International

The European Union is seeking to entice an increased number of highly-qualified immigrants to Europe by means of a so-called 'blue card', a work permit along the lines of the US 'green card', designed to accelerate the import of information workers. “This is extremely ill-advised," says SP Member of Parliament and employment specialist Paul Ulenbelt. “Of course from the point of view of an individual from say Ghana or Ecuador the chance to build a better life here in Europe is fantastic. But the downside is that developing countries will be robbed of their intellectual capital. This is nothing less than a neocolonial grab for the raw materials of the information economy.”

The United States takes the lead when it comes to 'importing' migrants trained in information skills, attracting ten times as many as does Europe. Countries such as Canada an Australia are also enthusiastic participants in this race, and now the EU is entering the lists. "In developing countries it requires tremendous effort and investment to educate and train people, and what we would all, one would think, like to see is for such investment to continue, so that these countries are able to make their own way in the world, " says Ulenbelt. "So isn't it bizarre that we are now intending to plunder these countries of their talent en masse?”

Ulenbelt also sees disadvantages for the European population in the import of information workers. “Importing relatively highly-skilled people will allow employers and the state to invest less in training young people and retraining older workers,” he argues.