Reforming the EU blue card as a labour migration policy tool?

Abstract

One of the four priorities of the European Commission in its preparation for the European Agenda on Migration was to open up 'new legal migration channels, including the revision of the 'Blue Card' Directive'. This comes after only three years of full implementation of this EU immigration policy instrument (and not even that for some Member States). Meanwhile, in its 2014 Communication on the implementation of the Blue Card Directive, the European Commission had decided not to propose any amendment. However, it should not be forgotten that the Blue Card Directive was not designed primarily for the labour market needs of the EU. Rather, it was run to enhance European competitiveness by attracting highly-qualified third-country nationals, and this under quite restrictive conditions of salary and qualifications. As a result there have been only low numbers of beneficiaries to date: 19,000 in 2012 and 2013 for the whole EU. To develop the Blue Card Directive into a true highly-skilled labour-migration management tool able to respond to current and future labour market needs in Europe, would mean changes in scope, conditions and implementation modalities by Member States.