European Council focuses on jobs and migration

A European Council summit was held in December 2005, under the UK Presidency, which discussed the topics of growth, employment and migration. The Council issued a text on adopting a global approach to migration, focusing on the EU’s neighbouring regions in Africa and around the Mediterranean.

European Union heads of state/government and ministers gathered in Brussels on 15-16 December 2005, under the outgoing UK Presidency, for a European Council meeting. In social policy and employment terms, the main areas of discussion were growth and jobs, and migration.

Growth and jobs

In its conclusions, the Council notes that the world is experiencing a period of rapid and significant economic change. The Council agrees that 'Europe needs economic reforms, social modernisation and sustainable environmental policies to safeguards its values and respond effectively to the challenges and opportunities of globalisation and demographic change'. It therefore stresses the importance of innovation, information and communication technology, research and human capital, particularly in the cases of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to achieve higher employment and productivity and sustainable growth across the EU.

The Council states further that it welcomes the work of the EU Member States in this area, through their National Reform Programmes, within the context of the EU’s revised Lisbon strategy (EU0504201F). The European Commission will issue a progress report in January 2006, which the Council looks forward to. Ministers called on the Member States, the Commission and the Council of Ministers to monitor and evaluate implementation of these National Reform Programmes, as agreed at the March 2005 European Council (EU0504201F).

The Council also stresses that an improved regulatory framework is 'key to delivering growth and jobs'. It believes that the emphasis should be on implementing commitments already made by all institutions. It also welcomes further work in areas such as reducing burdens on business and citizens, by means of simplification and screening.

The Council also makes reference to the controversial proposal for a Directive on services in the internal market (the so-called Bolkestein Directive - EU0407206F). This proposal is currently due to receive a first reading in the European Parliament (EP) in early 2006. The Council stresses the importance of the proper functioning of the internal market, including for services, and notes the progress made on the draft Directive so far. It states that it looks forward 'with a view to sustained momentum' to the Commission’s amended proposal, which will follow once the text has received a first reading in the EP.

Migration

The Council also looked at the issue of adopting a global approach to migration. In its conclusions, it notes the increasing importance of migration issues for the EU and the fact that 'recent developments' (notably the attempts of migrants to enter the EU through the Spanish North African territories of Ceuta and Melilla) have led to mounting public concern in some Member States about illegal immigration into the EU.

Overall, the Council stresses the need for a 'balanced, global and coherent approach, covering policies to combat illegal immigration and, in cooperation with third countries, harnessing the benefits of legal migration'. It states that the EU will strengthen its dialogue and cooperation with a broad range of 'third countries', and particularly the eastern, south eastern and Mediterranean regions, on migration issues, including return management 'in a spirit of partnership and having regard to the circumstances of each country concerned'.

The Council welcomes a Commission Communication of 30 November 2005, entitled Priority actions for responding to the challenges of migration, and has adopted its own text, entitled Global approach to migration: Priority actions focusing on Africa and the Mediterranean, which it has annexed to the Council conclusions. This text covers the following areas:

• strengthening cooperation and action between Member States. This would include: border management measures in the Mediterranean region, focusing on joint operations and pilot projects; a risk analysis report on Africa; and the launch of a feasibility study on reinforcing monitoring and surveillance of the southern maritime border of the EU. These actions are scheduled to take place during 2006;

• increasing dialogue and cooperation with African states, by a range of means, including making migration a shared priority for political dialogue between the EU and African countries;

• increasing dialogue and cooperation with neighbouring countries covering the entire Mediterranean region. This will include holding a EuroMed ministerial meeting on migration in 2006. Making available experiences and best practices on migration from other regional cooperation structures, notably the Baltic. Priority work will be undertaken with Morocco, Algeria and Libya. A conference on the role of internal security in relations between the EU and its neighbours will be held in Vienna in May 2006; and

• questions of funding and implementation.

The Council invites the Commission to report back on progress made in all these areas by the end of 2006.

Commentary

The focus of the December European Council highlights the preoccupations of the EU at present, essentially how to create growth and jobs, and how to manage migration effectively. The question of growth and jobs has been at the forefront of debate in the EU for much of the past decade, linked to the European employment strategy and its 10-year Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs. The relaunch of the Lisbon strategy after its mid-term review in 2005 has ensured that these issues will remain at the top of the agenda for those involved in social and employment policy.

The debate on migration has been gathering pace in recent years, as the EU has expanded and the flow of people coming to the EU to work has increased. The discussions on how to control migration flows effectively are linked to the issue of demographics - it is recognised that the EU’s population is ageing and that Europe therefore needs legal migration ensure that the working population is adequate in terms of numbers, to ensure continuing competitiveness. This is also important for the future of the EU’s social security systems, which many believe lie at the heart of the EU’s social model: extra labour will be needed to secure the future of social security systems by maintaining the balance between the working population and the number of retired people. Policy makers in the EU realise this, which is why one of the main areas of focus of this Council was on trying to encourage legal migration and curb illegal migration to the EU. (Andrea Broughton, IRS)