EU presents new package to facilitate legal migration
April 27, 2022, 4:28 pm

EU presents new package to facilitate legal migration

European Commission-Brussels/Pixabay

The Anews reported, citing Anadolu Agency, the European Commission presented on Wednesday (Apr 27) a new package to facilitate legal migration, proposing among others to simplify residence and work permit rules for skilled workers.

Margaritis Schinas, the European Commission's vice-president, said at a news conference: "Dealing with migration is not only about border checks, asylum procedures and returns, it is also about offering legal pathways for those who can come live and work with us legally."

He stressed that the EU executive body's new set of proposals offers a win-win situation for the EU that faces a "major shortage" of skilled labor and also for those people who "want to migrate for better opportunities and living conditions."

Schinas pointed out: "We cannot cope without labor migration", adding that enabling legal migration is also a way to fight criminal networks of people smugglers.

The European Commission presented on Wednesday (Apr 27) a new package to facilitate legal migration

The package contains legal amendments that would enable applicants to demand a combined residence and work permit instead of two separate procedures.

The draft would also allow submitting the applications both from EU and non-EU countries.

Another amendment would facilitate the conditions for getting a long-term residence permit, allowing non-EU citizens to accumulate years in different EU countries instead of the current system that resets the clock if someone moves from one member state to another.

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The European Commission also aims to create a platform called "EU Talent Pool" to match EU countries and job-seekers from non-EU countries, as well as partnerships with countries.

The pilot program would start in the summer with the participation of Ukrainian refugees.

The EU will also launch programs inviting healthcare workers, young professionals, and innovative startups.

The European Parliament and EU member states have yet to approve the drafts.

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The new announcement follows up on the European Commission's New Pact on Migration and Asylum.

Revealed in September 2020, the pact mainly focused on returns, pre-entry checks, and partnerships with third countries to prevent migration flows.

The pact has not been adopted since because the European Parliament and EU member states are still working on their position.

Source: anews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.