand for high-
level qualifications will outpace the labour supply, as 43% of jobs forecasted to be created over 
the  period  up  to  2030  will  require  a  high  level  of  education.  Job  openings  up  to  2030  are 
expected to be high for occupations such as business and administration professionals, but also 
for  occupations  that  are  traditionally  considered  as  medium  skilled,  such  as  sales  workers, 
cleaners and helpers8. While a priority for the EU is to tap even better into existing talents and 
human capital, notably through training and upskilling of the domestic workforce, also a well-
managed labour migration can help fill some current and future needs of the EU labour market. 

This situation is not specific to Europe. However, at the moment the EU is not ideally placed nor 
presently  equipped  to  attract  the  labour  migrants  that  it  needs.  So  far,  the  EU  has  been  less 
competitive  than  other  OECD  countries  –  the  EU's  most  obvious  competitors  in  terms  of 
economic profile – in attracting workers, punching well below its weight, in particular in terms 
of  attracting  highly  skilled  migrants.  Of  all  migrants  residing  in  OECD  countries  in  2015-16, 
only 25% of those with a high level of education chose an EU destination, while 75% chose a 
non-EU destination (mainly US, Canada, Australia), see Chart below. 

Ibid. 

4   Manpower Talent Shortage Survey (2018 Q3). 
5  
6   According  to  the  CEPAM  Medium  (SSP2)  scenario  in  terms  of  demographic  behaviours  and  migration, 
European Commission (2018) Joint Research Centre, Demographic and Human Capital Scenarios for the 21st 
Century:  2018  assessment  for  201  countries,  Wolfgang  Lutz,  Anne  Goujon,  Samir  KC,  Marcin  Stonawski, 
Nikolaos Stilianakis. 

7   While increasing participation rates among women and older workers may delay this effect, the overall labour 
force  will  inevitably  decline  in  the  long-run  in  EU  and  all  its  Member  States.  ESDE  2017,  Chapter  3, 
Intergenerational fairness and solidarity today and challenges ahead, 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=8030&furtherPubs=yes 

8   According  to  2018  CEDEFOP  projections  up  to  2030.  They  also  provide  estimations  by  broad  economic 
sector:  while  employment  will  continue  shrinking  in  the  primary  sector  and  stagnating  in  the  manufacturing 
sector,  it  will  increase  quickly  in  'business  and  other  services'  and  moderately  in  'distribution  and  transport' 
sector and to some extent in 'non-marketed services'. 

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Distribution of foreign-born residents with low versus high level of education, 
by OECD destination countries, 2015-16, in % 

Source:   Database  on  Immigrants  in  OECD  countries  (DIOC),  2015-16.  Note:  EU  refers  to  EU-28  without  Croatia  due  to  missing  data. 

For Iceland, Japan, New Zealand and Turkey, data are from DIOC 2010-11. For the EU, only non-EU immigrants are included.  

Over the last few years only around 50,000 workers per year have been admitted under highly-
skilled  schemes  (Blue  Card  or  national  schemes)9,  which  represent  5%  of  all  work-related 
permits. In relative terms, this is much less compared to other OECD countries such as the US, 
Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Currently, the number of third-country nationals admitted in 
the  EU  under  schemes  for  highly-skilled  workers  represents  around  0.01%  of  the  EU’s  total 
population, while in Canada the 150,000 economic migrants arriving each year make up around 
0.4% of the total population and the 120,000 economic migrants coming to Australia each year 
make up around 0.5% of the population10 (in those two countries, most of long-term economic 
migrants are admitted under "Expression of Interest" systems)11. This shows that Europe's legal 
migration  policies  have  not  been  particularly  strategic  and  pro-active,  nor  particularly  in  tune 
with its labour market needs. 

While  Member  States  remain  competent  on  volumes  of  labour  migrants  to  admit  from  third 
countries, the EU has a single market, and it should therefore also act as a single player towards 
the  outside  world  to  create  economies  of  scale  and  hence  better  compete  with  other  major 
destinations  for  attracting  skilled,  and  particularly  highly  skilled,  workers.  For  the  benefit  of 
Europe, more should be done at European level in terms of improving job matching, recognition 
of foreign qualifications and facilitating labour mobility of migrants across the single market. 

In the EU, special rules have been put in place to attract highly-skilled migrants. However, it is 
clear that the 2009 EU Blue Card scheme fails to reach its potential as the EU-wide scheme for 
attracting talented and highly-skilled third-country nationals it was meant to be12. The admission 

9   This number includes around 10,000 third-country nationals admitted under national schemes in the three EU 
countries which are not bound by the Blue Card Directive (Denmark,  Ireland  and the United Kingdom). 
10   Source:  EPSC  Brief  (2018,  forthcoming)  "Towards  a  new  paradigm  of  legal  labour  migration".  For  Canada: 
this  refers  in  large  majority to  foreign  workers  admitted  via  point system  for  skilled migrants; for Australia: 
mostly under point system or employer sponsored. These figures also include accompanying family members.  
11   These models to manage labour migration ensure a pre-selection by creating a pool of pre-screened migration 
candidates, allowing for better job matching. A study has been carried out by the OECD on these schemes, also 
assessing to what extent they, or some of their elements, could be appropriate in the EU context. 

12   In 2017, it is estimated that the 25 EU Member States where the EU Blue Card Directive applies issued around 
11,500 Blue Cards (as first permits, i.e. excluding status changers already residing in the EU before), compared 

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conditions agreed in 2009 are overly restrictive, the Directive provides for little coherence and 
harmonisation,  and  more  importantly  intra-EU  mobility  for  the  EU  Blue  Card  holders  is  very 
limited. Essentially, there is no single EU Blue Card scheme, as a variety of national schemes 
for the highly-skilled exists in parallel with the EU Blue Card, creating a fragmented framework 
with many different applicable rules and procedures.  

That is why, already more than two years ago, the Commission put on the table a proposal – the 
reform  of  the  EU  Blue  Card  Directive13  –  to  improve  the  rules  on  attracting  highly-skilled 
migrants. The overall aim is to make the EU Blue Card more attractive by providing for a single 
EU-wide  scheme  with  more  flexible  admission  conditions,  and  improving  and  facilitating  the 
admission procedures. In particular, the proposal enhances intra-EU mobility by facilitating the 
procedures for both short-term (short business trips of up to 90 days between Member States) 
and long-term mobility; it lowers the salary threshold by creating a flexible range within which 
Member  States  can  adjust  the  threshold  to  their  labour  market  contexts;  and  it  foresees  better 
conditions  for  recent  third-country  national  graduates  and  workers  in  areas  with  a  labour 
shortage.  Furthermore,  the  proposal  strengthens  the  rights  of  both  the  Blue  Card  holders 
(allowing for quicker access to long-term residence status, immediate and more flexible labour 
market  access)  and  their  family  members  (ensuring  they  can  join  the  EU  Blue  Card  holder 
simultaneously), which should make the EU a more attractive destination for the highly-skilled 
employees  which  our  economy  needs.  In  addition,  under  the  new  Blue  Card  scheme,  highly-
skilled beneficiaries of international protection would also be able to apply for a Blue Card. 

However, the inter-institutional negotiations on the reformed Blue Card proposal are presently 
stalled. Whilst the European Parliament has embraced the objectives and the approach set out in 
the Commission's proposal, in the Council the position of the Member States has been divided 
and  so  far  it  has  not  been  possible  to  reach  common  ground  in  a  way  that  would  bring 
meaningful added-value to the present unsatisfactory framework.  

The Commission calls on the Council to swiftly agree on a position realising a real added-value 
compared  with  the  current  Blue  Card  in  line  with  the  objectives  set  in  the  Commission's 
proposal. This will permit the resumption of negotiations with a view to reaching an ambitious 
agreement  with  the  European  Parliament  so  as  to  ensure  the  adoption  of  the  Commission's 
proposal reforming the EU Blue Card Directive before the European Parliament elections. 

2.2 Resettlement 

Resettlement of third-country nationals or stateless persons is an important humanitarian avenue 
that can be offered to displaced persons in need of international protection to allow them to enter 
the European Union legally and safely. It is an integral part of the wider objective of ensuring 
that  protection  can  be  offered  to  those  in  need  through  safe  and  legal  channels  instead  of  by 
taking  irregular  and  dangerous  journeys.  Those  safe  and  legal  channels  also  undermine  the 
business  model  of  smuggling  networks  and  contribute  to  the  reduction  of  irregular  migration. 
Resettlement  is  also  a  tool  of  international  solidarity  and  responsibility  sharing  with  third 
countries  to  which  large  numbers  of  persons  in  need  of  international  protection  have  been 
displaced.  

EU resettlement initiatives taken collectively with Member States over the past few years have 
yielded  good  results  and  contributed  to  strengthening  the  Union’s  partnerships  and  solidarity 
with  third  countries.  Since  2015,  the  EU  resettlement  programmes  have  helped  38  000  of  the 

to  around  28,500  permits  issued  under  national  schemes  for  highly  skilled  workers.  Overall,  the  number  of 
permits issued to highly skilled workers by EU Member States remains limited. 

13   COM(2016) 378 final. 

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most vulnerable find shelter in the EU. Moreover, Member States made the largest commitment 
on resettlement the EU has ever seen through the new resettlement scheme put in place at the 
EU  level  in  September  2017.  This  will  benefit  more  than  50  000  people,  and  is  supported  by 
EUR  500  million  from  the  EU  budget.  The  first  eight  months  in  the  implementation  of  the 
scheme  have  shown  good  results,  with  over  13  200  persons  already  resettled  from  priority 
regions. It is important to continue and further reinforce Member States' political commitments 
and turn them swiftly into reality. 

In parallel, a structured EU framework for resettlement should be put in place. That is why, as 
part  of  the  overall  reform  of  the  Common  European  Asylum  System,  in  July  2016  the 
Commission  proposed  a  Union  Resettlement  Framework  Regulation.  This  would  for  the  first 
time  put  in  place  a  permanent  framework  to  pool  European  resettlement  efforts  more 
systematically and facilitate delivery of resettlement commitments, based on common standards. 
It is essential that negotiations be concluded swiftly by the European Parliament and the Council 
so that this instrument can be adopted soon.  

Resettlement efforts can be further enhanced by the development of other legal pathways. In this 
respect, private sponsorship schemes in particular could complement the existing safe channels 
for  admission  to  the  EU  of  those  in  need  of  international  protection  and  ensure  better  social 
integration. The outcome of a study on the feasibility of such schemes14 confirms that they can 
contribute to meeting the goal of promoting safe and legal channels of admission, while actively 
involving civil society and local communities and thus increasing the public engagement in the 
area  of  international  protection  and  integration.  Moreover,  private  sponsorship  also  has  the 
potential  to  facilitate  the  integration  of  beneficiaries  by  providing  additional  resources  at 
individual and community level.  

The  Commission  will  consider  ways  in  which  Member  States  could  be  best  supported  in 
establishing  and/or  expanding  private  sponsorship  schemes.  This  could  be  achieved,  for 
example, by promoting soft measures such as training programmes, capacity building, toolkits 
and operational guidance, and peer-learning activities and/or by targeted funding possibilities. 

  The  Commission  calls  on  Member  States  to  step  up  their  efforts  to  implement  the  50  000 

pledges under the current EU resettlement scheme.  

  Following the significant progress that has been achieved in the trilogue discussions with the 
European Parliament and the Council, these discussions need now to be concluded and the 
Union Resettlement Framework Regulation should be swiftly adopted.  

2.3 Cooperation with third countries 

Legal pathways are equally an important element for the EU to strengthen its cooperation with 
third countries and they should contribute to a coordinated, holistic and structured approach to 
migration,  maximising  the  synergies  and  applying  the  necessary  incentives  and  leverages. 
Acting jointly, the EU can have  a stronger position  vis-à-vis third countries in  cooperation on 
migration management. In line with the Partnership Framework approach developed by the EU 
in  the  past  years,  legal  migration  should  be  fully  integrated  into  the  EU  external  dimension. 
Enhanced and tailored cooperation on legal migration with third countries of origin and transit 
of  migrants  will  help  reduce  irregular  migration  by  offering  safe  and  legal  alternatives  for 
persons  wishing  to  migrate;  it  will  contribute  to  bridging  gaps  in  certain  sectors  of  Member 
States’  labour  markets;  and  will  be  an  incentive  to  facilitate  cooperation  on  issues  such  as 

14   See  the  European  Commission's  Study  on  the  Feasibility  and  Added  Value  of  Sponsorship  Schemes  as  a 

Possible Pathway to Safe Channels for Admission to the EU, Including Resettlement (2018). 

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prevention of irregular migration, readmission and return of irregular migrants. Enhancing legal 
pathways  is  also  an  important  complement  to  the  Commission  Communication  on  a  new 
Africa-Europe  Alliance  for  Sustainable  Investment  and  Jobs:  taking  our  partnership  for 
investment and jobs to the next level.15 

In  this  context  in  the  last  few  years,  the  EU  has  actively  promoted  the  legal  migration 
components  of  the  external  migration  policy  complementing  its  broader  external  and 
development  engagement.  This  has  been  in  particular  with  -  but  not  limited  to  -  African 
countries:  first  in  the  context  of  the  Joint  Valletta  Action  Plan16  and,  more  recently,  by 
coordinating  the  development  by  Member  States  of  pilot  projects  with  selected  African 
countries,  promoting  legal  migration  schemes  for  labour  or  traineeship  purposes,  with  EU 
financial support. However, there have been challenges in this process, mainly due to Member 
States' reticence to fully implement the agreed concept and launch concrete projects.  

The  link  between  migration  and  mobility  policies,  on  the  one  hand,  and  trade  policies,  on  the 
other hand, is also important, particularly in the services sector, whereby individuals invest and 
provide  services  on  the  other  party’s  territory.  Facilitating  their  mobility  is  key  to  reaching 
meaningful trade deals with third-countries in the area of services, based on reciprocity, where 
the EU increasingly has a competitive advantage. 

The  Commission  will  continue  to  strengthen  synergies  between  these  different  policies,  in 
particular regarding service providers, by both  facilitating the issuance of short-stay and long-
stay visas. 

The Commission calls upon Member States to fully engage and cooperate on developing pilot 
projects  on  legal  migration  with  specific  African  countries,  as  well  as  with  other  third-
countries in the future, with the aim of launching the first projects by the end of the year.  The 
Commission  will  continue  to  support  Member  States  in  this  endeavour,  through  funding  and 
practical  coordination,  as  an  important  incentive  for  cooperation  on  overall  migration 
management, including on return and readmission.  

2.4 Integration 

Finally, better migration management can only be achieved if the EU and its Member States also 
enhance efforts on the integration of third-country nationals staying legally in the EU, engaging 
all  relevant  levels  of  government  and  civil  society.  In  the  proposed  Multiannual  Financial 
Framework, the Commission aims to increase financial support for integration measures and to 
strengthen the involvement of a number of stakeholders including economic and social actors at 
all levels. 

Whilst responsibility for integration lies primarily with the Member States, in the 2016 Action 
Plan on Integration the EU included measures to support Member States in further developing 
and  implementing  effective  actions,  across  all  relevant  policy  areas,  to  improve  integration17.   
The implementation of the EU Action Plan on Integration has already delivered results on many 
fronts.  For  instance,  the  Commission  has  launched  concrete  initiatives  to  specifically  promote 
labour market integration, involving employers as well as economic and social partners.  

In particular, in May 2017, the Commission launched the 'Employers for integration' initiative to 
promote  employers’  efforts  aimed  at  fostering  integration  of  third-country  nationals  in  the 

15   COM(2018) 643 final. 
16   https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/21839/action_plan_en.pdf  
17   COM(2016) 377 final. 

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labour  market18.  The  Commission  has  also  established  a  European  Partnership  for  Integration 
with social and economic partners at European level to work more closely together to promote a 
faster and more effective  integration of  refugees in the European labour  market19. In addition, 
there  is  increased  support  to  local  and  regional  authorities,  in  particular,  through  the  Urban 
Agenda  Partnership  on  the  Inclusion  of  Migrants  and  Refugees.  In  this  context,  a  successful 
pilot  on  the  Urban  Academy  on  integration  was  launched  in  April  this  year  to  train  local 
practitioners  on  a  number  of  integration  aspects  and  policies  at  local  level.  Finally,  additional 
financial  support  has  been  recently  made  available  to  further  support  concrete  actions  by  the 
Member States in this area. The Commission has also launched a Skills Profile Tool20 to support 
Member  States  in  the  early  profiling  of  skills  and  qualifications  of  non-EU  nationals,  which  
helps  identify  individuals'  specific  needs  for  integration  in  the  labour  market  and  simplify  the 
process of matching job-seekers to vacancies.   

Integration  remains  crucial  to  ensure  social  cohesion  as  well  as  economic  performance,  by 
promoting  and  respecting  the  EU  fundamental  values,  and  by  avoiding  that  skills  and 
competences are wasted or under-used. In this regard, eliminating the current employment gap 
between  third-country  nationals  and  EU  nationals  could  improve  fiscal  balances  in  several 
Member States21. 

The  Commission  calls  upon  Member  States  to  continue  investing  in  integration  policies 
targeting all legally staying migrants, with increased, better targeted and more coordinated EU 
financial support as proposed in the next Multiannual Financial Framework, which needs to be 
adopted  swiftly,  as  well  as  with  the  involvement  of  all  relevant  stakeholders  at  all  levels, 
including economic and social actors. 

3.  WAY FORWARD 

A comprehensive approach to migration is essential for replacing irregular and unsafe pathways 
with legal, orderly and safe channels for those in need of protection and attractive and efficient 
channels for those needed on our labour markets. The EU needs to act swiftly, effectively and 
collectively  to  make  this  a  reality.  The  Commission  is  committed  to  fully  play  its  part  in  the 
implementation of this comprehensive approach. 

The  Commission  calls  in  particular on  the  Council  and  the Member  States  to  deliver  on  three 
key elements to enhance legal pathways in the short term: 

  Agree on a position that achieves an attractive and efficient  EU Blue Card scheme; 
  Deliver  on  the  50  000  resettlement  pledges  and  agree  on  the  Union  Resettlement 

Framework; 

  Swiftly develop and launch pilot projects on legal migration with countries from Africa 
and  other  partner  countries  which  show  a  commitment  to  partnership  in  migration 
management, including in relation to readmission of irregular migrants.  

In addition, the Commission calls upon the European Parliament and the Council to adopt the 
reformed  Blue  Card  Directive  and  the  Union  Resettlement  Framework  before  the  European 
Parliament elections of 2019.  

18   https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/legal-migration/european-dialogue-skills-and-

migration/integration-pact_en  

19   https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/e-library/documents/policies/legal-
migration/integration/docs/20171220_european_partnership_for_integration_en.pdf  

20    https://ec.europa.eu/migrantskills/#/ 
21    OECD (2013) International Migration Outlook. 

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Looking further ahead, work also needs to continue on fully modernising and adapting the EU's 
legal migration policy to the current and future needs of the European Union. To that end, the 
Commission  will  launch  a  high-level  consultation  process  with  all  stakeholders  based  on  the 
findings of the "fitness check". 

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