EU-27 AGREE ON IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM PACT; DEAL NEAR ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001538

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS PREL PREF SMIG KCRM EUN
SUBJECT: EU-27 AGREE ON IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM PACT; DEAL NEAR ON
-EU BLUE CARD-

REF: USEU BRUSSELS 1165

SUMMARY
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1. EU ministers in the September 25 Justice and Home Affairs (JHA)
Council agreed on a European Pact on Immigration and Asylum to be
endorsed by EU leaders at their mid-October European Council
meeting. The Pact sets out principles to manage legal migration
based on labor market needs of the individual EU countries, to
combat illegal immigration, and to make border controls more
effective, while developing a common EU asylum policy and promoting
partnership with countries of origin and transit. Ministers also
came very close to agreement on the EU "blue card" scheme setting
conditions of entry and residency of non-EU nationals to attract
highly qualified employees. The Czech Republic, however, is holding
up a deal until its own workers are given access to all EU
countries. The Commission will conduct a mission to Syria and
Jordan in liaison with the UNHCR to assess the situation of the most
vulnerable Iraqi refugees in those countries and to examine the
scope of their possible resettlement in EU countries that might be
prepared to accept them. Full text of the Council conclusions will
be published on the EU Council website (http://consilium.europa.eu).


IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM PACT
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2. French Immigration and Integration Minister Brice Hortefeux told
a press conference the Council recorded its "complete agreement" on
the text of the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum, which is
expected to be endorsed by EU leaders at their October 15-16
European Council meeting. The Pact - a political document with no
immediate, concrete binding effect - has been negotiated by the EU
Member State governments over the past few months, based on a draft
tabled by the French Presidency, which made it one of the top
priorities of its six-month term. As already reported (see REFTEL
and copy - in draft - of the Pact circulated to ERA in July),the
Pact centers around key commitments to be fulfilled by national and
EU bodies. It sets out principles to manage legal migration on the
basis of the labor market needs of the individual EU countries, to
combat illegal immigration, to make border controls more effective,
to develop a common EU asylum policy, and to promote a comprehensive
partnership with countries of origin and transit.


3. A very satisfied Hortefeux said the Pact was adopted by
unanimous backing and much praise from his colleagues. He noted
that "political differences and geographical disparities" among the
EU-27 were "not obstacles" to consensus. Joining Hortefeux at the
press conference, Swedish Immigration Minister Tobias Billstrm was
pleased that "the preamble of the text confirms the positive effects
of migration." Billstrm also said: "It is our responsibility not
to weaken the values on which the EU is based, including solidarity
- among Member states and with entrants." Spanish Immigration
Minister Celestino Corbacho told reporters the Pact was "a great
step forward," saying it had "the great virtue of allowing countries
some leeway" in the management of migrants and conduct of policy.

4. In other side-comments to media, delegations drew attention to
the joint commitment to avoid granting residency permits "en masse."
(Note: Mass regularizations decided by the (previous) Spanish and
Italian governments had been fiercely criticized by EU partners over
recent years, including by Germany and then French Interior Minister
Nicolas Sarkozy. End note). UK Minister of State for Borders and
Immigration Liam Byrne said: "Getting a clear statement against mass
regularizations is a very important line in the sand." Byrne said
the "trick now" was "to turn ideas into action," saying he would
visit Paris next week to talk about ways to rapidly implement parts
of the pact, including joint returns of illegal migrants. Maltese
officials said the Pact was helpful to address "disproportionate
pressures" they had to cope with as a country particularly exposed
to the influx of migrants.

5. COMMENT. The adoption of the Pact was one of the key goals of
the French Presidency. The final product appears to be well
balanced. The French displayed flexibility over the past few months
to rally delegations around their proposal and to take account of
their partners' sensitivities. Hortefeux rightly claimed that the
document avoids two potential pitfalls: "the creation of a European
fortress, and total opening up to illegal immigration." But the
real value of Pact, which will likely serve as a reference document
for the years to come, remains to be demonstrated by concrete
measures, for which the document often leaves responsibility to the
EU Member States. As an illustration, the Pact calls for the EU to
accept more highly skilled workers to its territory (see below),
while leaving it to governments to decide who and how many should be
admitted. A recent study by a Brussels-based think tank found
little evidence that the mutual recognition of expulsion decisions
is being implemented by the EU governments. The Pact also calls on
Member States to improve the effectiveness of controls on the EU's
external borders but the FRONTEX agency remains in lack of resources

BRUSSELS 00001538 002 OF 003


and equipment.

EU BLUE CARD
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6. Minister Hortefeux said the Council recorded a "quasi-agreement"
on the draft Directive setting conditions of entry and residence of
non-EU nationals for the purpose of highly-qualified employment.
This proposal was tabled by the Commission with the aim of
introducing a flexible, fast-track common procedure for the
admission of skilled migrants into EU territory. In the words of a
senior Presidency official, this EU "blue card" would strengthen the
EU's competitiveness in a global environment "in which Europe is
only one possible destination among others, including North
America." Hortefeux denied that the plan would encourage a brain
drain, particularly from Africa. "The principle is to encourage the
mobility of skills," he said.


7. As it stands, the plan has been watered down from the original
proposal tabled by former Commission Vice-President Frattini a year
ago and will not allow recipients to move around as freely as
initially envisaged. Hortefeux told his press conference that the
"200 reservations" voiced when the proposal was proposed had been
reduced to just one outstanding issue, raised by the Czech Republic
for "domestic reasons." Hortefeux hinted that Czech Interior
Minister Ivan Langer did not want to commit his
government/parliament on the date of application of the Directive.
EU sources explained that the Czechs do not want the scheme to be
applied before the lifting of outstanding restrictions to the free
movement of workers within the EU (Germany and Austria already made
it clear they would make use of the ability to retain curbs on labor
from the 2005 EU entrants until 2011). The EP has still to
pronounce on this proposal, on which the French hope to record final
agreement by the year's end.


8. Member States have been negotiating on the criteria for access
by non-EU nationals, including the pay level. Hortefeux said the
Council agreed on a proposal from the Presidency to set a threshold
corresponding to 1.5 times the level of the average salary, based on
calculations for each Member State. A provision would allow
individual Member States to lower the threshold to 1.2 times the
average salary for some job categories. French officials said the
formula enabled them to counter critics, who had argued that the
plan would lead to some EU harmonization of salaries.


9. Some observers question whether the EU "Blue Card" will work,
noting that the plan would only offer access to one Member State at
a time, thus limiting the opportunities available to potential
migrants. German Interior Minister Wolfgang Scha|ble said
expectations of the EU "Blue Card" had "always been exaggerated,"
stressing: "The Member States have the responsibility for the job
markets and the Blue Card will not change that. It shouldn't
either."

RESETTLEMENT OF IRAQI REFUGEES
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10. The Council recalled its conclusions of July 24 on the
situation of Iraqi refugees, both in the EU Member States and the
neighboring countries (REFTEL). While noting that some Member
States already welcome Iraqi refugees within the framework of
national resettlement programs, those conclusions said the priority
was to create conditions allowing Iraqi refugees to go back home and
included no call for Member States to take in more refugees. The
September 25 Council noted the Commission's plan to conduct a
mission in Syria and Jordan in liaison with the UNHCR "to assess the
situation of the most vulnerable refugees in those countries and to
look at possibilities of resettlement in voluntary (EU) Member
States." Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot, who holds
responsibility for Justice, Freedom and Security, said the mission
would take place at the beginning of November to "identify the most
vulnerable groups, the return of which to Iraq is out of the
question."


11. Council chair Hortefeux said EU governments would decide after
that mission how many Iraqis they could take in for resettlement.
While refusing to mention the country by name, Hortefeux hinted that
Germany gave indications to the Council it might be prepared to take
in "five to ten thousand" (refugees). Interior Minister Scha|ble
separately told German reporters: "We must not counter the efforts
of Iraq to bring refugees home, but a small proportion of refugees
for whom returning would be impossible will remain (a problem).
That's specifically true for minorities." (Note: Germany pressed
its EU partners earlier this year to take in more Iraqi Christian
refugees, arguing they were particularly exposed to violence. Other
Member States, including previous Presidency Slovenia, objected that
giving priority to Christians would amount to discrimination
vis-`-vis other groups. End note).


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IMPACT OF ECJ RULING
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12. Per Denmark's request, the ministers addressed questions raised
by the ECJ ruling referred to as the "Metock case" (C-127-08) that
concerns the rights of EU citizens and family members to move and
reside freely within the EU. The Court ruled that in the case of a
married couple, where one of the spouses is an EU citizen and the
other a national of a non-member country, the non-EU spouse may
reside with the EU citizen without having previously been legally
resident in another Member State, irrespective of when and where the
marriage took place and how the non-EU national entered the host
Member State. Denmark fears the ruling could encourage migrants to
enter the EU by having recourse to false marriages. Commission
Vice-President Barrot said the Commission would assess possible
repercussions of the ruling in the context of a report to be
submitted at the year's end on the implementation of the 2004 EU
"Family Reunification" Directive. Barrot said this could involve
drawing up guidelines on ways of implementing the Directive. He
noted that the current text of the EU legislation already provides
for Member States to take measures against abuses, including false
marriages.

MURRAY