Tal
Auditorium du Conseil Supérieur du Notariat, Paris 14 september 2009
Tobias Billström, Migrationsminister

Tal av Tobias Billström vid migrationssymposium i Paris (på engelska)

Tal av migrationsminister Tobias Billström vid symposiet "Migration and Integration: the new challenges of globalization" i Paris den 14 september 2009.

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Excellencies,
Members of the Assembly,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me begin by thanking my colleague Eric Besson for taking the initiative to host this symposium. It was not long ago that I attended a very productive and fruitful high-level conference here in Paris that Mr. Besson chaired, then under the kind courtesy of the OECD. At that high-level conference these issues were discussed, therefore it feels great to be back in Paris to take the discussion forward and to be able to address Policy makers and experts in this broad symposium.

Migration is as natural a component of our increasingly globalized societies and economies as increased flows of goods and capitial. The scale and scope of international migration, as well as the complexity of migration issues, has grown substantially in recent years. We can now see some positive indicators after a time with difficulties in the financial and economic sectors, thus the need to develop innovative ways to maximize the positive effects of migration for the benefit of all is therefore more important than ever. It is only through a truly comprehensive and coherent approach towards migration, development and integration issues that all stakeholders can benefit from migration in the long term.

It is my firm belief that even in times of economic crises should we continue to manage migration in a way that is sustainable in the long-term and that we continue to deepen our cooperation on migration and development issues. Cooler heads must prevail, and we must make sure that our labour markets remain dynamic when we are confronted with the reality of demographic ageing of our populations and shrinking workforces. Just as calls for increased protectionism are not the answer to our common economic challenges, I believe that efforts to stifle migration are both unwise and short-sighted. We can compensate part of our declining labour force with increased productivity, however, we can neither maintain sustainable economic growth nor retain public welfare on an acceptable level without a constant influx of migrants. Thus, political efforts to reduce barriers for mobility must continue, even in times of low demand for labour.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The need to create labour migration regimes that can handle the demand for both high and lesser skilled labour are of crucial importance. Allow me to take this opportunity to share with you the Swedish experience. On the 15th of December last year, new rules for labour immigration to Sweden entered into force. Our reform is designed to create a demand-driven, effective and flexible system which will make it easier for people to come to Sweden to work, and for Swedish companies to recruit labour from outside the EU. The reform is also designed in a way that workers of all skill levels can migrate to Sweden under a general framework.

The main driving-force for our reform is the recognition that there are labour shortages in Sweden that will not be filled by people living in Sweden or in other EU countries. Another motive is the fact that our population is rapidly getting older, and that fewer and fewer people of working age will have to support an increasing percentage of the population in the near future. This might threaten economic growth and the sustainability of our welfare system in the long term. Of course, labour migration is only one of several instruments needed to prevent labour shortages. But it is certainly an important complement along with an optimal utilization of labour already residing in the country.

The Swedish system is completely demand driven. By this I mean that it is now the Swedish employers themselves, and not the Swedish Public Employment Agency, who decide whether or not they have a need to recruit someone from outside Sweden or the EU to fill a particular vacancy. Our demand-driven system stresses the employers' demand for labour and there are no special caps or quotas to determine how many labour migrants that can enter the Swedish labour market. Past experiences have shown us that the labour market tests previously performed by Swedish government agencies have not always been optimal for realizing the changing needs of individual employers.

A relatively small country like Sweden needs to stay competitive in the global competition for labour. One way of doing this is to offer a simple and transparent admission procedure for third country nationals whose skills are sought after on the labour market. Our new system recognizes that we need foreign workers of all skills levels and in many different branches and sectors, everything from engineering and communications technology to seasonal workers. In this new system the same rules and conditions apply, regardless of your position.

One important lesson that we learned from our previous closed system for labour migration is that temporary labour programs can only work if the need for labour truly is only temporary. Thus, if employers' needs for labour extend beyond the short term, as is the case in Sweden, then we must have a flexible system in place that allows for temporary migration to become more long-term, or even permanent.

Ladies and gentlemen,
When we address issues related to migration management, we must also be aware of the fact that migration patterns have changed significantly over the past decades. There is evidence that shows that the old paradigm of migration for permanent settlement is increasingly giving way to more temporary and circular migration.

Due to the economic crisis labour migration flows has decreased in many countries. This is the immediate short-term effect in many countries. But, as global mobility increases as a natural consequence of globalization and economic interdependence, the creation of flexible legislation for migrant's resident permits is all the more important in order to facilitate temporary and/or more permanent voluntary return to countries of origin. In our new system we provide a route from temporary to permanent residence status for all labour immigrants after four years. This means that after four years with a temporary work permit, permanent residence permit can be granted as long as the migrant in question still has a job.

Of course, one cannot effectively address migration without addressing the issue of integration. The two are inseparably linked, and policies to address them should reinforce one another. The last major feature in our new legislation on labour immigration is that all migrants that are admitted to Sweden are given basically the same rights as Swedish citizens and are allowed to bring their family with them from day one. The spouses of labour migrants are also granted full access to the labour market. We consider it to be an important competitive factor in the competition for the skills and workforce and should hopefully also be beneficial in terms of integration.

Ladies and gentlemen,
One of the main goals for the Swedish government during our presidency of the European Council is to adopt a new five year programme - the Stockholm programme - in the field of Justice and Home Affairs. The Swedish presidency aims for an ambitious and forward looking five year programme, where migration policy will remain a key objective for the European Union. It is my hopes that the main point of departure will be that well-managed migration can be beneficial to all stakeholders, and that a European migration policy should continue to be developed based on universal values, solidarity, transparency and mutual trust between Member States. It is also important that while addressing the challenges that lie ahead of us, we must include policy responses on short term, as well as medium and long term.

From the Swedish perspective, a truly flexible and demand driven system for labour migration, where employers themselves decide whom to recruit, is the most efficient way to fill labour shortages, both higher and lesser skilled, and to maintain a long-term sustainable migration policy. Our experience tells us that we, as the government or government agencies, might not be best suited to tell the employers what their labour needs are. Having said that I still believe that it is the government's role to make sure that social or salary dumping does not occur, and that it is also the government's role to put legislation in place that protects the employees rights on the labour market and ensures that labour immigration is not used as a tool for unsound competition.

Thank you for your attention!