Legal Eye: EU and Immigration

Nevertheless, the compromises made by the European Union take this art form to a whole new plane. Of course, it's easy to laugh at an organization that decides, for legislative harmonization, that a carrot is not a vegetable, but a fruit. But it can't be simple to sift through a multitude of issues to find the few nuggets of common understanding among 27 sovereign nations. And so it is with immigration policy.

With the Treaty of Amsterdam (1999), immigration policy became a matter of community interest. Among other things, the EU gained a measure of authority over migration and visa policies of member states. Like many other aspirations of the Treaty of Amsterdam (including coordinated foreign and security policies), however, coordination of migration and visa policies has only been partially implemented.

Long-term stay

One of the quicker compromises came for immigrants residing legally in Europe for a number of years. An EU Council Directive from November 25, 2003, regulates both their visa process and their rights. An immigrant is eligible to become a "long-term resident" after five years of legal stay in a member state, if he or she is able to show, among other things, sufficient resources to live without being on welfare. With long-term stay status, immigrants gain broad rights throughout the length and breadth of the EU.

Seasonal stopover

At the other end of the visa spectrum come the seasonal workers. Various EU communiqués acknowledge the need for seasonal workers, but speak of the difficulties of developing coordinated policy. As a result, the European Union is still proposing and preparing initiatives to harmonize procedures for admitting seasonal workers from outside the EU. In the absence of European Union standards, Poland retains a relatively free hand to make its own decisions as to its domestic needs for short-term labor.

In both the migrant farm worker exception made last summer and the current draft Polish ordinance expanding the categories of workers that do not need work visas, Poland appears to be keeping one eye on potential EU standards that may be developed. In particular, limiting a seasonal worker's stay to three months would comply with the EU proposals floated to date.

Living conditions

Perhaps surprisingly, while careful to address the treatment of EU nationals and long-term residents, the European Union has not mandated requirements about the living conditions of short-term immigrants, including seasonal workers. Granted, there exists a European Integration Fund to assist member states in implementing programs to help immigrants to integrate in their chosen country, without losing their culture. These programs include language training and could assist in issues like housing.

Despite the press reports of inhumane conditions to which Poles have been subjected while working abroad, Polish law, also, does not link the issue of admission to Poland with that of the living conditions of temporary workers. In granting a work permit or permitting a seasonal worker to come to Poland, the primary concern is whether they have a work contract. Nothing requires a review into where and how they will be living while in Poland.

Judith Gliniecki is a partner with Rymar and Partners; j.gliniecki@rymar.pl