Blue Card (European Greencard)

**Rasputin** · 09-16-2007, 01:49 AM

EU looks at 'blue card' for Asians

Good news for those planning to emigrate to Europe. The European countries, including Britain, may soon open their borders to an extra 20-million workers from Asia.

Yes, the European Union is planning to introduce a new ‘blue card’ scheme modelled on the American ‘green card’ work permit, the media reported here on Friday, quoting EU’s Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini as saying. According to Mr Frattini, the ‘Blue EU Labour Card’ would allow qualified migrants from Asian and African countries the right to live, work and travel in the 27 member states.

“The plan will be unveiled next month,” he said. The card would entitle skilled migrants to work in a member state for two years and then move to a second EU member country after two or three years, he said. “The workers could apply to stay permanently after five consecutive years in any EU state and would be free to travel where they wished.”

“The challenge is to attract the workers needed to fill specific gaps,” Mr Frattini said, highlighting that only 5% of immigrants coming to the EU are skilled workers, compared to 55% arriving in the US.

He said Europe needed labour, both skilled and unskilled, because of a fall in the population of working age. “By 2050, a third of residents in the 27 countries would be aged over 65.” Though Britain — which is moving to a points-based work permit system from next year aimed at attracting more skilled workers and removing settlement rights from unskilled migrants — is not signed up to common EU borders, it will still be affected if the plans went ahead.

However, the British government has said that it would decide on the proposal after studying the pros and cons.

**Rasputin** · 09-27-2008, 03:49 PM

بعد از گرين كارت؛ كارت آبي اروپا از راه مي رسد

وزراي كشور اتحاديه اروپا روز پنج شنبه به اميد رقابت با سيستم كارت سبز آمريكا از طرحي براي جلب كارگران ماهر از كشورهاي در حال توسعه و تصويب سريع آن حمايت كردند.

اين مقامات همچنين بر «قرارداد اروپايي مهاجرت و پناهندگي» مهر تاييد زدند. به موجب اين قرارداد كشورهاي اتحاديه اروپا توافق كردند در عين ترغيب افراد به مهاجرت قانوني و اتخاذ سياست مشترك براي پناهندگان، مبارزه با مهاجرت غيرقانوني را شدت بخشند.

اتحاديه اروپا قصد دارد در رقابت با ديگر كشورهاي غربي بر سر افراد آشنا با تكنولوژي و خدمه بيمارستان ها كه بيشتر از كشورهاي در حال توسعه مهاجرت مي كنند و دست يافتن به منابع كاري كه مي توانند كمبودهاي موجود در اروپا را جبران كنند بيشتر تلاش كند.

ولفگانگ شوبِل، وزير كشور آلمان، در اين باره به خبرگزاري «آسوشيتدپرس» گفت: «در اين زمينه به موافقت اصولي رسيده ايم.» و به گفته بريس هورتفو، وزير مهاجرت فرانسه، اكنون تنها مسئله باقي مانده زمان آغاز استفاده از سيستم كارت آبي است كه معادل اروپايي كارت سبز آمريكا خواهد بود.

اما ايوان لانگر، وزير كشور جمهوري چك، گفت: كشورش تنها در صورتي با اين طرح موافقت خواهد كرد كه ابتدا محدوديت هاي موجود در مورد مهاجرت كارگران اعضاي جديد اتحاديه اروپا كه جمهوري چك نيز از جمله آنهاست از ميان برداشته شود.

لانگر گفت: «ما هم عضو اتحاديه هستيم و مي خواهيم همان حقوقي را داشته باشيم كه همه شهروندان اتحاديه دارند.»

سيستم كارت آبي به متقاضيان مهاجرت به اروپا فرصت مي دهد سريع تر اجازه كار بگيرند، آسان تر مسكن پيدا كنند و اقامت دائم بگيرند، و خانواده هاي آنها هم سريع تر و آسان تر به آنها بپيوندند.

در اين ميان سلستينو كورباخو، وزير كار و مهاجرت اسپانيا، خبر داد كه انتظار دارد طرح استفاده از كارت آبي تا پايان سال جاري ميلادي به تصويب برسد.

سيستم كارت آبي به متقاضيان مهاجرت به اروپا فرصت مي دهد سريع تر اجازه كار بگيرند، آسان تر مسكن پيدا كنند و اقامت دائم بگيرند، و خانواده هاي آنها هم سريع تر و آسان تر به آنها بپيوندند.

بر اساس آمار منتشر شده توسط اتحاديه اروپا، كارگران بسيار ماهر خارجي تنها ۷۲/۱درصد از جمعيت كارگران مهاجر اروپا را تشكيل مي دهند، در حالي كه اين رقم در استراليا ۹/۹و در ايالات متحده ۲/۳درصد است.

اما تحليلگران چندان به كارايي طرح كارت آبي اطمينان ندارند، چرا كه بر اساس آن مهاجران در هر زمان تنها به يكي از كشورهاي اتحاديه دسترسي و حق ورود خواهند داشت و به اين ترتيب شانس آنها براي يافتن كار محدودتر مي شود.

هر مهاجر تنها پس از اين كه ۱۸ماه با كارت آبي در يك كشور اروپايي كار مي كند مي تواند به يك كشور اروپايي ديگر برود، اما بايد در اولين ماه پس از ورود به كشور دوم كارت آبي جديدي تقاضا كند. در مقابل دارندگان كارت سبز ايالات متحده حق زندگي و كار دائم در اين كشور را به دست مي آورند.

در قرارداد مهاجرت و پناهندگي اروپا آمده است كه اين اتحاديه به مهاجران نياز دارد، اما در عين حال هشدار مي دهد كه «از منابع كافي براي پذيرش تمام مهاجران كه به اميد زندگي بهتر به اين قاره روي مي آورند برخوردار نيست.»

بر اساس اين قرارداد، اعضاي اتحاديه اروپا توافق كردند كه مهاجران غير قانوني بيشتري را از خاك خود اخراج كنند و به پرونده اين مهاجران نه گروهي، بلكه مورد به مورد رسيدگي كنند.

كميسيون اروپا تخمين مي زند كه در حال حاضر نزديك به هشت ميليون مهاجر غير قانوني در اتحاديه اروپا زندگي مي كنند. قرار است رهبران اتحاديه اروپا در ديدار ۱۵اكتبر خود اين قرارداد را امضا كنند.

**Rasputin** · 10-08-2008, 01:59 AM

EU ministers flesh out foreign worker 'Blue Card' plan

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU interior ministers have formally backed the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum, a French-drafted plan on how the 27-nation bloc should cope with migratory flows.

"We have now reached a comprehensive agreement," French immigration minister Brice Hortefeux said on Thursday (25 September), adding that the aim was to avoid building a fortress Europe, but not open Europe unconditionally either.

The pact sets out common political guidelines in areas such as regular and irregular immigration, border controls, asylum policies and cooperation with countries of origin and of transit.

First of all, it suggests that the organisation of regular immigration be based on a state's needs and ability to welcome people. Those staying in the EU without proper documentation could be forced to return to their home country.

Additionally, refugees seeking asylum will be to a greater extent need to apply for refugee status in advance of setting foot on European territory, although the EU claims it will also boost aid to those countries from which people tend to flee.

The agreement will now go to heads of states and governments when they meet next month (15-16 October) for final approval.

Blue card

Thursday's ministerial meeting was the first of its kind entirely devoted to the issue of migration, with Mr Hortefeux saying it shows how "important and vital" these issues are.

During the meeting, EU home affairs ministers have also endorsed the idea of an EU work permit, dubbed the 'Blue Card' after the US Green Card, allowing employment to non-Europeans in any country within the 27-nation bloc.

The only objection comes from the Czech Republic, minister Hortefeux said after the ministerial meeting, referring to Prague's key demand of abolishing labour restrictions for eastern Europeans.

Currently, Austria, Belgium, Germany and Denmark continue to protect their markets from cheaper labour coming from the post-communist bloc.

"Our citizens cannot be in a worse situation than non-EU states," Czech minister Ivan Langer told journalists.

Slovak minister Robert Kalinak also threw his weight behind the demand.

The Blue Card would be designed to attract specific types of foreign workers in the EU labour market, allowing "them and members of their families to enter, reside in and have access to the labour market" in sectors suffering from shortages.

In practice, an Indian engineer could enter an EU state after presenting a valid work contract or a binding job offer, with the work permit limited to a maximum 18-months stay at first.

Afterwards, he would be allowed up highly qualified employment in another EU state, although the Blue Card would not serve as a blank cheque.

It would instead remain the exclusive competence of member states to set specific numbers of economic immigrants entering their territory in order to seek work.

Exceptions

The so-called new EU states have already secured one exception from the general deal - linked to salary conditions for Blue Card holders. In certain sectors, such as health care or education, they would not be obliged to earn 1.5 times the average wage, but only 1.2 times.

According to commission estimates, labour shortages will peak by 2050, when 25 million Europeans are expected to retire from work and one third of the population will be over 65 years of age.

But Europe has so far failed to win many highly-skilled workers when compared to other parts of the world.

In Europe, non-European highly-qualified workers make up only 1.7 percent of the employed population, while they account for nearly ten percent in Australia, over seven percent in Canada and over three percent in the US.

Blue Card (European Greencard)

Blue Card (European Greencard)

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