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29/01/2004
Annan calls on EU to 'increase' legal immigration
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has today urged the European Union to increase its legal immigration and strengthen the capacity of developing countries to give refugees adequate protection.
Mr Annan told the European Parliament, at a ceremony where he received the 2004 Andrei Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, that a closed Europe would be “meaner, poorer, weaker, older” than an open Europe, which would be “fairer, richer, stronger, younger”.
“I would therefore encourage European states to open up greater avenues for legal migration – for skilled and unskilled workers, for family reunification and economic improvement, for temporary and permanent immigrants,” he said.
Without immigration, the population of the soon-to-be 25 member States of the EU [European Union] – 452 million in 2000 – would drop to under 400 million people by 2050, he said.
“Were this to happen, jobs would go unfilled and services undelivered. Your economies would shrink and your societies could stagnate,” he added.
Acknowledging that migration brought some difficulties to host states, Mr Annan said that migrants have made enormous contributions in science, academia, sports, the arts and government, “including some of you as members of this Parliament”.
The Secretary-General called for "global partnerships" to ensure that migration serves the interests of all.
(gmcg)
Mr Annan told the European Parliament, at a ceremony where he received the 2004 Andrei Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, that a closed Europe would be “meaner, poorer, weaker, older” than an open Europe, which would be “fairer, richer, stronger, younger”.
“I would therefore encourage European states to open up greater avenues for legal migration – for skilled and unskilled workers, for family reunification and economic improvement, for temporary and permanent immigrants,” he said.
Without immigration, the population of the soon-to-be 25 member States of the EU [European Union] – 452 million in 2000 – would drop to under 400 million people by 2050, he said.
“Were this to happen, jobs would go unfilled and services undelivered. Your economies would shrink and your societies could stagnate,” he added.
Acknowledging that migration brought some difficulties to host states, Mr Annan said that migrants have made enormous contributions in science, academia, sports, the arts and government, “including some of you as members of this Parliament”.
The Secretary-General called for "global partnerships" to ensure that migration serves the interests of all.
(gmcg)
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