Immigration

Immigration controls regulate the free movement of non-EU nationals into the EU. Immigration from outside the Community was handled on an intergovernmental basis following the Treaty of the European Union. Regulation 1683/95 laid down a uniform format for visas, and Regulation 2317/95 stipulated those countries whose nationals required a visa when entering the EU. The Treaty of Amsterdam introduced a new Title IV of the EC Treaty dealing with ‘Visas, Asylum, Immigration and Other Policies Concerning the Free Movement of Persons.’

On the one hand, non-EU or third-country nationals do not have the right to entry or free movement in the EU Member States. Third-country nationals may work in a Member State if they possess the authorisation to reside and work corresponding to the activity carried out, the location and the duration. Member States have sought to harmonise the means of controlling these conditions on entry, residence and employment (Council Recommendation of 22 December 1995 on harmonising means of combating illegal immigration and illegal employment and improving the relevant means of control; and Council Recommendation of 27 September 1996 on combating the illegal employment of third-country nationals).

On the other hand, in the employment context, a Commission Communication of 2 June 2003 (COM (2003) 336 final) on immigration, integration and employment points to demographic changes in the EU population resulting in a fall in the working-age population after 2010. As a result, sustained flows of labour migration into the EU will become increasingly necessary in the coming years in order to fill employment shortages and skills gaps. The Communication states that more must be done to integrate existing immigrants and facilitate further immigration to meet future needs of a European labour market. The Communication is a response to the October 1999 European Council in Tampere, which called for a series of policy papers on a common immigration policy for the EU.