Assita Kanko: “Our Flemish labour market does not need low-skilled and medium-skilled workers from third countries”

On Thursday, the European Parliament will again vote on legal migration, but the file does not take into account the reality of the labour market within the Member States. MEP Assita Kanko, a member of the competent Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, is voting with the N-VA group against the report.

“This report aims to put a heavier burden on our Flemish labour market by facilitating labour migration of low-skilled and medium-skilled workers from third countries. It is actually calling for open borders. We are against such a general expansion,” the N-VA MEP explains.

“We do support the EU Blue Card,” Assita Kanko says. “I helped negotiate the latter. The EU Blue Card motivates highly qualified workers from elsewhere to opt for the EU, which is important because the US and Canada are now poaching all the highly qualified workers from us. The Member States can still determine the conditions for granting access to their labour markets. The report that will be voted on tomorrow does not do that.”

“The Member States, as well as the federated states such as Flanders, know the needs of their labour markets best. The EU has no authority over this. In addition, figures from the High Employment Council this year showed that only one in two low-skilled workers are currently active in the labour market. Low-skilled workers are thus the least present in the labour market. Instead of engaging in occupational therapy, the EU should work on its migration policy,” Assita Kanko concludes.