Annexes to COM(2013)292 - Maximising the Development Impact of Migration The EU contribution for the UN High-level Dialogue and next steps towards broadening the development-migration nexus

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dossier COM(2013)292 - Maximising the Development Impact of Migration The EU contribution for the UN High-level Dialogue and next steps towards ...
document COM(2013)292 EN
date May 21, 2013
agreements and partnerships with non-EU countries and in all EU dialogues on migration and mobility.

3.4.        Key messages to the HLD

· All States should ensure the protection of the human rights of migrants as a cross-cutting policy priority, and should uphold the relevant international human rights instruments.

· All states should respect the dignity and uphold the fundamental and human rights of migrants, regardless of the migrants’ legal status. They should make a commitment to protect and empower asylum-seekers and vulnerable migrants, such as unaccompanied minors, victims of trafficking, women and children.

· All states should develop national policies for integrating migrants into their societies and for preventing and counteracting xenophobia and discrimination, including for people with a migrant background. They should take firm action against all forms of exploitative employment of both legal and irregular migrants, including by implementing effective sanctions against employers of irregular foreign workers.

· All states should ratify and implement the international instruments on fighting smuggling and trafficking in human beings. National and regional anti-human trafficking policies should be established or upgraded and cooperation on prevention, prosecution of traffickers and the protection of victims of trafficking should be reinforced.

· The importance of providing (potential) migrants with information about immigration procedures, their rights and the economic and social conditions in the intended country of destination should be underlined.

4. Roundtable 3: Strengthening partnerships and cooperation on international migration, mechanisms to effectively integrating migration into development policies and promoting coherence at all levels

4.1.        Partnership and cooperation

Effective international partnerships between countries are essential to maximise the positive impacts of migration on countries of origin, destination and on migrants themselves.

The EU engages in comprehensive dialogue and cooperation with a broad range of non-EU countries and regions. Such cooperation covers all four equally important areas of the GAMM: i) enhancing legal migration and facilitating mobility, ii) preventing and combatting irregular migration and trafficking in human beings, iii) maximising the development impact of migration and mobility and iv) promoting international protection.

The EU has established regional and bilateral dialogues on migration and mobility with its neighbours and other priority partners, allowing the identification of joint priorities for cooperation along migration routes. Two specific bilateral frameworks, Mobility Partnerships and Common Agendas on Migration and Mobility, have been put in place to enable deeper and tailor-made policy dialogues and operational cooperation on all GAMM areas with partner countries. Relevant legal instruments are being negotiated and implemented, including visa-facilitation agreements (together with readmission agreements) to facilitate people-to-people contacts between the EU and its priority partners. Numerous programmes and activities are being financed

All policy dialogues on migration and development should be inclusive and, where appropriate, involve non-governmental actors such as the private sector, employers’ and workers’ organisations, academia and civil society, as well as migrants’ and human rights organisations.

4.2.        Integrating migration into development policies

Integrating immigration and emigration aspects into development strategies at all levels is a vital first step to promoting governance frameworks for maximising the development potential of migration and mobility. However, progress remains inadequate, in particular at the level of partner country strategies, such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs).

‘Mainstreaming migration’ into national development strategies needs to be further promoted. By taking the development model, objectives and priorities of partner countries as a starting point, exercises to embed migration into national and sectorial development strategies can significantly improve ownership, sustainability and coherence of actions to maximise the development impact of migration. Actions should be based on a multi-stakeholder approach, bringing together all relevant ministries.

Further progress is also required at the donor level, including the Commission. The Commission has taken great strides towards integrating migration as a priority area for external cooperation, committing almost EUR 1 billion to more than 400 migration-related projects between 2004 and 2012. EU external cooperation has achieved significant results on capacity building for migration management in line with EU external migration policy and poverty reduction objectives.

However, given the reality of increased human mobility, further efforts are required to ensure that EU development initiatives in sectors such as employment, human rights, trade, agriculture and environment are based on full recognition of the potential of well-managed migration and mobility as development enablers.

To support work on developing a shared understanding of the importance of migration among development actors, more data is needed on how migration can drive or hinder progress towards achieving development goals, especially in sectors most influenced by demographics and labour issues. Tools to translate this knowledge into operational guidance are also needed; otherwise political commitments on mainstreaming migration will remain unfulfilled.

The Commission pioneered the use of migration profiles for development programming in 2005 as effective tools to develop comparable data and support policy-making on migration. Short migration profiles can provide useful sources of comparable data on migration flows, e.g. by using the core indicators developed by the Global Migration Group (GMG) and the guide on ‘Migration Profiles – making the most of the process’.

In recent years, the EU has strongly supported ‘Extended Migration Profiles’, which bring together all stakeholders in a country-specific process. Ownership is in the hands of the partner country and sustainability is ensured through related capacity-building. The Commission is committed to supporting partner countries that want to use Extended Migration Profiles to better understand the full impact of migration on their economic, social and environmental development as a basis for more targeted policy actions.

Effective policy coherence is of key importance for effective integration of migration into development policies and should be pursued at and between all relevant levels, including national frameworks such as the PRSPs, but also at regional, local and multilateral levels. The EU itself can provide a good example of how regional cooperation can promote Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) on migration. The obligation for PCD is embedded in the EU Treaty and a number of operational tools have been developed to implement this, including bi-annual reporting[12].

Development planning carried out by local authorities warrants greater attention in discussions on migration and development. The role of city administrations is pivotal, as increasing migration and urbanisation are linked issues which have a significant impact on societies worldwide. Cities have the potential to act as catalysts of social change. But cities in the global South also face significant challenges, including in achieving sustainable urbanisation. The exchange of knowledge and experience between cities on issues such as labour market access, integration, urban planning and infrastructure, notably as ways of promoting the contributions migrants can make to the city/region, should be encouraged, e.g. by creating a dedicated worldwide network of cities and urban regions on these issues.

4.3.        Multilateral coherence in migration governance

The Commission recognises the significant contribution made by the Special Representative to the Secretary General on international migration and development (SRSG) to promoting migration-development issues as well as the potential role of the GMG as the inter-agency coordination body on migration. Stepping up coordination on migration related issues between all relevant UN agencies could make a serious contribution to a more coherent global policy on migration and development. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), as the leading international organisation active in this field should take a proactive role to enhance coordination with the UN system. The SRSG can play an important role for that purpose, notably to ensure effective interface management within the UN system, including with the GMG.The Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) has proved to be a valuable forum for frank and open discussions and has strengthened the dialogue and exchange with civil society, including migrant organisations. It has established trust among participating stakeholders thanks to the informal character of the process, which should be maintained. Further progress could be made regarding follow-up to and monitoring the implementation of GFMD recommendations. Also, in line with the priorities of the 2014 GFMD Chair, further efforts should be made to strengthen the development focus of the GFMD.

The EU will continue to be an active and determined partner in multilateral cooperation. As a legal entity with specific competences in the field of migration and development, and in accordance with its Lisbon Treaty, the EU should play an appropriate role in all relevant international migration bodies.

4.4.        Key messages to the HLD

· All states should engage in international dialogue and cooperation with relevant partners to identify shared priorities and strengthen bilateral and regional migration governance. Effective engagement of civil society in global, regional, national and local planning on migration and development must also be pursued.

· Donors and other development actors should effectively integrate migration and mobility issues into their development policies and instruments. Further evidence on the links between human mobility and development should be collected, and operational tools to support migration mainstreaming further developed.

· In order to maximise the benefits of migration for development, more work is needed to provide a sufficient knowledge base. Consensus should be sought on the types of data and reporting needed to provide reliable and comparable overviews of migration issues at regional and global levels. Mechanisms for sharing national data, such as migration profiles, should be explored. Initiatives to support developing countries in strengthening their capacity to collect and analyse data on the links between migration, mobility and development should be encouraged. Effective coordination in the area of data collection and research at global level should be promoted.  

· UN agencies and international organisations should commit to a fully integrated and coordinated international migration agenda, in order to minimise overlapping competencies and waste of scarce resources.

5. Roundtable 4: International and regional labour mobility and its impact on development

5.1.        Labour mobility

The EU is a unique example of how regional integration can be achieved and how it contributes to development. It has built a single economic space and a single area of free movement, where more than 480 million European citizens can travel, study, work and reside. The EU is progressively building an integrated EU labour market and has established systems for the recognition of professional qualifications and the transferability of social and pension rights between Member States. Intra-EU labour mobility has produced numerous benefits, including further economic convergence and sharing of skills between Member States, more intra-EU remittance transfers and less pressure on labour markets facing high unemployment. EU law instruments[13] grant non-EU nationals mobility rights that allow them to live and to work in another Member State.

In the highly competitive and globalised economy of today, and despite the current high unemployment figures in the EU, inward labour migration of non-EU nationals will also have a role in the EU’s efforts to develop a highly-skilled, adaptable workforce that can meet the challenges of demographic and economic change. The EU is committed to making best use of its domestic workforce, including migrants already legally residing in the EU, while opening pathways for legal economic migration in areas in which labour and skills shortages are emerging.

With increasing international (labour) mobility, work needs to be stepped up in areas such as recognition of foreign qualifications, exploring the portability of pension rights and other welfare entitlements, including, where possible, at international level. For example, the Social Protection Inter-Agency Board, which was agreed by the G20 in 2011, should consider addressing the issue of social protection of migrants.

Regional labour mobility is also a key migration feature in developing regions, representing a vital livelihood strategy. Labour mobility contributes to a better match between supply and demand on the labour market. As shifts in the distribution of global wealth progress, several developing countries are increasingly becoming destination countries for inter-regional labour migration. Indeed, the global economic crisis caused increased labour mobility from EU Member States to certain Latin American and African countries. However, governance frameworks for labour migration in many low- and middle-income destination countries are still weak and should be strengthened to promote the development impact of migration and ensure adequate protection and decent working standards for migrant workers.

Specific attention should also be given to the role of regional organisations in this area, as they are well-placed to improve the governance of regional labour mobility. The EU is keen to share its experience in managing labour mobility, including with regional organisations in low- and middle income countries.

5.2.        Key messages to the HLD

· All states should review existing barriers to human mobility, with a view to remove barriers which are not justified from a security point of view and are unnecessarily hindering economic competitiveness and regional integration. Particular attention should be paid to facilitating access of bona fide travellers and reducing the costs of obtaining documents and recruitment fees. In this context, the convening of a conference on international labour mobility and development in the framework of the UN should be considered.

· Processes and regional organisations involved in promoting orderly intra-regional migration and mobility between developing countries should be supported.

· Intra-regional labour mobility, skills development programmes and skills certification and recognition schemes should be promoted, especially in sectors where there is a shortage of trained personnel and which could benefit from migrant workers. In parallel, reliable overviews of trends in skills needs across regions[14] are needed, to inform the skills development programmes and mobility opportunities.

· Circular migration should be facilitated to promote the economic and social development of countries of origin and destination.

· Effective access to social security in host countries as well as the portability of social and pension rights should be promoted, including via bilateral or regional agreements, as this could facilitate mobility and circular migration as well as serving as a disincentive for irregular work.

6. What the EU should do: next steps for broadening the development-migration nexus

The above key messages are addressed to the global community. However, a lot can and should be done within the context of the EU’s own policies and programmes.

Under the EU’s external migration policy, significant progress has already been achieved in maximising the impact of migration to the EU for the development of countries of origin. The EU is committed to continuing work on ‘traditional’ areas of the agenda (remittances, diaspora, brain drain, circular migration).

However, the challenges and opportunities partner countries face regarding the development-migration nexus are broader and more complex than those addressed so far. The Commission will ensure that future EU action on migration and development becomes truly comprehensive, addressing the full range of positive and negative impacts of the various forms that migration can have on sustainable economic, social and environmental development in low- and middle-income countries of origin and destination. This requires a shift in focus, to place development concerns at the heart of action. Translating this holistic approach into action requires measures, notably in the context of EU development policy, that better address a number of issues, including by:

· Extending action under the ‘traditional’ areas of migration and development to the South-South context, especially by identifying means to facilitate remittance flows between developing countries and supporting research to better understand the role of diasporas residing in low- and middle-income countries as development actors in their countries of origin.

· Exploring ways to reduce costs and increase the benefits of migration and mobility for low- and middle-income countries of destination, with a particular focus on intra-regional flows. In this regard, coherence between national employment policies and active labour migration should be promoted.

· Deepening understanding of the social and economic consequences of migration for development, especially in sectors such as health, education, employment and agriculture.

· Taking steps to fully integrate forced migration into the development-migration agenda and ensure that refugees and other forced migrants are included in long-term development planning. In particular, the Commission will work towards and advocate for the integration of protracted refugee situations into the development agenda to ensure that their situation and possible positive contribution is considered by host governments so as to prevent future displacements and strengthen efforts to find durable solutions.

· Further exploring and addressing the links between climate change, environmental degradation and migration, including the importance of climate change adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in reducing displacement, and the role of migration as a strategy to strengthening adaptation and DRR.

· Further exploring the links between mobility and development, including the relationship between internal and international mobility and between mobility and urbanisation.

In addition, under the GAMM and the Agenda for Change, the Commission will promote migration governance and effective policy coherence at all levels, to harness the potential of migration and mobility as development enablers. In particular, the Commission will:

i. Promote the mainstreaming of migration into development strategies. As regards the EU’s own development cooperation, the Commission will continue targeted thematic funding and will redouble its efforts to integrate the migration dimension into development initiatives in other sectors wherever relevant. In addition, it is ready to assist developing countries with migration mainstreaming, including by supporting Extended Migration Profiles and national migration strategies.

ii. Strengthen migration governance and cooperation in and between developing countries, in particular at regional level, to improve development outcomes for countries of origin, transit and destination. The Commission is ready to support capacity building in all relevant areas, including by sharing its expertise on protecting migrants’ human rights, integration, labour migration systems, asylum and international protection, tackling human smuggling and trafficking, Integrated Border Management, etc. Such measures should be fully in line with the migration-related objectives of relevant development strategies.

iii. Further promote the migrant-centred approach as a cross-cutting priority of all EU actions on migration and development, which must aim to support migrants in becoming more effective development actors. Initiatives should be based on an awareness of the impact of these actions at individual and community level, including on migrants themselves, host communities and those left behind.

The Commission will report on progress made on the initiatives outlined above in its GAMM Report, published every other year, as well as in its reporting on the implementation of the Agenda for Change.

7. Conclusion

The EU has created an area of free movement of people between the countries of Europe that is seen as a source of inspiration by many across the globe. In the spirit of partnership, it has pioneered an external migration policy that is balanced and comprehensive. It is the world’s leading donor of development assistance and will continue to provide substantial support in the years to come. The EU stands ready to share its experience with interested countries and organisations. The EU expresses the hope that the 2013 HLD will mark the beginning of a new era of global cooperation on migration and development.

The Commission calls on all relevant agencies and international organisations in the field of migration and development to pursue a more coherent, comprehensive and better coordinated approach at global level. It is necessary to enable the global community to capitalise on opportunities and to tackle the challenges associated with international migration. In today’s globalised world, all countries face similar challenges, also in relation to migration and development. Yet, countries will approach the situation in different ways, since their priorities, size and demographic and economic characteristics vary. International cooperation is therefore necessary to ensure that people moving in search of a better life are able to exercise their rights in a safe environment.

The Commission calls on development policy makers and practitioners to step up their engagement in strengthening the development-migration nexus, both by better integrating migration and mobility issues in development programming and through stronger participation in relevant international fora. Development processes rely on mobility, which is necessary to ensure efficient labour matching and facilitates transfers of social, financial and human capital. Development also fosters mobility, providing greater resources for people to migrate in search of opportunities. A number of processes will further drive mobility in the future, including global wealth shifts, regional and global economic integration, and environmental degradation related to climate change. If it is to be fit for the 21st century, development thinking must therefore fully integrate the role of migration and mobility as development enablers, and recognise the essential role of effective migration governance in limiting the potential negative impacts of migration on development.

Finally, the Commission calls on migration policy makers and practitioners to take full account of development concerns in migration policy and step up their responsibility in ensuring respect for and protection of the human rights of all migrants through all dimensions of migration governance. Migration and mobility is about freedom. It is about giving each and every individual the opportunity and the ability to influence his or her life situation, economically and socially. The impact of respecting human rights goes far beyond the individual migrant, as it also benefits both the home society and the society in which migrants live and work. Empowering individuals to accede their rights is a winning strategy, both for effective migration governance and for sustainable development.

The 2013 HLD should contribute towards meeting today’s global challenges, especially by promoting the inclusion of migration and mobility as a visible cross-cutting priority in the post-2015 development framework, and a recognised enabler of global development.

[1]               UN General Assembly Resolution 67/219 of 21 December 2012.

[2]               COM(2011) 743 final: Communication on The Global Approach to Migration and Mobility

[3]               COM(2011) 637 final: Communication on Increasing the Impact of EU Development Policy: an Agenda for Change

[4]               The Commission Staff Working Document on Migration and Development (SEC(2011) 1353 final) attached to the Commission Communication on the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility of 18 November 2011 includes a number of suggestions in this area.

[5]               SWD(2013) 138 final: Commission Staff Working Document on Climate Change, Environmental Degradation, and Migration

[6]               The European Commission's position on the post-2015 development agenda is further elaborated in COM(2013) 92 final: Communication on "A Decent Life For All: Ending Poverty and Giving the World a Sustainable Future"

[7]               Steps to be taken at EU level in this regard are described in section 6.

[8]               Article 11 of Council Directive 2003/109/EC concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long term residents, OJ L16, 23.1.2004.

[9]               http://ec.europa.eu/immigration.

[10]             2011/36/EU.

[11]             COM(2012) 286 final.

[12]             Commission Staff Working Paper entitled "EU 2011 Report on Policy Coherence for Development” SEC(2011) 1627 final.

[13]             The Long-Term Residence Directive (2003/109/EC) or the Blue Card Directive (2009/50/EC).

[14]             The EU has put in place a Skills Panorama for this purpose (under further development): http://euskillspanorama.ec.europa.eu/.