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Turkey slams Austria ‘discrimination’ over new government programme

Turkey on Sunday slammed the incoming Austrian government, a coalition between conservatives and the far-right, for "discrimination" after its programme contained a pledge that Vienna will not agree to Ankara joining the EU.

Published: 17 December 2017 12:09 CET

Turkey slams Austria 'discrimination' over new government programme

Turkey has slammed the incoming Austrian government for 'discrimination'. Photo: Alex Halada/AFP

The landmark coalition deal, marking the return to power in Austria of the Freedom Party (FPOe), has sparked ripples of concern throughout Europe after a year of successes for far-right movements in Europe.

The chancellor-elect, Sebastian Kurz of the conservative People's Party (OeVP), already has a deeply-fractious relationship with Ankara due to his staunch opposition to Turkey's EU bid while serving as foreign minister.

“This baseless and short-sighted statement in the new Austrian government's programme unfortunately confirms concerns about a political trend based on discrimination and marginalisation,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

Accusing the incoming government of “dishonesty”, it warned that if realised, the programme would bring Austria “to the brink of losing Turkey's friendship” and be met with “the reaction that it deserves”.

Turkey's decades-long ambition to join the EU has hit the buffers in recent months as the bloc sounded the alarm over the crackdown that followed the 2016 coup bid aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

While Austria has called for the accession process to be formally halted, this has met with opposition from key EU members, notably Germany.

Meeting Erdogan on his trip to Greece earlier this month — the first by a Turkish president in 65 years — Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also backed Turkey's EU bid.

But last month, the EU cut funds destined to Turkey in the 2018 budget, citing doubts about Ankara's commitment to democracy and human rights in a move supported by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

'Tinder for jobs': EU's new job scheme for non-EU workers moves step closer

At a meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg, the EU Council, which includes representatives of each of the 27 member states, agreed a joint position on the proposal, referred to as “Tinder for jobs” by EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson.

The Council will now begin negotiating with the European Parliament to agree on the final legislative text on the proposal, which is part of the EU’s broader skills and talent mobility package.

What’s the scheme?

“This will not replace anything but it will be an additional tool to make recruitment from outside the EU easier,” Johannes Kleis, a press officer at the European Council, told The Local. “It should help to overcome some barriers that employers might find if they look for staff outside the EU, and this portal will be an easier entry point for third country jobseekers.”

In a press release announcing the agreement, the Council said it hoped to reconcile principles of fair recruitment with a secure and comprehensive migration system while also “reinforcing the position of the European Union in the global race for talent”.

READ ALSO: The new scheme to help non-EU nationals find jobs in Europe

The EU’s Home Affairs Commission Ylva Johansson hsa described the Talent Portal as ‘Tinder for jobs’. Photo: Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP

The idea is to set up an EU-wide online platform where jobseekers from outside the EU can set up profiles detailing their skills, qualifications, work experience and which languages they speak. Employers from all participating member states will then be able to post up jobs to the platform.

Only job vacancies involving skills or professions where member states or the EU as a whole have declared a labour shortage will be listed on the platform.

The Talent Pool will be designed to help EU employers overcoming some of the challenges of recruiting internationally by helping ensure the “accuracy, quality and comparability” of the foreign applicants’ qualifications and skills. It will also help applicants overcome some of their current difficulties in “accessing and understanding information about recruitment processes” as well as reducing costs.

The Talent Pool is not intended to set up a common work permit system, with anyone who gets a job through the platform still having to apply for a regular work permit in the country where they find a job.

The Council has added several new proposals to the system put forward by the European Commission in November, setting up a withdrawal procedure through which member states can leave the Talent Pool after giving six month’s notice.

The Council also wants to empower member states to be able to decide whether individual employers can post up vacancies, whether private employment agencies can do so, or whether only state-run national employment agencies can do so.

What happens next?

“We’re at the beginning,” Kleis said. “The European Parliament and the Council will now have to sit together to agree on the legal text, and that will happen after the summer. From the Council side, this is the first step but the legislation has yet to be agreed on. So there a lot more hoops to jump through.”

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