13 Amendments of Monika HOHLMEIER related to 2016/0176(COD)
Amendment 140 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4 a (new)
Recital 4 a (new)
(4a) In order to reinforce and promote the EU Blue Card scheme and attract high skilled workers, the embassies and delegations of the EU and Member States in third countries should strengthen advertisement activities and information campaigns concerning the EU Blue Card. They should dispose of sufficient human and financial resources to provide information about the EU Blue Card to third country nationals on the ground.
Amendment 142 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) An EU-wide admission system to attract and retain highly skilled workers into the Union should be created in the long run. Member States should choose to issue an EU Blue Card instead ofover a national permit to all applicants falling within the scope of this Directive. However, as significant differences remain between the Member States in the minimum salary levels, social standards and in terms of which kind of highly skilled workers are needed, national schemes remain necessary to overcome those differences at the moment. Member States should retain the right to issue permits other than EU Blue Card for any purpose of employment to third-country nationals who fall outside of the scope of this Directive, subject to the limitations following from other directives in the area of labour migration.
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The concept of highly skilled worker should replace the concept of highly qualified worker in order to emphasise that both formal educational qualifications and equivalent professional experience should be taken equally into account as criteria for admission. According to a Council Recommendation of 20 December 201232 , the validation of learning outcomes, namely competences (knowledge, skills and attitudes)33 acquired through non-formal and informal learning can play an important role in enhancing employability and mobility. It recommends Member States to have in place, no later than 2018, arrangements for the validation of non-formal and informal learning. As mechanisms and arrangements for the evaluation and validation of professional experience are not readily available in all Member States, an additional transposition period of two years after the entry into force of this Directive should be provided for the provisions related to recognising professional experience in order to enable Member States, where necessary, to develop such mechanisms and arrangements. Member States’ National Contact Points on the EU Blue Card should be involved in effective cooperation with stakeholders and networks in the education, training, employment and youth sectors, as well as other relevant policy areas, for the purpose of recognising professional experience under this Directive. At least until the establishment of an arrangement for the validation of non-formal and informal learning, every Member State should be obliged to verify whether the required professional experience of at least 3 years actually exists, by requesting justifying documents such as recommendations of former employees, former working contracts, job references or certificates of employment before issuing a Blue Card. The Commission should propose guidelines for the required justification documents in order to avoid different interpretations in the Member States and a misuse of the Blue Card system. There is a particular need for minimum verification standards the Member States have to apply before issuing Blue Cards upon professional experience with regards to Article 19 I of this proposal (Business activity in another Member State and limited right of scrutiny regarding the conditions for a Blue Card by the Second Member State). _________________ 32 Council Recommendation of 20 December 2012 on the validation of non- formal and informal learning (2012/C 398/01) (OJ C 398, 22.12.2012, p. 1). 33 Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning (OJ L 394, 30.12.2006, p. 10).
Amendment 192 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) In order to ensure a sufficient level of harmonisation in the admission conditions throughout the Union, both minimum and maxminimum factors for calculating the salary threshold should be determined. Member States should fix their threshold in accordance with the situation and organisation of their respective labour markets and their general immigration policies.
Amendment 226 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) Since EU Blue Card holders are highly skilled workers contributing to addressing labour and skills shortages in key sectors, the principle of access to the labour market should be the general rule. However, in circumstances where the domestic labour market undergoes serious disturbances such as a high level of unemployment in a given occupation or sector, which may be limited to particular regions or other parts of the territory, a Member States should be able to take into account the situation of its labour market before issuing an EU Blue Card.
Amendment 261 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 41
Recital 41
(41) EU Blue Card holders should be allowed to move to a second Member State under simplified conditions where they intend to apply for a new EU Blue Card based on an existing work contract or binding job offer. Second Member States should not be allowed to require from EU Blue Card holders any other authorisation than the EU Blue Card issued by the first Member Statethe justification documents submitted in the first Member State during the application for a Blue Card. They may examine whether the criteria for issuing a Blue Card were met and reject a Blue Card if the criteria are not met or if the first Member State has not fulfilled their obligation to verify whether the criteria were met. As soon as they submit an application for an EU Blue Card within the deadline provided for in this Directive, they should be allowed to begin employment. In the second Member State the procedure for issuing an EU Blue Card should be simplified compared to the first EU Blue Card; as the mobile EU Blue Card holder has already exercised highly skilled activity in one Member State for a certain period of time, the second Member State should not have the need to control all the same detailmay control the justification documents for a second time. However, mobility should remain demand-driven and therefore a work contract should always be required in the second Member State, and the salary should meet the threshold set by the second Member State in accordance with this Directive.
Amendment 325 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 4
Article 3 – paragraph 4
Amendment 344 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) for unregulated professions, present written evidence attesting higher professeducational qualifications and in particular attesting higher professional skills;
Amendment 359 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2
2. In addition to the conditions laid down in paragraph 1, the gross annual salary resulting from the monthly or annual salary specified in the work contract or binding job offer shall not be inferior to the salary threshold set and published for that purpose by the Member States. The salary threshold set by the Member States shall be at least 1.0 times but not higher than 1.4 times the average gross annual salary in the Member State concerned.
Amendment 380 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 6
Article 5 – paragraph 6
6. Member States shall facilitate the validation and recognition of documents attesting the relevant higher professeducational qualifications pursuant to point (c) of paragraph 1. ; Member States shall always verify whether higher professional skills as in point (c) of paragraph 1 exist, for example by requesting documents attesting at least three years of relevant professional experience
Amendment 397 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
In circumstaccordances where their labour market situation undergoes serious disturbances such as a high level of unemployment in a given occupation or sector, which may be limited to a particular part of their territory, Member States may checkith Article 79 V TFEU Member States may check under every circumstances whether the concerned vacancy could not be filled by national or Union workforce, by third-country nationals lawfully resident in that Member State and already forming part of its labour market by virtue of Union or national law, or by EU long-term residents wishing to move to that Member State for highly skilled employment in accordance with Chapter III of Directive 2003/109/EC.
Amendment 553 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 1
Article 19 – paragraph 1
1. Where a third-country national who holds a valid EU Blue Card issued by a Member State applying the Schengen acquis in full enters and stays in one or several second Member States for a period of 90 days in any 180-day period for the purpose of carrying out a business activity, the second Member State shall not require any authorisation for exercising such activity other thanmay require the justification documents the EU Blue Card issuholder has submitted byto the first Member State while applying for a Blue Card.
Amendment 563 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 20 – paragraph 3 – point a a (new)
Article 20 – paragraph 3 – point a a (new)
(aa) upon request of the second Member State, the justification documents the Blue Card holder had submitted during the application for the Blue Card in the first Member State