Articles - European Union

Countries continue to adopt technological means of supporting border and immigration officials' decisions about what travelers pose risks or are barred by law, making biometrics the norm and not the exception.

While the countries that make a point of competing for the world's best and brightest tweaked their entry systems in 2007, the European Commission took a bold leap in late October: it formally proposed a European Union "Blue Card" scheme for admitting highly qualified non-EU workers who already have a work contract in a Member State and professional qualifications.

With reforms to its 2005 immigrant integration law and the unveiling of a National Integration Plan, Germany expects to improve integration and come closer to the European Union's Common Basic Principles on immigrant integration. MPI's Eric Leise reports.

Vlaams Belang, a far-right party known for its nationalism and anti-immigrant position, lost one seat in Belgium's parliament in the June 10 national elections. Laura Barker examines the party's use of the immigration issue and reactions to its politics.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who announced his resignation this week, leaves behind an immigration system that has been fundamentally reshaped. As MPI's Will Somerville explains, migration is now "managed" to favor migrants coming for work and study.

Approximately 50,000 of Germany's 170,000 tolerated asylum seekers are expected to will qualify for a residency permit under a law passed in March 2007. MPI's Eric Leise reports.

The addition of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union means another round of anxieties about labor migrants. Catherine Drew and Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah of the Institute for Public Policy Research in London explain how this enlargement is different from the historic one in 2004 and why most EU Member States favor temporary restriction.

Only the UK, Ireland, and Sweden have allowed accession-state nationals to work without permits since May 1, 2004 — and hundreds of thousands from Eastern Europe have arrived.

Schengen eliminated border controls between European countries, and established a common external border. MPI's Julia Gelatt explains the changes brought by Schengen and the effects Schengen has had on European border control, visa, and asylum policies.