HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER

of qualifications, branches of social security, tax benefits, etc. These rights have been expanded on in the Single Permit Directive II which will be further examined. The Single Permit Directive I streamlines the process for issuing residence permits, particularly for non-EU nationals seeking to live and work in the EU. Under this directive, residence permits for reasons other than employment must include information related to access to the labor market, regardless of the permit’s purpose. This aims to combine the residence permit requirements (as outlined in Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 6 ) with the work permit provisions, 7 reducing the need for separate work permits in many cases. The intent is to simplify the process by eliminating the issuance of additional work permits when a residence permit is granted. 2. The Changes in the Revised Single Permit Directive The changes introduced in the Migration Pact are mostly driven by the needs of certain member states to ease the strain they are facing, while other changes are motivated by restrictive immigration policies of other states. The changes made in the Single Permit Directive II seem to have different motivations. According to the evaluation presented by the EU, the changes introduced by the Single Permit Directive I have had a positive impact on the management of legal migration, however it has fallen short to make EU more attractive destination for the workers. In the evaluation of the impact of the original directive, the findings were: “ The main issues addressed include the attractiveness of the EU, whereby over 70% of stakeholders agree that the EU is attractive for students and researchers, but almost 2/3 of the respondents believe that the EU is not attractive for those non-EU citizens planning to start a business ”. 8 This is reflected further on in the available communication by the EU institutions – generally the aim is not to restrict the flow of immigrant workers, but on the contrary making the EU more attractive by making the process easier or by better protecting the workers. 9 While the core of the directive stays the same, the changes brought by the Single Permit Directive II are not only in the application and permit system itself, trying to make it more effective, or the introduction or expansion on the rights of 6 Council Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 of 13 June 2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third-country nationals. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2002/1030/oj/eng. 7 Article 7, 2011/98/EU. 8 European Commission. Legal migration fitness check: Summary of Replies to the public consultation on legal migration by non-EU citizens. In: Publications Office of the European Union. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union [online]. December 2017, p. 39–45. [cit. 2024-08-15]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2837/76718. 9 European Commission. Proposal for a Directive Of The European Parliament And Of The Council: on a single application procedure for a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State (recast). COM/2022/655 final. [online]. 2022. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/ legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022PC0655&qid=1723726132844.

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