Article Global Forum on Migration and Development", Athens 26 January 2009
Tobias Billström, Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy

Speech at "Conference on the Global Forum on Migration and Development", in Athens, part one of two

Minister Pavlopoulos (Dear Prokopios),
Excellencies,
Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to begin by thanking the Government of Greece for their generous offer to chair the Global Forum on Migration and Development. I would also like to thank the Government of Greece, the Hellenic Migration Policy Institute, and the Migration Policy Institute in Washington for organizing and hosting this conference on the important and timely topic of migration partnerships. I am particularly honored to have been given the opportunity to open our discussion by making a few remarks.

Friends,
That we live in an age of mobility is as true today as at any other point in human history. The movement of capital, goods and services, and people across borders remains the defining feature of our increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. While the increased mobility of people poses both significant opportunities and challenges, no one can question the benefits that can be realized through well-managed global migration. For countries of destination, well-managed migration can help to prevent labour shortages and bottlenecks in the labour market, increase tax revenues, and make economies and cultures more dynamic. Countries of origin can benefit from remittances and the temporary or permanent return of migrants, which can facilitate investment and the transfer of new knowledge and social capital. The fruitful discussions held at the two meetings of the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Brussels and Manila have reaffirmed this. And I am sure that the next meeting of the Global Forum in Athens in November will carry the discussion forward, building on our progress and understanding.

Even as we face a global economic crisis of historic proportions - where global growth is slowing, unemployment is rising, and uncertainty looms - global migration should not be viewed as part of the problem, but rather as part of the solution. The reversal of international migration and remittance flows that we are currently witnessing will undoubtedly have serious consequences for many countries, but this should not divert our attention from the importance of cooperating on migration and development issues. On the contrary, as the honorable Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, stated at the second meeting of the Global Forum in Manila this past October, "..migration can and should be a tool to help lift us out of this economic crisis.. Human mobility makes our economies more efficient , even when they are not growing, and by making sure that the rights skills can reach the right places at the right time."

In the context of the EU, it is widely acknowledged that facilitating the growth of the European labour force by opening up for legal migration from third countries is essential in order to ensure that our labour markets remain diverse and vibrant in order to sustain economic growth. And for our partner countries, increased legal access to labour markets in the EU has the potential to spur development at home when labour migrants acquire valuable new skills while abroad, send remittances home to support families and friends, and engage in development work and invest in businesses and infrastructure.

In Sweden, we recognize that there are labour shortages that cannot be filled by people living in Sweden or other countries within the EU. Our population is also getting older, and fewer and fewer people of working age will have to support an increasing percentage of the population in the years to come - which may threaten economic growth and the sustainability of our welfare system in the long term.

I am therefore proud to be able to inform you that in Sweden - just over one month ago - new rules entered into force which create what we believe is one of the most flexible and efficient systems for labour migration in the world today. The new system is demand driven and it welcomes labour migrants of all skills levels. Migrants that are admitted to Sweden will be given full access to equal rights and they may bring their family members with them from day one. I hope that our new approach will help guide policy development concerning legal migration within the EU in the coming years and will be a constructive component of Sweden´s relations with third countries.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
When we discuss mobility, it is equally important that we recognize that patterns of migration are in fact changing, partly as a consequence of globalisation. The old paradigm of migration for permanent settlement is increasingly giving way to more temporary and circular migration as a livelihood strategy for many migrants. In Sweden´s view, circular migration should not be viewed as a new phenomenon, but rather a naturally occurring pattern of mobility that has the potential to promote development in countries of origin, serve the labour market needs of countries of destination, promote "brain circulation" in order to counteract "brain drain", and benefit migrants themselves. Moreover, Sweden believes that circular migration should not be viewed as something that occurs only when specific measures or "schemes" are implemented to manage or promote it. And we do not see circular migration as synonymous with temporary labour migration programs, although these can of course be considered a part of and contribute to the circular nature of migration.

In order to enhance the positive development impacts of circular migration, and to make informed policy decisions, we must continue to identify and analyze potential barriers and facilitators to mobility that can exist within relevant legislation. Circular migration is also important in the context of establishing migration partnerships with third countries, and therefore also an important issue for the next meeting of the Global Forum in Athens. I would also like to mention that I will be hosting a conference in my hometown Malmö in October during our Presidency of the EU, which will focus on labour migration and the development potential of circular migration.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
As both the nature of migration and our labour market needs are changing, so too is our approach to global migration management. The EU has made great progress in developing and implementing the Global Approach to Migration and its various instruments. The notion of building genuine partnerships with third countries based on dialog, cooperation, and mutual interest lies at the heart of this approach.

As many of you know, the EU has established pilot mobility partnerships with Moldova and Cape Verde within the framework of the Global Approach, and additional partnerships are being planned with Senegal and Georgia. We find the concept of mobility partnerships to be very promising, and hope that these partnerships will help strengthen cooperation and the promotion of mutual interests between the EU and third countries in the field of migration management.

Sweden is participating actively in the pilot mobility partnership with Moldova, and I am glad to see that my colleague, Deputy Minister Ostalep, is present here today. Our experience so far in developing the partnership together with the Moldovan authorities, the Commission, and the other participating EU Member States has been very positive and encouraging. It has helped us to better understand Moldova´s needs, to identify mutual challenges and interests, and to explore more effective forms of cooperation with regard to a wide array of migration issues. It is important that the migration and development agenda remains a central component of these partnerships, and we look forward to close and continued cooperation.

Before I conclude, I would just like to emphasize that the diversity and complexity of migration issues requires us to develop truly coherent policies which strengthen the positive synergies between migration and other policy areas such as development cooperation, foreign policy, security policy, and employment. As we have seen, this is particularly relevant in the context of developing mobility partnerships.

Finally, I would just like to underline that all of the issues I have discussed - including legal migration, circular migration, migration partnerships and policy coherence - are ones that will be important for the Swedish presidency of the EU.

Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to our discussion.