Debate: Legal migration policy and law
Date: TUESDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2021
Speaker: Margaritis Schinas
Language: EN

Let us not forget that most migrants arrive in the EU legally and contribute to our societies in a crucial way. This has been made more than evident during the pandemic, as many of our health and care professionals helping in the frontline have been migrants. Europe is an ageing continent. In many economic sectors and in many regions, there are structural labour shortages that cannot be filled by the domestic labour force or through intra—EU mobility. Migrants also play a crucial role in the agriculture and food sectors, ensuring their smooth running and largely contributing to our economies. As the OECD confirms, legal migrants are not a financial burden. Quite the contrary. They contribute more in taxes than governments spend on their social protection, health and education. This analysis is well documented, and the OECD, I take it, knows more than Mr Fest.  So let us not lie to ourselves. Migration is a fact of life. It is not a question of whether or not there will be migration. There always has been and always will be. What we need is a better, more organised, way of managing migration. Migrants are not ‘them’ and we are not against them. Most of us here in the room are all in some way migrants, having left our countries or regions to be here in Brussels, Strasbourg or Luxembourg, advancing European interests and values – and some attempting to destroy them.  Migrants can play an essential role in the recovery, as I said, in sectors such as healthcare and agriculture, but also transport or construction. In addition, we want to attract new talents and new skills, a specialised labour force to make the European Union a true innovation hub in support of our green and digital ambitions. Why should we accept that, at the moment, highly educated migrants are more likely to choose North America or Oceania rather than Europe? Legal migration is a shared competence. It is also a national competence as Member States decide on the number of workers to be admitted and the conditions. However, at EU level, we have harmonised rules on the admission and the rights of third—country nationals. Let us not forget that migrants are not only workers, but also students, researchers and family members.  I’m particularly grateful to the European Parliament for your role in managing to reach an agreement on our Blue Card Directive earlier this year. With this agreement, we sent a strong signal about our collective ability to agree on key migration files, and we need more signals like this. The Commission shares this House’s objective, as reflected in Ms Al—Sahlani’s report, to offer third—country nationals improved avenues for legal migration, ensure appropriate working conditions and put an end to exploitation.  That is why we have already announced that next year we will propose a skills and talent package. Allow me to thank you once more for your input on this file. The package will propose the necessary adjustments of our legal framework to make migration a success for all – migrants, citizens, EU Member States, employers – and also send a strong signal to receiving countries.  The package will have different components: a revision of the Long—Term Residents Directive, a revision of the Single Permit Directive, and we are also planning an accompanying political communication with more forward—looking suggestions on our vision in the medium and long term.  Specifically, we will present concrete options to develop an EU talent pool. This will be an EU—wide platform for international recruitment that could help the European Union match the skills available from migrant workers with the real needs of EU employers. On top of this, as we set out in the Pact, the Commission has already launched the Talent Partnerships. This is an initiative to strengthen relations with third countries by increasing and enhancing legal pathways.  Let me conclude with a very clear final message. Legal migration is a two—way street. We in the European Union will allow for legal avenues, we will admit migrant workers, we will work to improve their conditions and we will struggle to give them fair access to our systems, but they should also accept our rules, our values and our model of society. This is the two—way street that we need. Those who come to Europe need to accept and respect the role of women in the family, in society and in the workplace. They should accept the need for peaceful co—existence, for religious freedom and tolerance and for full respect of the ethical rules that govern living in Europe.