Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-26-Speech-2-292"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060926.25.2-292"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
".
The Member's question is on the issue of the brain- or skills-drain from Member States that joined the Union on 1 May 2004. He suggests that the Commission should create a special new fund to reduce the impact of brain-drain.
The free movement of persons is one of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by Community law. After enlargement in 2004, despite the transitional arrangements for the free movement of workers from eight new countries, the EU saw increased mobility from new Member States. However, in the report we published recently on the functioning of the transitional arrangements, the Commission pointed out that flows from the EU-10, the new Member States, had been fairly limited in relation to the overall working-age population and that they are balanced, at least in part, by mobility from the original 15.
The report shows that migration flows are driven by factors related to supply and demand conditions, both in sending and receiving countries. Moreover, and more importantly, as pointed out in the report, rather than seeking permanent employment in another country, a significant percentage of migrant workers stay in the receiving country for a limited period only. Consequently, migrant workers often return to their country of origin, which will subsequently profit from the accumulated experiences gained abroad, especially by highly skilled workers. In this respect, we can speak about the concept of brain-gain.
It should also be noted that although the ‘old’ Member States attract talented people from the new Member States, the United States of America proves to be the most popular destination for tertiary students or educated people from the new Member States. The problem of brain-drain, insofar as it exists, seems more linked to the salary differential between the country of origin and destination countries than to the quality of the education systems in migrants’ countries of origin. The new Member States perform quite well under most indicators in the Education-Training 2010 programme, where we have benchmarks and very concrete objectives.
The answer to the issue lies in the good use of the significant opportunities that will be provided by the structural funds for the 2007 to 2013 period. The structural funds will bring a substantial contribution to the economies of new Member States and, if used well, should provide the means to ensure steady growth and job creation.
The progressive convergence of the new Member States’ economies with those of older Member States should reduce the existing salary differential and therefore eliminate a major reason for brain-drain.
The Commission, rather than supporting the creation of a special fund or efforts to regulate migration, would therefore encourage new Member States to use the structural funds effectively. The European Social Fund, in particular, will continue to support a comprehensive approach to education and training in the programming period beginning in 2007, namely by supporting measures to develop employability and improve the labour-market relevance of initial and vocational education and training, with a view to encouraging innovation and as part of a knowledge-based economy."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples