Blue Card gets Commission approval

The European Commission has moved ahead and voted on its plans for an EU-wide Blue Card, to mirror the US Green Card. Administrators hope this new procedure will allow Europe to attract and retain highly-skilled workers from around the globe. In comparison to traditional migration countries, such as the US, Canada and Australia, Europe is losing out in the global war for talents: While the EU's highly qualified workforce is made up of only 0.9 percent non-EU workers, countries that actively select highly skilled migrants boast figures of 9.9 percent for Australia, 7.3 percent for Canada and 3.5 percent in the US. We first commented on the proposal and the heavy criticism it faced from a few EU Member States in this piece.

At a press conference on the Blue Card, EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso underlined how the current 27 existing national systems directly countered one of the European Union's underlying principles , mobility of labor , which is known as one of its the four freedoms. In a Union with open internal borders, nothing could be less attractive to a doctor, lawyer or other specialist, than restrictions of movement. In a US context that would translate into all 50 States having their own legislation on whom to admit when under which circumstances and limiting Green Card holders to living and working in one state. The Blue Card and the additional legislative proposal introduced today would put an end to what Barroso terms a ‘rights gap’ between legal immigrants and EU citizens, which was “incompatible with our value of equal treatment.” The existing system, Barroso said, hampered integration and social cohesion.

The second legislative package announced today on simplified admission procedures and a common set of rights for non-EU citzens working in the EU will remedy these discrepancies, it is hoped. The proposal has been in the works since 2005 and its key element is a “one stop shop” procedure towards attaining entry to the European Union and obtaining rights similar to that of a national with respect to social security, healthcare and employment related benefits. The new procedure will also facilitate family reunification for those non-EU nationals working in the Union.
With the European legislative system being what it is, we are still a number of months, if not a number of years away from this becoming a reality, as Member States have plenty to say about these new initiatives and a simple vote by the Commission (which can be likened in some ways to a national Cabinet of Ministers) is only the first step in a longer procedure that involves the European Parliament and the Council.

The official summary of the Blue Card provisions can be read here.

The English version of Der Spiegel also provides a roundup of the new proposals here.

To let EU Commissioner Franco Frattini know what you think of his Blue Card proposals, you can go to his website, where the topic is the 'thought of the week’ and features a feedback form.

I recently weighed in on what the EU Blue Card means in a comparative perspective to the US in an interview with KGO/San Francisco. You can listen to my comments here.