“I would like to start by telling you about Kabkéo Souvanlasy. He came to France from Laos in South East Asia in 1975. With his family. They were refugees. He became a doctor. He sometimes treated 50 patients a day. Who praised his kindness, his humility. He died in April 2020 of Covid 19. Paying with his life, to save his patients. No one can do more, for their community or their country.
And he is not the only one.
In France and all over Europe. Refugees and migrants or people of migrant origin. Are working in the frontlines of the pandemic. Risking their own health. As doctors and nurses. But also in supermarkets and shops. Driving buses or delivery vans. Working in factories and in the fields.
To many, the pandemic opens their eyes. That migrants are already part of our society. It is no surprise for me, it’s no surprise for you. Because France offered thousands and thousands of frontline workers fast-track citizenship.
You can be proud of that.
I wish more Member States would follow your example. What an excellent way of saying: Migrants are not them. They are part of us. Migration is normal, migration has always been here, migration will always be there. Migrants are essential to our economy and society. And migrants will play a crucial role in recovery.
Especially in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, transport and construction.
That’s why our discussion today is so important. As we’re slowly coming out of this crisis, demand for labour is growing. In the entire European Union, 2.5 percent of positions are now vacant. In the Czech Republic and Belgium it’s nearly 5 percent and in the Netherlands four percent.
The jobs are there. But the skills are not.
Seven out of ten businesses have trouble finding people with the right skills. Europe is losing the global race for talent. Highly educated migrants prefer North America, Australia and New Zealand to Europe. If we want to attract talent, we must fight racism.
Because if you’re highly educated, why would you go to Europe if you’re afraid they will discriminate against you? Or if you’re afraid your children will be bullied at school?
If we want to attract talent, we need policies, like the new European Blue Card that has recently been adopted. A residence permit that gives highly qualified workers opportunities in all EU Member States.
Europe needs IT professionals, doctors, engineers, chemists and teachers. We also need cooks, plumbers, truck drivers, welders, bricklayers, electricians, carpenters. 21 EU Member States report a shortage in nurses.
Last year, I launched Talent Partnerships to help people to work train or study in Europe. And this year we will put forward the Skills and Talent package to make it easier for people of all skills to come to Europe. Above all, we must make much better use of the talent that is already here.
People come to Europe. Because they fall in love. Or to study, do research, or to work. To join their families.
Around 20 million migrants are living legally in the European Union today. Out of 450 million Europeans
And altogether, Member States issue around 3 million residence permits every year. An enormous pool of talent. That we are not tapping into properly.
Covid shows migrants are part of society. But also shows, that we are not an equal society. And covid is deepening these inequalities.
If you’re a migrant, you’re more likely to have a part time or fixed term contract. A precarious contract. You’re more likely to work in close contact job, in hospitality or care. In sectors hit hard by covid. You’re more likely to get sick or lose your job.
In 2020, the employment rate for people born outside the EU was 62 percent. For people born in the EU, it was nearly 75 percent. If you’re a migrant, your children are less likely to have good Internet. Which hampers their education.
And if you’re a migrant woman, your situation is even more difficult. Especially if you’re a refugee and a woman. When you’re new in a country. Work is the best step towards Integration. That’s why employment is at the core of my action plan on integration and inclusion, which I presented just over one year ago.
We all remember our first job. When we could first pay our own way. Finally, be independent. So imagine that you’re a migrant. How important it is to get a job. To make your own money. Pay for your own home and food for your family. Work gives you colleagues who can show you around. Who can tell you how things work.
So imagine how frustrating it is, if you’re trained as a doctor, and you can’t find a job. Or imagine how frustrating if you own a company. And you need an engineer. But you can’t hire them. Because their qualifications aren’t recognised.
That’s especially a problem for refugees, who often don’t have diplomas with them when they flee. Tackling this problem is essential to my action plan.
We will promote methods for the formal recognition of refugee qualifications. And to develop tools to assess the skills of migrants. Like the EU Skills Profile Tool. Last year it helped around 30,000 third-country nationals to map their skills, qualifications, and work experience.
And gave personalised advice on further steps. How to get diplomas recognised or skills validated, further training or use employment support services.
We all need to work together. People do not integrate into a continent, into a country, but into a community. Business and trade unions, the social partners, are cornerstones of that community. Because no-one understands the world of work better.
That’s why I launched the European Partnership for Integration in 2020. So I am glad you are focusing on the involvement of business today. And I want to make full use of our EU funds. Which offer many opportunities to promote integration and will play a key role in recovery. Today I repeat to you our call to create synergies among EU funds to support integration and inclusion. Not only the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, but also the European Social Fund Plus and European Regional Development Fund.
And I ask you to make full use of our new toolkit on the use of EU funds for integration. To help public authorities and other key partners use our funds to full effect. Because these funds have real impact. Let me illustrate that.
I started with a sad story, so I will end with a happy one: Leen Almasri is an architect from Syria. She protested against the regime. And fled to France in 2012. It was not easy to get her qualifications acknowledged. But she persisted. She didn’t want to study architecture all over again. So she did a Masters in Urban Planning. Not easy to do in French. But she persisted. She got a job at the Town Hall, but the contract ended. But she persisted. She set up her own business. Organising tours in Paris. Combining three big loves: architecture, history, and Paris.
The Ment programme – supported by EU funds – helped her set it up. They taught her business skills. How to do business in another culture, helped her with contacts and training. At one point she had 300 clients. But then Covid happened. And tourism ended. But she is still not giving up. She is now setting up a new project, to help refugee women become financially independent.
And Leen’s example just shows. We must never underestimate the energy, ambition and talent of refugees and refugee women. This is one of the most important lessons learned. Never underestimate the energy, ambition and talent of refugees and refugee women. Refugee, she is a strong woman. But she also says: I would never have come to this point, without that support, that the EU funds could give.
And that is our job to do. I thank the French Presidency – and a special thanks to Minister Schiappa and Minister Klinkert in person. For putting integration of migrants high on the European agenda. What we do makes a real difference. And now we need to do still more. Legal migration is picking up as we slowly come out of the pandemic.
Member States have committed to resettle or take out of Afghanistan 60,000 refugees. Of which 40,000 Afghans. Often highly skilled people. Let’s make sure they have the same opportunities as Leen Almasri. And the same welcome home.