Tendencje demograficzne, zapotrzebowanie na zagranicznych pracowników i polityka imigracyjna krajów Unii Europejskie

Abstract

Falling birth rates, population ageing, declining labour force, and increasing demand for qualified workers result in labour shortages, especially in the wealthiest European countries. The qualification structure of domestic labour supply does not fully match the needs of companies and societies in the European Union. Company managers and policy makers agree that immigration can contribute to easing this problem. Employers seek not only highly educated foreign employees (engineers, IT specialists, surgeons, etc.), but also blue collar workers (mainly in construction and agriculture). Satisfying labour demand is particularly difficult in the largest European economy - Germany. Different immigration policy options may facilitate the inflow of foreign workers. Governments of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden decided to open up their labour markets to workers from Central and Eastern European new member countries in 2004. Some EU-15 countries preferred to temporarily limit freedom of labour inflows. In the future all restrictions will have to be phased out and all EU workers will enjoy the right to work and live in any member country. On the other hand, each EU country carries out its own immigration policy towards third countries. The policies differ significantly with regard to treatment of foreign white collar and blue collar workers, asylum seekers, and persons coming as family members of current immigrants. In the article some of the most popular immigration policy options were described and their effectiveness assessed. The conclusion is drawn, that the governments should adopt either pointbased scheme or policy based on bilateral agreements that would take into consideration specific needs of domestic employers. Liberal policies are likely to be more beneficial for the host societies than restrictive ones. The case of German Green Card program aimed at attracting IT specialists from abroad was also analysed in more detail.