Activities of Pernando BARRENA ARZA related to 2020/2255(INL)
Plenary speeches (1)
Legal migration policy and law (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT with recommendations to the Commission on legal migration policy and law
Amendments (37)
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 a (new)
Citation 47 a (new)
— Whereas 23 million non-EU nationals were legally resident in EU Member States in 2020, some 5, 1% of the EU total population,
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 b (new)
Citation 47 b (new)
— Whereas there are currently around 3.1 million EU long-term resident permits; Whereas 7.1 million long-term residence permits were issued under Member States’ national legislation,
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 c (new)
Citation 47 c (new)
— whereas the low issuance rate of long-term resident permits indicates a need to improve its attractiveness, which could be achieved by a revision of the directive clarifying the advantages of holding an EU long-term residence permit and approximating national legislative schemes,
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 d (new)
Citation 47 d (new)
— Whereas Article 79(1)of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states that “The Union shall develop a common immigration policy aimed at ensuring, at all stages, the efficient management of migration flows, fair treatment of third-country nationals residing legally in Member States, and the prevention of, and enhanced measures to combat, illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings”,
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 e (new)
Citation 47 e (new)
— Whereas the main findings of the Commission’s fitness check on legal migration highlighted effective legal migration policies being key in the management of migratory flows,
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 f (new)
Citation 47 f (new)
— Whereas the same fitness check clearly stated that the current EU rules on legal migration has had limited impact in relation to attracting the skills and talents needed for the EU labour market and economy, as well as pointing out that the current legal framework is “fragmented and presents a number of gaps, as well as implementation problems”,
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 g (new)
Citation 47 g (new)
— Whereas according to the European Commission Report on the Impact of Demographic Change from 2020, the median age of the EU27 is at 44 years today, has been increasing for several years and will continue to do so for at least the coming two decades,
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 h (new)
Citation 47 h (new)
— Whereas this implies that long- term, the EU will face a growing share of the population consisting of citizens being 65+ years old in the coming decades, while the share representing the working age population is projected to decrease during the same time period,
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 i (new)
Citation 47 i (new)
— Whereas the mismatch of skills on the EU Member States’ labour markets’ has proven very costly for the European Union, causing its economy to lose over 2% of productivity per year according to a study from the European Economic and Social Committee from 2018; whereas the same report states that the mismatch occurs on all skill levels -ranging from cooks and truck drivers to medical doctors and teachers; Whereas this report asserts that the current legislative schemes are insufficient in ensuring that the European Union remains economically competitive in both short-, medium and long-term, as well as meeting the demands of the Member States’ labour markets,
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 j (new)
Citation 47 j (new)
— Whereas the creation of additional legal pathways on an EU level could help to provide EU Member States with a tool to properly face these demographic challenges, as well as meeting demands of the labour markets that cannot be met by the domestic workforce and enhance the matching of skills on the labour markets,
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 k (new)
Citation 47 k (new)
— Whereas according to a publication from the Commission on 24 April 2020, an average of 13 % of keyworkers for societies are immigrants in the EU; whereas this shows that they played a crucial role in the EU's ability to handle the COVID-19 pandemic,
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 m (new)
Citation 47 m (new)
— Whereas the EU is one of the main investors in developing human capital in neighbouring countries,
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 n (new)
Citation 47 n (new)
— Whereas the renewed European Partnership for Integration with social and economic partners looks into expanding the future cooperation to the area of labour migration,
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 o (new)
Citation 47 o (new)
— Whereas an adequate implementation of the existing legislation on labour migration is equally important to proposing new legislation,
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 p (new)
Citation 47 p (new)
— Whereas several EU Member States have already entered into successful partnerships with third countries to create a legal pathway for labour migration, as well as matching labour market demands on a smaller scale through pilot projects; Whereas talent partnerships should build upon positive lessons learned from these projects,
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 q (new)
Citation 47 q (new)
— Whereas the partnership frameworks between EU Member States and third countries can serve as a crucial tool in the acceleration of the mutual recognition of skills and qualifications of legal labour migrants,
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 r (new)
Citation 47 r (new)
— Whereas the Single Permit Directive, adopted in 2011, has the facilitation of application procedures for a combined work and residence permit and equal treatment as its two main objectives; whereas the evaluation of the Directive under the Fitness Check on legal migration and its implementation report identified a number of shortcomings with regard to the achievement of those objectives; whereas to address those shortcomings, the 2020 Commission Pact on Migration and Asylum announced a number of new initiatives, including a revision of the Single permit Directive,
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 t (new)
Citation 47 t (new)
— Whereas the direct link between a legally staying third country national’s right of residence and his or her employer exposes them to potential labour exploitation; whereas there has been calls to phase out these permits and instead to allow legally staying third country nationals to change employers without losing their work permits,
Amendment 46 #
— Whereas the European Labour Authority has strengthened its cross- border operational capacity to support and strengthen national labour inspectorates and authorities, as well as social partners, in order to promote fair labour mobility and tackle cross-border fraud and abuse,
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 47 w (new)
Citation 47 w (new)
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that, in order to face demographic challenges, the Union needs third-country workers of all skill levels to increase its economic competitiveness and its global influence as the champion of democracy, inclusion, human rights, free trade in goods and services and the rule of law, and as the leader in the fight against climate change; notes that more international migration from third countries and a greater degree of mobility between EU member states remains only one possible answer to the future of mismatches between supply and demand;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that the creation of a Union-wide talent pool for third-country nationals who wish to apply for work with a view to migrating legally to a Member State, as well as for employers to search for potential employees in third countries, would be an essential tool for achieving the purpose of the proposed act and calls on the Commission to include the creation of such a talent pool in its proposal; calls on the commission to create a framework for the validation and recognition of skills and qualifications, based on objections and uniform criteria, ensuring fair treatment during the process, enabling fast-tracks schemes and quick procedures, and facilitating information in an efficient and easy way;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. SupporRequests the Commission’s statement in its communication of 23 September 2020 on a New Pact on Migration and Asylum regarding to explore further the enhancement of short- term mobility as a complement to legal pathways, especially for the purposes of research or study in order to improve upstream cooperation with third countries, for example to stem irregular migratory flows, and asks the Commission to explore this direction further;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes Directive (EU) 2021/...15 , but considers it insufficient due to the fact that the labour markets of the Union are also in need of low- and medium-skilled workers; calls, therefore, on the Commission to include in its proposal an admission scheme for low- and medium- skilled third-country workers, including the creation of a framework for the validation and recognition of their skills and qualifications, including vocational training, informal learning and skills, based on objective and uniform criteria; _________________ 15EUT number of 2016/0176 COD to be inserted.
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Calls when revising existing legislation as laid out in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, to allow for in- country applications, for in-country job seeker permits, for conversions of permits into other types and for multiple changes of employer; stresses the need to include labour rights protections in all labour migration legislation;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers that the Union is in need of more self-employed people and entrepreneurship in order to remain competitive; notes the cross cultural interactions that immigrants bring lead to enhanced innovation; calls on the Commission to include in its proposal an admission scheme for entry and residence of self- employed people and entrepreneurs, in particular those who establish small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, based on objective and uniform criteria;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. RInsists that the Talent partnerships should be developed in consultation with social partners, civil society organisations and all relevant parts of government on the European side, but also in third countries; requests the Commission to include in its proposal a framework for talent partnerships between Member States and third countries, tailored to the situation of the third country in question, which should include vocational training programmes based on skills, in particular aptitude tests, workplace observation and simulations, and that Member States could opt into on a voluntary basis; calls on the Commission to ensure that the framework allows for Parliament to be able to fully exercise its scrutiny and evaluation role;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that the objective of Directive 2011/98/EU to simplify and harmonise the rules concerning permits currently applicable in the Member States and promote equal treatment has not been fully achieved with some of the provisions being implemented in different ways across Union; requests the Commission to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Member States implement that Directive fully; further considers that that Directive should be amended to allowrequire that applications for a single permit tomay be lodged from within both a Member State and a third country, and, in order to further simplify and harmonise the rules, to clearly regulate the procedure for obtaining an entry visa so as to avoid applicants having to submit the documents needed to obtain a single permit twice, and to reduce dependency of workers and risks of exploitation, and calls on the Commission to include such amendments in its proposal;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Requests that the Commission includes in its proposal the establishment of a transnational advisory service network, to be managed by the Commission, for legally migrating third- country workers, with each Member State designating a lead authority to process applications and to coordinate the advice and information provided to third-country nationals applying for work in the Union; insists that the lead authorities should be responsible for the sharing of information among Member States on third-country workers and should act as contact points for the talent pool; asks that the lead authorities be responsible also for close coordination with one another with regard to applications lodged for a single permit to reside and work in accordance with Directive 2011/98/EU in order to avoid double submissions;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to include in its proposal an amendment to Directive 2014/36/EU to allow holders of work permits under that Directive a period of three months, which can be extended with another three months, to seek new employment after having left their previous employer without having their work permit revoked;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Requests the Commission to include provisions to improve enforcement of equal treatment and employment rights, including accessible and effective complaints mechanisms and access to justice for all workers in case of exploitation and other criminal offences;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – Recommendation 1 – indent 1
Annex I – Recommendation 1 – indent 1
- The European Parliament considers that the legislative act to be adopted should establish a Union-wide talent pool for third-country nationals who wish to apply for work in and migrate legally to a Member State, as well as for Union-based employers to search in third countries for potential employees, and should facilitate the admission and free movement of third- country workers. The job matching through the talent pool should happen on a voluntary basis. The European Parliament considers that such a Union- wide talent pool should establish synergies with the existing framework and the legislative act should therefore amend Regulation (EU) 2016/589 in order to expand the current scope of the EURES Portal, established by that Regulation;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – Recommendation 2 – indent 1
Annex I – Recommendation 2 – indent 1
- It is a pressing need for the Union to improve its attractiveness forallow the admission of all skilled third- country workers, not only for highly- skilled workers. With the revision of the Directive (EU) [EU BLUE CARD], the Union has taken further steps to achieve that goal for highly-skilled third-country workers. However, it is imperative to achieve that goal for low- and medium- skilled third-country workers in order to fill vacancies and improve matching on the Member States’ labour markets, further enhancing the Union’s economic competitiveness. When envisaging new EU labour migration systems or schemes, skills should be approached in the same way as sectors, privileging efficient, streamlined processes which do not segment the market based on presumptive skills (or wage)levels.
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – Recommendation 2 – indent 2
Annex I – Recommendation 2 – indent 2
- To properly address that issue, the European Parliament calls on the Commission to, within the legislative act to be adopted, include provisions setting up an admission scheme with conditions of entry and residence for low- and medium- skilled third-country workers. The scheme should include the creation of a framework within which third-country workers are able to have their skills and qualifications properly recognised and validated for use on the Member States’ labour markets. In addition, complementary measures to support inclusion of workers and their families regardless of status are crucial. These include non-discriminatory policies on - alongside measures to facilitate - access to education, health care and housing, and pathways to regularise status on various grounds.
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – Recommendation 4 – indent 1
Annex I – Recommendation 4 – indent 1
- The European Parliament calls on the Commission to prepare a tailor-made framework for talent partnerships in which Member States can voluntarily participate and to include this in the legislative act to be adopted. Those partnerships would be open to third-country workers of all skill- levels, as well as students and graduates, and would serve as an efficient tool for Member States to match the skills of workers in third countries with the demands of the Member States’ labour markets which the domestic workforce cannot meet. The aim of those partnerships is to add another legal channel as a mobility-option for third-country nationals who wish to migrate to the Union for work and to tackle the issues of labour market shortages and mismatches across the Union. They should be developed involving social partners, civil society organisations and all relevant parts of government on the European side, but also in third countries. The practical implementation of the partnerships would rely on close cooperation with national authorities, labour market institutions and partners. The Commission should ensure that the European Parliament is able to, on a regular basis, scrutinise and evaluate the functioning of the partnerships, as well propose recommendations to improve the overall functioning of the framework.
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – Recommendation 5 a (new)
Annex I – Recommendation 5 a (new)
Recommendation 5 a The Single Permit Directive should shift the burden of proof of unequal treatment from the single permit holder to the employer. Furthermore, third parties (e.g. work councils, NGOs) should be granted legal standing to engage in proceedings before national courts on behalf of or in support of single permit holders. This is relevant to all migrant workers, irrespective of the directive which governs their entry into the EU
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – Recommendation 6 – indent 1
Annex I – Recommendation 6 – indent 1
- The European Parliament is of the view that systematic cooperation between and engagement with the authorities of Member States and of third countries is required to enhance legal pathways for migration. To achieve that goal, the European Parliament considers that the legislative act to be adopted should establish a transnational advisory service network, managed by the Commission, for third-country workers, with each Member State designating a lead authority to coordinate the advice and information provided to legally migrating third-country nationals applying for work in the Union. The authorities in each Member State should also be responsible for closely coordinating with one another with regard to applications lodged for a single permit to reside and work in the Union in accordance with Directive 2011/98/EU in order to avoid double submissions. That network should also take into account national specificities and different demands of national labour markets. Furthermore, The Commission should issue guidelines and recommendations on good practices on granting migrants a more secure legal status.