This document discusses whether European and national migration laws and policies factor in demography. It notes that while demography is often presented as an objective of migration policy, it is less clear if it is concretely considered. Some countries like Australia and Canada explicitly use immigration to influence population size and structure through quotas, points systems, and annual planning targets. However, the EU framework does not establish migration quotas due to legal and political obstacles, instead relying on soft law approaches. Demographic considerations are also seen in some policies like family migration but not areas like asylum. Overall the document examines how different jurisdictions approach demography in migration policy design.

1. EUROPEAN & NATIONAL
RULES ON MIGRATION:
DO THEY FACTOR DEMOGRAPHY?
Philippe DE BRUYCKER
Migration Policy Centre (MPC)
RSCAS / EUI

2. MIGRATION LAW / POLICY &
DEMOGRAPHY
• Ongoing research
• done by a lawyer about demography before an
economist will do a similar exercise (TL)
• A lot on migration policy & demography
(abstract)
• but much less on how policy takes demography
into consideration in concrete cases (concrete)
• Almost no literature regarding migration law and
demography (for instance quotas)
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3. MIGRATION LAW / POLICY &
DEMOGRAPHY
• Usual presentation: migration law & policy
integrate and reflect demographic as well as
economic, humanitarian, political, etc
objectives
• But is demography concretely an object of
public policy?
–Australia: minister for population (including
migration) since 2010
–What about other States?
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4. MIGRATION LAW/POLICY &
DEMOGRAPHY
• Demography as component of immigration policy?
– Family migration: snowball demographic effect by
DV but no demographic objective (selection?)
– Labor migration: no (economic situation) but
possible in case of economic growth
– Asylum: no (no selection of types and flows except
resettlement; but currently Germany?)
+ Student migration: no (no settlement but current
evolution of policies allowing privileged access of
graduates to labour market)
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5. MIGRATION LAW/POLICY &
DEMOGRAPHY
• Demography as science of population
regarding its size (growth) and structure (per
age, …);
1. SIZE OF POPULATION
2. STRUCTURE OF POPULATION
(In reality both can be mixed)
3. WHAT ABOUT THE EU LEVEL?
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6. 1. MIGRATION LAW / POLICY &
SIZE OF POPULATION
• Apparently immediate effect as immigration
adds people to population
• but replacement migration is controversial
• “Quotas” as best tool for such policy?
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7. 1. MIGRATION LAW / POLICY &
SIZE OF POPULATION
• Canada:
– Immigration as population policy
– Immigration acts of 1967 (points system) and
1976 (annual planning)
– Migration = 1% of population as target (not quota)
since nineties (Alan GREEN)
– Points system independent of labor market
(economic / demographic efficiency?)
– Shared policy with provinces
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8. 1. MIGRATION LAW / POLICY &
SIZE OF POPULATION
• USA: immigration is not population policy
• Very Complicate and detailed numerical ceilings
– per categories of migrants + lottery
– per third country
• Fixed by Congress statutes and not the executive
branch
• So not revised regularly
• Federal policy less relevant for local variations of
demography (differences in spatial distribution of
migrants)
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9. 1. MIGRATION LAW / POLICY &
SIZE OF POPULATION
• Switzerland: referendums!
– Referendum “stop to overpopulation: yes to
preservation of natural resources” rejected
– Referendum “against mass migration” adopted
• Austria: quotas and points system (RWR card)
(TL)
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10. 2. MIGRATION LAW / POLICY &
STRUCTURE OF POPULATION
• Structure / composition of policy:
– Age: efficiency? Discrimination under EU law?
– Ethnic origin: USA, Canada, Australia
• Was linked to population growth
• Language: Quebec selection policy
– Skills:
• preference for highly skilled migrants (Germany)
• Points systems without quotas (but points as tool
instead of quotas)
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11. 3. WHAT ABOUT THE EU LEVEL
A. The institutional framework
B. The policy framework
C. The legal framework
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12. A. THE EUROPEAN
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
• In Council JHA as main actor:
– demography on their agenda?
• More on EPSCO’s agenda:
Council conclusions on
Reconciliation of work and family life
in the context of demographic change
3099th EMPLOYMENT, SOCIAL POLICY, HEALTH and
CONSUMER AFFAIRS Council meeting
Luxembourg, 17 June 2011
"THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER
STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL
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13. B. THE EUROPEAN
POLICY FRAMEWORK
• Objectives in article 79, §1 TFEU:
“The Union shall develop a common
immigration policy aimed at ensuring, at all
stages, the efficient management of migration
flows, fair treatment of third-country nationals
residing legally in Member States, and the
prevention of, and enhanced measures to
combat, illegal immigration and trafficking in
human beings”
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14. B. THE EUROPEAN
POLICY FRAMEWORK
Tampere Conclusions (1999)
20. The European Council acknowledges:
the need for approximation of national legislations on the
conditions for admission and residence of third country
nationals,
based on a shared assessment of the economic and
demographic developments within the Union, as well as the
situation in the countries of origin.
It requests to this end rapid decisions by the Council, on the
basis of proposals by the Commission.
These decisions should take into account not only the
reception capacity of each Member State, but also their
historical and cultural links with the countries of origin.
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15. B. THE EUROPEAN
POLICY FRAMEWORK
• A lot of policy documents from different DGs
• 13 May 2015: European Agenda on Migration
– A new policy on legal migration!?
– Proposals on:
• Touring visa (ongoing)
• Students & researchers (recently adopted)
• Proposal on Blue card (March 2016) against DG Home
Affairs
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16. C. THE EUROPEAN
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
• Numbers and composition of migrants are left
to MS (FR as fake directive not reflecting a
policy)
• Competences: EU migration quotas?
– politically impossible (as shown by relocation for
AS)
– but also legally impossible (article 79 TFEU)
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17. C. THE EUROPEAN
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
• Soft law (MOC) like in employment policy
(Migration profiles?)
• Demography and Europe’s weight in the world
(see intro to Forum):
– Failure of attempts to make foreign policy a tool
for a restrictive immigration policies
– “open immigration policies” as tool for more
influent CFSP
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