Sarah Progin-Theuerkauf

The Emergence of a European Law on Foreigners

Over the last few decades, the regulation of migration of third country nationals has been a central concern for the 28 EU Member States (MS) as well as for Switzerland. In contrast to highly skilled workers, the immigration of low-skilled and/or unskilled workers is politically and economically controversial. Until now, governments have followed a sectorial approach to labor migration, aimed at creating different legal regimes applicable to different categories of migrant workers. Will this approach stand the test of time?

Project Fact Sheet (PDF)
Main Results (PDF)

Messages for Decision-Makers

Migrant workers are not (only) production factors: they are, above all, human beings. As such, they are entitled to equal treatment, meaning that all migrant workers must be entitled to the same rights as the nationals of the hosting state regardless of their skill level and gender.

Experiences in Switzerland and in the Member States have shown that a sectorial approach to labor migration does not necessarily lead to the desired results with regard to the management of migration flows.


Project-related scientific publications