EU unveils Blue Card for skilled migrants

The European Commission has unveiled a Blue Card for skilled migrants, based on the US Green Card, in a bid to attract suitably qualified people and their families to live and work within the European Union.

The EU says it needs 20 mln skilled workers over the next two decades, and is very short of expertise in engineering and computer technology. The scheme, which is more restrictive than the US Green Card, would need the approval of all 27 EU member states, the BBC reported.

Another objective of the plan is to reverse a current trend under which skilled migrants, mostly from Asia and Africa, emigrate to the US to find work.

Critics say a number of countries are sure to oppose the plan and also fear that Europe‘s attempt to take the best and leave the rest will only encourage a brain-drain from poorer nations.

UK ministers say they are studying it, but a BBC correspondent said they are not keen on the card, preferring to develop an Australian-style points system.

Unveiled in Strasbourg on Tuesday, the Blue Card would enable holders and their families to live, work and travel within the EU. To be eligible, new immigrants would need to show a recognised diploma and have at least three years professional experience. They would also need the offer of a job for a minimum one-year contract which could not be filled by an EU citizen.

“This is not an ‘open doors’ policy,” said European Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini.

“If a given member-state needs engineers or doctors, it has to decide how many, and then I will provide a state with a common procedure,” he added.

But some politicians in the Netherlands and Germany are hostile to the idea and the Austrian government has condemned the plan as “a centralisation too far”.