Over 130 participants gathered in Malmö for the opening of the Presidency conference ‘Labour Migration and its Development Potential in the Age of Mobility' last Thursday. Participants from EU Member States, candidate countries, invited third countries and others met for two days to discuss migration issues.

On the conference the subjects for discussion included how labour migration to the EU could act as a means to achieve the goals of the Lisbon Strategy and the design of future EU labour migration policy.

The second theme of the conference concerned circular migration and its development potential, that is, how the mobility of migrants back and forth across borders can contribute to development in countries of origin and how positive effects can be maximised.

In his speech to the conference, Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy Tobias Billström highlighted the fact that globalisation means that people move across borders in new patterns, and that this places demands on how migration systems are designed.

“When we discuss mobility it is important that we understand that migration patterns change, partly as a result of globalisation.  It is becoming more and more common for migration to be temporary or repeated in nature, rather than permanent. Circular migration is a natural pattern of life for many migrants and, if handled properly, can be positive both for host countries and for countries of origin and migrants themselves," says Mr Billström.

In her speech to the conference, Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson stressed that migration is not gender-neutral.

“A gender perspective is necessary in order to understand both the causes and the consequences of migration. Women's and men's experiences along migration routes and of living and working in their host country can vary substantially - as can the outcome of migration. Making female migrants visible is a matter of recognising their important contribution to economic and social development and at the same time of highlighting the risks and abuses to which women and girls can be particularly vulnerable in connection with migration," says Ms Carlsson.