The European Union executive plans to encourage legal migration into Europe to plug labour shortages caused by a declining, ageing population, EU officials said today.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said he would present proposals to member states on October 23rd aimed at reversing a trend drawing skilled migrants to competitors such as the United States and unskilled workers to Europe.
Prime Minister Jose Socrates of Portugal, which currently holds the EU presidency, urged support for the proposal, saying it was crucial to meet labour shortages and curb illegal immigration and people trafficking.
Mr Frattini said 85 per cent of unskilled third-country labour was going to the 27-nation EU and only 5 per cent of skilled labour. The United States was attracting 55 per cent of skilled migrants and only 5 per cent of unskilled labour.
"We have to reverse these figures with a new vision," Mr Frattini told a conference on legal migration. [Read more]
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