On Tuesday the European Commission adopted two legislative proposals in the area of economic migration.
The first proposal aims at establishing a Framework Directive for the purpose of admission of highly qualified migrants to the EU, creating the EU Blue Card.
The second proposal is a Directive establishing a single application procedure for a single residence and work permit and a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a member state.
Unfortunately, this news was not given any coverage locally, but with SmartCity Malta coming along, and with so many Maltese studying IT, it could well end up significantly affecting their future.
One problem facing the local IT industry, as outlined at a Business-to-Business conference held at ITEX last Friday, is the persisting lack of local resources. There is now, one participant said, widescale poaching going on.
Another participant said that recruitment from EU countries has proved to be advantageous but he also pointed out that the financial expectations of the Maltese coming out of university have risen so high as to make Malta almost uncompetitive, even when compared to the UK.
He thus welcomed the news of the Blue Card, which could bring to Malta hundreds if not thousands of non-EU citizens, as long as they qualify for the Blue Card.
The Blue Card system is practiced in the US and has helped in no small way to ensure the US’s lead in IT.
Training in IT has become big business in Malta, as Minister Austin Gatt said when opening ITEX. This year, 1,336 students began studying IT compared to 392 in 2003, and 607 will graduate in IT compared to 238 in 2003.
Yet there are certain skills that are still not covered and where it is hard to recruit people, and this is where the recruitment of foreigners will come in, especially when SmartCity starts in earnest.
The Commission proposal does not create the right of admission. The scheme is entirely demand-driven, fully respectful of the principle of Community preference and member states’ jurisdiction to decide on the numbers of people admitted.
Since labour market needs differ from member state to member state, the proposed common system is flexible and centred around a number of key points. For example, it introduces a fast-track procedure, based on common criteria.
When a third-country national is admitted under this scheme, he will receive a special residence and work permit, called the “EU Blue Card”, entitling him or her to a series of socio-economic rights and favourable conditions for family reunification.
Facilitated access to the labour market is also provided for.