CIAO DATE: 07/02

Shaping Europe's Migration Policy
New Regimes for the Employment of Third Country Nationals: A Comparison of Strategies in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the UK

Abstract

During the 1990s, Justice and Home Affairs moved, in an unexpected way, to centre stage in the European debate. Concern had been growing about immigration policy since the Maastricht Treaty institutionalised the third pillar of the European Union. This concern had been stimulated by several factors—the persistence of irregular migration and tragic incidents, such as the one in Dover in July 2000 in which 58 Chinese nationals lost their lives trying to enter illegally into the United Kingdom, the need for immigrant workers in some sectors, and the spectre of an ageing European population. More generally, the Treaty of Amsterdam, since its entry into force in 1999, represents a major development in overall Justice and Home Affairs policy, and the implementation of the treaty provisions in Justice and Home Affairs was described as the next major EU initiative after the single currency.

Moreover, the Conclusions of the European Council in Tampere (15th and 16th October 1999); gave an additional push for the adoption of the measures considered necessary for the realisation of an area of Freedom, Security and Justice, reaffirming traditional and integrating new principles in these fields.

Full Text (PDF)