The European Union should have special immigration rules to attract high-skilled workers from outside the bloc who now prefer the United States to Europe, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
The EU executive also said special rules were needed to make it easier for non-EU migrants to hold seasonal jobs in the bloc, which would help fight illegal immigration and the black labour market in Europe.
Setting out a plan for a future policy, the Commission said the 25-nation bloc will need more immigrants in future to offset the impact of ageing populations.
But asylum and immigration are sensitive issues in Europe and the plans may face opposition from EU states such as heavyweight Germany, which is adamant that laws in the area are the sole responsibility of national governments.
The EU's top immigration official said he was aware of the apprehension in national capitals about the idea of EU rules on legal migration, and any new rules would mainly focus on harmonising the rights of non-EU workers.
"It is up to Germany, it is up to each member state to decide whether and how many people have to be admitted every year. I will respect this principle," EU Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini told a news conference. "What I am dealing with is ... common standards ... and that is an area where there is consensus also from Germany," he said.
According to the EU's statistics agency, the EU workforce will fall by 52 million between 2004 and 2050. Germany, Hungary, Italy and Latvia already have a decline in the working age population.
Under the proposals, the EU should make it much easier for high-skilled workers to gain entry to the bloc. It should also consider an EU work permit valid in all 25 member states.
The bloc should also make it simpler for non EU-workers holding jobs with European multinationals to travel and work in those firms' European offices, the Commission said. The EU is grappling with how to deal with illegal immigration. The main focus of its policies has so far been on strengthening border controls and procedures for expelling illegal migrants.
But the Commission says rules that make it easier for low-skilled workers to enter the bloc will help fight illegal migration fuelled by demands for people willing to take on low-paid jobs in Europe's agriculture sector for example.
Frattini said the EU should have a special system which would allow seasonal workers to work in Europe a number of months per year for four to five years. That would discourage illegal entry or people overstaying visa permit, he argued. The Commission said entry and exit stamps in their passports would prevent abuse of such a system.