EU mulls 'blue card' for skilled immigrant workers

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union's top justice official said Thursday that he would submit next month plans for an EU "blue card," inspired by the US "green card," to attract qualified immigrants to the bloc.

Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini, in a speech at an immigration conference in Lisbon, said he would unveil his "Blue EU Labour Card" to the 27-country EU on October 23 to help entice qualified job-seekers to Europe.

"The challenge is to attract the workers needed to fill specific gaps," he said, noting that only five percent of people who migrate to the EU were skilled workers, compared to 55 percent arriving in the United States.

The "blue card," which takes its name from the main colour of the EU flag, would entitle highly qualified third country nationals to a series of rights in any of the EU nations.

A fast-track system would be set up to allow such workers to enter the bloc -- they could stay for an initial period of two years which would be renewable -- and obtain longer-term residence status more quickly, Frattini said.

Later, they would be able to work in a second member state under certain conditions.

Frattini will also make a second proposal to boost the rights of legal immigrants to be more comparable with those of EU citizens, notably in terms of social security and work conditions.

To demonstrate the scale of the issue, he said that 18.5 million third country nationals were living in the EU in January last year; about four percent of the bloc's population.

The plans immediately ran into opposition from Germany.

"Germany could not take in large quantities of foreign workers just because it needs them at one particular moment," Economy Minister Michael Glos told the online version of Spiegel magazine.