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IMMIGRATION

EU nations demand tougher borders to prevent ‘migration crisis’

Eight EU nations called on Brussels to significantly toughen the bloc's borders to "prevent another large-scale migration crisis," according to a letter seen by AFP ahead of a key summit.

Published: 7 February 2023 15:08 CET
EU nations demand tougher borders to prevent 'migration crisis'
A policeman stands guard in the new closed migrant camp in the Greek island of Kos on November 27, 2021. (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS / AFP)

The overall tone on migration has hardened in Europe since 2015-2016, when it took in over a million asylum-seekers, most of them Syrians fleeing the war in their country.

Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia sent the letter dated Monday to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel.

They said it was “high time” for a “comprehensive European… approach for all relevant migratory routes” to tackle irregular migration.

The letter called for “additional financial support” within the existing budget to enhance “relevant operational and technical measures for effective border control”.

It also urged “significantly increasing swift returns of third country nationals” and concluding new partnerships and safe third country arrangements.   

Some member states are facing “levels of arrivals and applications equivalent to, or higher than, those seen during the migration crisis in 2015 and 2016,” the letter added.

At the end of January, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said she was confident that asylum reform — under discussion since September 2020 — would be adopted before the European elections in 2024.

The EU has earmarked six billion euros to protect its borders for the 2021-2027 period.

Several countries, including Austria, have called for EU funding to strengthen fences along the bloc’s external borders to reduce the flow of asylum-seekers.

But the commission has so far been reluctant, saying that “building walls and barbed wire” is not the right solution.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said last month that member states could sign up to a pilot scheme over the first half of this year to speed up screening and asylum procedures for eligible migrants — and “immediate return” for those not deemed to qualify.

Von der Leyen said she wanted the EU to draw up a list of “safe countries of origin”, and for the bloc to strengthen border monitoring on the Mediterranean and Western Balkans routes migrants use to get to Europe.

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WORKING IN SWEDEN

How many immigrants are overqualified for their jobs in Sweden?

Sweden is one of many European countries struggling with 'brain waste', a situation where immigrants struggle to find suitable full-time work or are overqualified for their roles due to their education not being recognised.

Published: 23 April 2024 15:57 CEST
How many immigrants are overqualified for their jobs in Sweden?

The findings are part of an investigation by Lighthouse Reports, the Financial Times, El País and Unbias The News which found that most European countries fail to provide good job opportunities to educated foreigners – potentially at the cost of their labour forces and economies.

“While the results differ slightly between labour market outcomes, a consistent pattern emerges: immigrants lag behind natives everywhere, but brain waste is worst in Southern Europe, Norway, and Sweden,” the report read.

One of the metrics used to measure brain waste was the proportion of foreign residents who were overqualified for their role.

In Sweden, 32 percent of university-educated Swedes were overqualified for their roles, according to their report, while 68 percent of immigrants educated abroad were overqualified for their job.

The report didn’t study native Swedes with foreign diplomas, but one thing to note is that immigrants who obtained their qualifications in Sweden were far less likely to be overqualified than those who got their degrees outside of Sweden.

For immigrants with a degree from Sweden, 35 percent were overqualified (the difference to native Swedes was not statistically significant).

The results are not surprising, and the problem of well-educated immigrants not being able to work in their chosen profession has been raised on multiple occasions – for example in connection with Sweden’s new work permit salary threshold squeezing out highly-qualified foreigners.

An OECD report found as early as 2014 that a much bigger proportion of highly-educated foreign-born people in Sweden were overqualified for their roles, compared to the native population.

“Given the large number of Swedish immigrants who obtained their education and work experience abroad, there is a strong need for efficient and credible recognition of their qualifications and validation of informal competences,” urged the OECD report at the time.

But the Lighthouse Reports study pointed out that the figures for Sweden pointed to a systemic problem across the entire labour market, which doesn’t only affect well-educated immigrants.

“Once we look at metrics of brain waste that are not dependent on education, such as under-employment and unemployment, the large gaps in Southern Europe (and Sweden) reappear. This indicates that these countries struggle to integrate migrants into the labour market in general, not just college-educated migrants,” it read.

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