Tal
Mölle 21 maj 2008
Tobias Billström, Migrationsminister
Tal vid konferensen "European integration in Swedish Economic Research"
Legal migration and common European challenges
For almost ten years, there has been a debate in the EU about the need to attract migrants to Europe to work in order to meet future challenges in our labour market. Legal migration is a policy area that touches upon a number of our common European challenges for the future, for example the challenge of making sure that our economies remain dynamic as we are confronted with big demographic challenges. We know that most of the European countries will face a situation with ageing populations and shrinking workforces. Less people will have to supply for a growing number of elderly. This will among other things put a strain on our welfare and pension systems.
Another challenge is the ambition of the Lisbon process to make the EU the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010. This is a strong ambition taking into account that we are only one and a half year from there. In Sweden, we have taken up the challenge of addressing legal migration by reweaving possible changes to our existing legislation in order to facilitate increased labour immigration from third countries in order to fill labour shortages and to lower our thresholds for third-country nationals who wish to live and work in Sweden. While this proposal has yet to be adopted by Parliament, it indicates the Government's strong will to open the country for increased labour immigration.
Already in the Tampere Conclusions from 1999, Europe's heads of States and Governments agreed, that third-country nationals - once admitted and legally residing on the territory - should have access to fair treatment, including a set of uniform rights which are as similar as possible to those enjoyed by EU citizens. Such rights includes the right to reside, receive education and work as an employee or self-employed person, as well as the principle of non-discrimination vis-ā-vis the citizens of the State of residence. The European Council also acknowledged, in the Tampere Conclusions, the need to approximate national legislations on the conditions for admission and residence of third country nationals, based on a shared assessment of the economic and demographic developments within the Union. Presently, this is more or less where we are still at.
As part of an overall strategy to ease the growing dependency burden on our working populations, and to sustain the rising costs of our national welfare systems, we need to be able to facilitate the growth of the European labour force by opening up the Union for legal immigration from third countries. Having said that, it is clear that labour migration is not the only solution. Reforms to increase labour immigration must be combined with decisive actions to better utilize large groups of people which are now excluded from the labour market. In addition to tapping the EU's own existing human resources, achieving the goals of the Lisbon strategy will require reaching beyond the borders of the Union in order to attract migrants for whom there is a demand and who can contribute to making our economies more diverse and vibrant.
Moreover, by offering expanded opportunities for legal migration, the EU can become a credible counterpart in partnerships with third countries and we can promote closer relations between the EU and third countries. It is only through the formation of real partnerships and mutual understanding between the EU and its partner countries that efforts to facilitate legal migration will succeed.
We must also recognize that the old paradigm of permanent settlement is increasingly giving way to temporary and circular migration. Circular migration meaning the notion of temporary migration - that migrants leave their country of origin in order to work in for instance the EU for a period of time and then return and maybe leave once again. It is critical that this growing recognition of the need to devise new and improved mechanisms for legal migration, whether they be circular migration or labour migration schemes, is transformed into concrete action. It is also important that we regard increased legal mobility as something which is in itself positive, both for the EU and for third countries. Having said that, we cannot ignore the fact that major policy challenges remain, owing in large part to differences in national circumstances and priorities. In this context, I would like to stress that we must overcome the various obstacles that lie in the way of a harmonized European migration policy.
Europe will face labour shortages in a wide range of sectors, including in the fields of high, semi- and low skilled employment, in the future. I know through my travels in Sweden that there is a demand for various kinds of skills. We need highly skilled carpenters and plumbers as well as doctors and nurses and people who can work with elder care and in the kinder gardens. A common European Migration Policy should therefore take a non-sectoral, demand driven approach to legal migration. Whilst it is a national competence to decide on the actual volumes of third-country nationals to be admitted to the Member States' territories, the main objective for a Common European Migration Policy must be to create a transparent, efficient and flexible labour migration system allowing the actual need of the national labour market in general and the individual employer in particular be the driving force.
In the context of a globalized world, the EU needs to present itself as a competitive and attractive labour market, especially when one considers that the EU is competing with other regions in the world in wanting to attract labour migrants. In presenting a uniform and flexible system where admitted third-country nationals are presented with a uniform set of rights which are as similar as possible to those enjoyed by EU citizens, including the right to equal treatment and non-discrimination, the EU will become an attractive option for labour migrants. The EU has one great advantage in constituting an area of 27 different countries. With a flexible labour migration system in place; allowing free movement within the union, offering competitive salaries and working conditions, beneficial and attractive living conditions, we will be able to attract labour force of all levels of skills, contributing to economic development in Europe.
A holistic approach to legal migration must also include an active recognition of the role that migrants play in promoting development and poverty reduction in their countries of origin as well as the contributions they make towards the enrichment and prosperity of destination countries. As has become increasingly apparent, migration can be a powerful tool for development when migrants send remittances home, transmit valuable new skills and knowledge to relatives and friends, and make investments or establish businesses in their countries of origin. According to the World Bank, the total amount of officially registered remittances sent to developing countries from migrant workers in 2007 was 240 billion dollars. The true size of remittances, including unrecorded flows, is estimated to be even larger. Recorded remittances are more than twice as large as the official development aid and correspond to nearly two-thirds of foreign direct investment flows to developing countries. Remittances are the largest source of external financing in many poor countries.
The role of integration
Of course, one cannot effectively address legal immigration without addressing the issue of integration. The two are inseparably linked, and policies to address them should reinforce one another. Over the past half-century, societies have expanded tremendously and have become qualitatively different in their composition and structure. Immigrants have enriched our societies with new customs, languages, religions, ideas, and values. As a result, the notion of a socially or ethnically homogenous nation state has become increasingly outdated. Diversity has become the rule, rather than the exception.
The Government puts great effort into making Sweden an accommodating society. A society in which everyone, irrespective of ethnic background, culture or religious creed is given a fair chance to contribute to society's well being on equal grounds. In Sweden's view, it is also essential to couple the issues of integration and diversity with the principles of human rights, democracy and non discrimination - principles which we cannot afford to do without. The integration process must be mutual in the sense that everyone, irrespective of background, is involved and contributes to building a shared future.
It should be clear to all of us that government itself cannot bring an end to all types of discrimination, stereotypes and unfair treatment in recruitment processes simply by passing laws. As the old saying goes "men must change before kingdoms can". In addition to legal mechanisms, there is a need for a change in attitudes among many employers. A genuine belief in the advantages of workforce diversity and an increased awareness of the destructive impacts of discrimination on the part of employers is more expedient than government intervention.
Integration also opens new opportunities for Sweden. Not only is it important to include immigrants into society and the labour market. It is also important to take advantage of the newcomers competence and networks. Immigrants bring experiences and knowledge that we otherwise would not obtain and that can vitalize our economies. We should not underestimate the importance of immigrant networks and the potential of them. As one example, I can mention that several ministers in the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq have a Swedish citizenship and Swedish is a language that is as useful as English in their ministries. The dimensions of migration are many and I think that we are only beginning to realize its effects and possibilities.
The Swedish reform on labour immigration
An overarching priority of the Swedish Government is to create more jobs. This was one of the main reasons why we were elected in 2006. Having said that, it is apparent that we will still have shortages in the labour market, even if every unemployed Swede would get a job.
Increased labour migration from third countries to fill shortages in the labour market and eliminate growth-restricting bottlenecks is a major reform initiative. The Government presented a Bill for increased labour immigration to Sweden on 29 April. The proposal is currently examined by Parliament, which is expected to vote on the proposal during October or November. The aim is that the reform should enter into force before the end of the year. By complementing the prevailing one-dimensional, asylum-dominated migration policy with other immigration channels, where immigration contributes to vitalizing the labour market and has a positive economic impact, I think we can make public support for immigration more sustainable.
Facilitating increased opportunities for labour immigration will be of crucial importance for Sweden's ability to meet both present and future challenges in the labour market. At the same time, this will contribute to a more culturally diverse and open society.
Sweden has a tradition of labour immigration. In the decades following the Second World War, immigration made a major contribution to our prosperity. Sweden was a labour immigration country as late as at the beginning of the 1970s, but the general perception of immigration changed subsequently as the flows to Sweden came to be dominated by asylum seekers. Apart from asylum seekers and their relatives, the number of people who have been given the opportunity to come to Sweden to create a better future for themselves has been relatively small. This has led to the perception that all immigrants who come to Sweden come here, not out of free choice to find a job, but are forced to come here in flight of war and persecution in need of help. Hopefully, with the new rules, we will change this image of what an immigrant is to something more positive. Immigrants are people who chose to come to Sweden to work and are perfectly capable to take care of themselves.
The basic elements of the reform
A Swedish employer who has advertised a vacant post in the EU/EEA and Switzerland and who has not found a qualified applicant within a certain period can offer the post to someone outside the EU. In this case, the new employee will be able to obtain a residence and work permit in Sweden. A key requirement is that the job offered provides a sufficient living and that the salary and other terms of employment are not inferior to collective agreements or practices of the profession or in the relevant occupation branches. Labour organisations will continue to play an important role in determining whether or not the conditions for the employment are adequate.
The Swedish Public Employment Agency will no longer be required to examine, in each individual case, whether the need for labour can be met through recruitment in Sweden. The employer's assessment of his or her own needs will thus be the deciding factor.
Time limits for residence and work permits will be extended. To begin with, a time-limited permit will be granted for a maximum of two years. If the individual in question still has a valid contract after this two-year period, it will be possible to extend the permit for an additional two years. After four years, a permanent residence permit can be granted.
Contact between employers and job-seekers will be facilitated as much as possible. The possibility of obtaining a visa, for example to attend a job interview, will therefore be greater than at present. A person subsequently offered employment will not always need to return home to apply for a residence and work permit as is the case today.
Asylum seekers who have found employment while their applications are being processed will, under certain conditions, be given a chance to apply for a work permit directly from Sweden. This exemption from the main rule -that residence and work permits must be obtained before entry into Sweden - means in those cases, that a person whose asylum application has been rejected does not need to return home to apply for a permit which is likely to be granted.
After one semester of study, visiting students will be able to apply for a work permit from Sweden.
Through this reform, Sweden will create a completely demand driven system where the employer's need for manpower will be decisive. The employer is the one who will decide if there is a lack of labour. This will make the new system more flexible than it would have been if we would have had quotas or a point based system.
The new rules will apply to all categories of workers, compared with the European Commission's proposal for a EU Blue Card which will only apply to high skilled workers. The reason for this is two-fold.
Firstly, it is difficult to establish what constitutes a high-skilled worker. Do you have to have a university degree or even a PhD, or can your experiences as, e.g. a carpenter make you a high skilled worker? In my view both a carpenter and a professor in mathematics can be highly skilled.
Secondly, the Swedish rules will apply to all categories of workers because we are in need of all kinds of workers. As I mentioned initially, I know through my travels in Sweden that almost all areas in society are in need of manpower.
Taking all this into account, the Government decided to propose a generous and open system where the concrete job offer is the decisive factor when the Migration Board assesses whether to issue a work permit.
To conclude
Migration is a positive force in our increasingly globalised world. In order to promote cross-border mobility and to make use of the knowledge and experience of labour immigrants, it is time to change our perspective. We must recognize the ambition and potential of individuals who wish to come to our country to live and work, and provide them with the opportunity to start a new life for themselves in Sweden. This is why the Government and the Green Party have decided to open a new path for those wishing to come here to work. In doing so, Sweden is setting an example which hopefully others in Europe will follow. My aim is that Sweden shall be a front runner in the future work on migration not only in the EU, but at global level.
Thank you for your attention.
