Migration as a European policy challenge

Two concerns are presently at the forefront of migration policymaking, be it among the European Union's member states themselves or within the European Commission. The first issue presents a dilemma: how to reduce or altogether eliminate irregular labour migration while simultaneously satisfying a growing demand among employers to import low-skilled labour from outside the EU. The solution championed by the European Commission is to introduce circular migration programmes that would satisfy three needs. First, there are the needs of employers and economies of Europe, in general. Conversely, there are the needs of migrant workers hoping to earn a better living abroad than would be possible locally and who thus send part of their earnings home or invest them in an otherwise productive fashion. Finally, there are the needs of countries of origin, the subsequent recipients of inflows whose hard currency enters into their monetary systems. Among policymakers there is a growing belief that through imposing strict controls, circular migration can mean something different than the ‘guest worker’ policies we know from decades ago; these new policies would have the capacity for markedly different outcomes. There is also some hope that such policies could considerably reduce irregular arrivals or residence by migrants from outside the EU. How warranted are these expectations in terms of effective regulation and control? And where should – or even could – such measures be located: at the borders, in the workplace, by means of residence permits, at the bureaucratic gates of social security systems? Or, should new policies take a reactionary stance, aiming to expel those who overstay their leave? How far can states go in the implementation of their controls, particularly in terms of human rights for migrants and refugees? All the measures just mentioned have been tried and/or are in current use throughout the EU. These measures will be among those paraded in this volume, as we seek to understand their suitability within national contexts.

The second issue at the forefront of EU migration policymaking is how to satisfy employers’ needs at the other end of the spectrum. Highly skilled migrant workers are hardly on the radar when it comes to migration control. European governments are not significantly concerned with reducing or controlling the arrival of such migrants. Rather, their ambitions are usually to attract them as much as possible.