ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the nexus between irregular migration and the admission of migrants for lawful employment and argues that the European Union (EU) has simply not done enough to promote labour migration as a priority matter in the development of its common immigration policy. The phenomenon of irregular migration is far more complex than it would appear at first glance. Generally, irregular migration for employment is viewed as undesirable for a number of reasons. A central feature of EU law and policy on irregular migration is its restrictive and repressive nature. The Justice and Home Affairs Council has rejected the ‘missing link’ in the common EU immigration policy, a proposed Directive on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purpose of paid employment and self-employed economic activities. One obvious way of reducing irregular migration is to regularise or legalise the presence of irregular migrants in the country concerned.
