Ministers van Justitie bespreken voorwaarden voor legale migratie naar EU (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Union should take steps to facilitate the admission of non-Europeans "who could play an important part in the further development of the Union's 'knowledge-based economy', the Dutch presidency will propose to Justice and Home Affairs ministers on Monday.

The suggestion forms part of a paper drawn up by the Dutch presidency to serve as a basis for discussions at a meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Monday.

The main item on the agenda is the multi-annual programme to succeed the EU's five-year justice and home affairs programme agreed in Tampere, Finland in October 1999.

The presidency paper suggests that the EU should draw up common rules for the admission of "third-country nationals" while respecting the right of member states to determine the actual numbers of people they want to allow in.

This would mean the Council would be making it a point to explore options for legal migration of skilled workers to the European Union.

But this would take place in the context of discussions on stricter control of illegal immigration into the Union through measures such as preventive checks in closer partnership with third countries, stricter monitoring of illegal employment within the Union, and practical co-operation on the return and readmission of illegal residents.

The ministers will also be asked to discuss the development of a common European asylum policy and greater co-ordination on integration, something that the Dutch presidency is suggesting should become an essential component of a comprehensive EU policy on migration.

Asked if the discussion would also take into consideration the notion of immigration as a burden to be shared by all members states, Dutch presidency sources said, "burden sharing is not an easy subject but you cannot avoid it".