Europe Needs a Unified Immigration Policy
Jakob von Weizsäcker | Bruegel Policy Brief | July 2008
The challenges of immigration and integration in the EU need to be addressed with urgency. Jakob von Weizsäcker suggests that high-skilled and unregulated migration as well as asylum applicants should be priorities for the entire EU, while immigrant integration should be dealt with on the national level.
The proposal for a Blue Card is a good start to solving problems of skilled immigration, but it is far more limiting than the US Green Card. In order to be more attractive to global talent, it would need to offer longer validity to high-skilled immigrants and grant them access to a larger market. A points system, similar to the Canadian system that rewards characteristics like young age and language skills, would help determine promising candidates for successful immigration.
Illegal immigration will be a growing problem due to the large income gap between the EU15 and neighboring countries. Tighter border control is not enough to stop unregulated migration. Increased development assistance for the countries of origin might eventually make illegal immigration less attractive but will not solve problems in the short-term. Expansion of legal immigration schemes could help make migration easier to control but might result in illegal visa overstays. ‘Earned regularization,' in which irregular migrants are rewarded for rapidly acquired language skills and other signs of integration, would be a sensible course of action.
After 1990, the number of migrants seeking asylum in the EU sharply rose, but recent numbers are so low that it raises the question of whether Europe is still reaching its goal of providing shelter for those in need of protection. Sweden took in 10% of asylum applicants in 2007, leaving Germany, France, and the UK far behind. Countries like Sweden should not only be commended, but policies should also be made in order to help them carry the financial burden of providing asylum.
Because the mobility of migrants from poorer countries is limited, integration policies and costs should be left up to the individual nations for the time being. However, a dialogue between the European nations must continue so that nations can learn from each other's policies.
This summary was prepared by the Atlantic Community editorial team from "Strait is the gate - Europe's immigration priorities" published here by bruegel in the "bruegelpolicybrief," May 2008 issue.
