Europe:Companies and individuals who hire illegal workers could face tough criminal and civil penalties under a new EU law to be proposed today. The European Commission also wants to offer temporary residence to skilled workers from Asia and Africa to help curb illegal immigration and address labour shortages in Europe.
The controversial proposals are part of a dual EU strategy that sets out to crack down on illegal immigration while offering more opportunities for skilled workers to come to Europe to work legally.
"The package promotes a comprehensive global approach, not just sanctions and reaction against illegal migration, but also measures to promote legal migration to Europe," EU justice commissioner Franco Frattini told The Irish Times yesterday.
The commission estimates that between 350,000 and 500,000 illegal migrants travel to the EU every year, joining an existing population of up to eight million illegal immigrants. Between 7-16 per cent of the EU economy is based on companies that rely on illegal migrants working in sectors such as construction, agriculture and hospitality.
Mr Frattini said some countries were not doing enough to stem the flow of illegal workers and tougher penalties were needed to stop the exploitation of these people.
Spain remained a "safe haven" for illegal workers and Italy also had problems with exploitation of illegal migrants in the agricultural and hospitality sectors, he added.
Bulgaria, Estonia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia have no criminal penalties for firms that employ illegal workers. Civil penalties also vary widely between member states, with Germany retaining a maximum fine of €500,000 to levy against firms employing illegal staff, while in Hungary it is less than €2,000.
Mr Frattini also said he was astonished to discover that on average just 2.8 per cent of registered companies in the EU faced inspections for illegal workers. "Sanctions should be linked with inspections and controls," said the commissioner, who is proposing that EU states enforce labour inspectors to examine 10 per cent of all businesses.
Under the commission proposal, firms that employ illegal workers could face stiff fines, possible closure, the loss of EU subsidies and be precluded from bidding for public contracts for up to five years.
Some EU states would also have to change their penal code to criminalise employing illegal workers.
This proposal will be controversial for states such as Ireland and Britain as it marks a third attempt by the commission in 18 months to extend its competence into the sensitive area of criminal law.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has criticised Mr Frattini's attempts to expand community competence in this field, and the proposal is expected to face some opposition when it is discussed by EU ministers this year.
But Mr Frattini dismissed criticism of the proposal, noting that Brussels did not want to set the level of criminal penalty to be applied.
"This [ level of penalty] is up to member states to decide . . . but it is even more important to send a political message," he added.
The second element of the proposal on migration is to make it easier for skilled migrants to travel to the EU to take up work temporarily to fill labour shortages and help to curb illegal migration.
The commission wants states to accept certain quotas of skilled workers from third countries in Africa and Asia, from where many illegal workers originate. Migrants would then be issued with a "blue card" to enable them to live and work temporarily in Europe for a certain period before they would have to return to their host state.
Mr Frattini said the EU had already established a pilot EU job centre in Mali where skilled workers could get language and skills training before travelling to Europe to meet labour shortages.
France and Spain have already agreed to accept migrants from the centre. However, Mr Frattini hopes other states will agree to use the centres to fill job shortages. But he said the proposal was optional for Ireland, which retains an opt-out in legal migration and justice matters. The migration package requires the backing of EU states before it can be adopted. However many states favour EU action due to the large numbers of migrants currently travelling to Europe.
Frattini proposals: the main points
EU states must introduce criminal penalties for hiring illegal workers.
Labour inspections must be increased to cover 10 per cent of all firms.
Firms caught hiring illegal workers will face stiff fines and possible closure.
Farmers must pay back EU subsidies received if they hire illegal workers.
Firms can be banned from bidding for public contracts for five years if they employ illegal workers.
States to be asked to accept skilled workers from Asia and Africa to meet labour shortage.
EU "blue card" to be set up to allow temporary migration from these regions.