Brussels urges boost in migrant numbers

Thousands risk their lives attempting to enter Europe illegally

By Colin Blane in Brussels

The European Commission has asked member states to consider changes in immigration policy which would allow an increase in the number of workers coming from countries outside the European Union.

The discussion paper - which the commission admits is politically sensitive - says labour shortages and a decline in population mean existing approaches to immigration may no longer be appropriate.

The commission says there is a growing recognition that the old zero immigration approach of the last 30 years is no longer appropriate

The paper says a declining population and a shortage of labour in the EU have created migratory pressures, which in turn have seen an increase in illegal immigration, smuggling and trafficking.

It says tragic incidents - such as the one at Dover in which 58 Chinese migrants died - are evidence of the demand for clandestine workers.

Controversial ideas

For many EU countries immigration is one of the most politically explosive issues of all - which is why the Commission has been at pains to stress that its discussion paper is intended to stimulate debate, not to fix policy.

Human trafficking has become a large trade

But the ideas in the paper are controversial all the same.

The commission says there is a growing recognition that the old zero immigration approach of the last 30 years is no longer appropriate.

In this new situation, the commission says channels for legal immigration should be made available for those who want to come into the EU to work.

The will now ask EU member states to say how many workers they want to admit in future and what sort of skills they should have.

This would be the first concrete step on the way to a common immigration policy, which the European Union is - in theory - already committed to achieving.