Speech: Remarks by Commissioner Avramopoulos on the occasion of the Commission presenting the Action Plan on Integration and the reform of the Blue Card scheme

Met dank overgenomen van D. (Dimitris) Avramopoulos i, gepubliceerd op dinsdag 7 juni 2016.

Dear all,

Today is an important day where we deliver once more on the priorities set out in the European Agenda on Migration.

You know, migration and mobility come in different forms. And today we help to strengthen a side of migration that has been overlooked and underestimated lately.

I'm talking about legal migration - and this means both improving a very specific legal pathway to come here, but also what happens once migrants reside legally here.

Let me start from the last element. Migration to Europe is not new. Third-country nationals come to the EU for work, for family, for studies or for protection.

We have an important window of opportunity today: to create more future-proof integration policies, and ultimately more cohesive societies.

Not every one of the more than a million people who have arrived last year will receive protection or a legal status to stay - but for those who will we have to make sure that they can start participating in our labour markets and our societies as soon as possible.

Integrating third-country nationals who have a right to stay in the EU as early as possible is economically beneficial for all of us.

And this is not about supporting those who are vulnerable - NO: this is about empowering both those who arrive in the EU, but also about empowering the EU as such. Otherwise the cost of not integrating will be far greater than the investments that need to be made now.

And let me be crystal clear: such investments should not come at the expense of other vulnerable groups in our societies but in complementarity: we want to make the EU in its entirety stronger and more cohesive.

Ultimately this is the responsibility and competence of Member States, their regions and their cities. So what is it that the EU can offer to Member States?

Our answer is today's Action Plan.

When you have different Member States facing similar challenges, we don't need to reinvent the wheel: we have to be pragmatic and proactive.

Our Action Plan identifies several areas of action that are crucial for integration:

  • - 
    Pre-departure and pre-arrival measures
  • - 
    Education
  • - 
    Employment and vocational training
  • - 
    Access to basic services
  • - 
    Active participation and social inclusion

We also propose to strengthen coordination between the different actors working on integration at national, regional and local level and a more strategic approach on EU funding for integration.

Because not only will we need to invest more, we will need to invest smarter with what we have.

Let me now turn to another priority that we deliver on today: a revised EU Blue Card proposal.

This has been a political priority of this Commission from the very outset, and it shows that we must continue to look ahead when designing our policies.

Today, we are moving from a scattered, unattractive and rigid system to a European scheme where we can act as single player internationally to attract highly skilled talent from abroad.

There are two important reasons why we need this now:

  • 1. 
    We are facing increasing skills shortages in sectors such as healthcare and ICT: even when we train and upskill existing workforce, which takes time, we still won't be able to fill all the gaps.
  • 2. 
    At the same time, we are facing a declining and ageing work force. Over the next 20 years, the working age population will decline by more than 20 million.

And yet, the EU is not attractive enough as the majority of foreign skilled workers are choosing other destinations which compete economically with the EU.

If we ever want to compete with the US Green Card, we need an EU Blue Card that deserves that name.

That is why we propose to:

  • - 
    establish a single EU-wide scheme,
  • - 
    enhance intra-EU mobility for Blue card holders
  • - 
    lower the salary threshold and makes it more flexible, particularly for recent graduates and workers in areas with a labour shortage
  • - 
    allow highly skilled beneficiaries of international protection to apply for a Blue Card
  • - 
    strengthen the work and residence rights of both the Blue Card holders and their family members

Of course, Member States retain the right to decide on the volumes of permits issued, and the Blue card remains complementary to our continuous investments in further developing the skills of the existing workforce in the EU and tackling unemployment.

While we continue to address the immediate challenges of the refugee crisis, we also have to start taking measures now in order to build cohesive and socio-economically stronger societies for the future.

This is precisely part of our comprehensive approach, as set out in the European Agenda on Migration.

And the other element of that comprehensive approach is the external dimension, as my colleagues Ms Mogherini and Mr Timmermans will announce later today on a New Migration Partnership Framework with third countries.

What we propose today are two elements of the same coin: continuing to address the root causes of migration in Africa as well as the Middle East, through tailor-made and strengthened partnerships, but also continuing to invest in labour migration and integration policies that work both for the host societies as well as those that arrive.

In an era that will be increasingly defined by human mobility, you cannot have one without the other.

SPEECH/16/2146

Press contacts:

General public inquiries: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by email

Meer over ...