Nasscom members who are expected to gain the most from this directive have naturally welcomed the move. The industry body has stated that the directive will help its "members and other foreign investors to transfer their highly skilled personnel faster from one commercial presence to another within the EU".
Europe accounts for about 20 per cent of the information technology-business process outsourcing industry's export revenues of around $120 billion and, therefore, Nasscom met up with all high-level policymaking institutions in the EU - Parliament, Commission and the Council - with the help of other industry supporters to push this directive forward.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) had, however, opposed the move stating that the European labour market "will become a jungle" if this directive were approved. The ETUC had argued that the directive will not provide full equal treatment to third country nationals working through these intra-corporate transfers and was going against the earlier approved "seasonal migrants directive". Clearly, the need for specialists to create sustainable growth has found support from the European Parliament.
It is important that the European Parliament has made a clear distinction between seasonal migrants and intra-corporate transfers. This directive will now provide space to commercial establishments to move highly skilled professionals across geographies in Europe to provide services and makes the EU more appealing for investments. The European Commission has estimated that the total number of intra-corporate transferees in the EU each year is about 16,500, or about four per cent of temporary migrant workers.
News reports suggest that it could take about two years for the directive to be fully operational. That is because the agreement will need to be formally approved by EU member states' ministers in the Council of the European Union before it is signed into law. This is expected to take about a month or two. Following that, member states will need to adapt their legal systems to facilitate companies wishing to use this directive, which will take about 24 months.
According to the proposal mooted by the Commission in 2010, the directive creates a common set of rules for a new fast-track entry procedure, which will provide combined residence/work permit for a targeted group of transferees under the categories of "manager", "specialist" and "graduate trainee" from non-EU countries.
The proposal aimed at establishing attractive residential conditions for these individuals and their families, and an easier system for non-EU transferees to facilitate their mobility within the EU. This would be complemented by a clear legal status including the same working conditions as workers posted by an EU company.
While EU member states would have the freedom to form their own laws on the period of stay for these individuals, the Commission had set a maximum period of three years for specialists and managers and one year for graduate trainees.
Clearly, the EU has over the last few years taken a considered view that there is a need to allow labour immigration on a short-term or long-term basis to drive economic development and address current and future demographic challenges in the region.
The Blue Card directive was one such move. Under this initiative, the EU had put in place conditions for non-EU workers considering taking up highly skilled employment in the EU states for issuing a special residence and work permit called the "EU Blue Card". The Blue Card, according to the Commission, "facilitates access to the labour market and entitles holders to socio-economic rights and favourable conditions for family reunification and movement around the EU."
In a competitive world with demographic disadvantages in several countries, the movement of highly skilled professionals remains a very important policy tool to create growth and employment opportunities. There is an urgent need to address the movement of professionals from that perspective rather than through the narrow prism of protecting domestic labour markets at any cost.
The writer is Principal Adviser at APJ-SLG Law Offices