Frattini to propose 'blue card' for migrants

European Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said yesterday he will soon be proposing the introduction of a "blue card system" similar to the one already in place in the United States so that EU member states can determine how many third country nationals they need to have in the coming years and in which sectors of their economy.

Speaking during a debate at the European Parliament on legal migration and the priorities in the fight against illegal migration, Mr Frattini said the two aspects of the current migration problem has to be addressed together.

Next month Mr Frattini will be putting forward proposals for the establishment of an EU work permit for highly-skilled workers, the so-called blue card, and insisted that illegal immigration cannot be countered unless channels of legal immigration are established at the same time.

"This could be an answer to Europe's need for highly-skilled workers while not exacerbating the brain drain from poorer countries. Legislation on common rights for economic migrants, with a single work and residence permit in one document, is another measure on the table.

"In addition, in 2008 the Commission would put forward proposals on seasonal workers and on making cross-border movement easier for migrants working in a company with branches in different EU countries," he said.

Mr Frattini defended the work being done by the EU border control agency, Frontex, to combat illegal migration. While stressing that illegal migration must not be tolerated, he lauded the role of Frontex in saving 1,200 people from the sea over the summer.

Maltese MEPs Simon Busuttil and Louis Grech also took part in the debate.

Dr Busuttil criticised the suspension of the Nautilus II operation off the coast of Malta during August and said this led to an increase of illegal immigrant arrivals in Malta during that month.

"Frontex needs to be further strengthened with additional resources and money. Member states that had promised to send their assets to the Frontex missions to patrol the EU's southern maritime borders need to keep their promises and act. We can't have a situation where Malta, the smallest member state, has to bear the biggest brunt of this EU problem," he insisted.

Dr Busuttil said that further efforts must be made to entice Libya to cooperate in this fight against illegal immigration. He also spoke about the Maltese proposal for burden sharing and said that member states now need to show the real meaning of solidarity.

"When last June Malta made its burden sharing proposal and came round asking member states to state which of them were prepared to shoulder part of the burden, no one answered. The silence around the table was deafening."

While acknowledging some progress made during the past months through the intervention of Mr Frattini, Mr Grech insisted that the EU needs to address its regulations on asylum seekers in order to ensure that the burden on those responsible for dealing with applications is equally shared by all EU member states.

"Unfortunately, we still don't have a dedicated EU agency in the Mediterranean to deal with the illegal immigration problem. Frontex cannot take care of developing a common asylum and immigration policy in the EU if its terms of reference are not changed. We need to have this dedicated agency."

Mr Grech said that during the past three and a half years, Malta received 6,600 illegal immigrants on 220 boats.

"It is quite evident that this is too much for an island of 124 square miles," he said.