BBC: European governments should regard immigration as an "enrichment" not a threat, EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini told a conference in Lisbon.
Mr Frattini said he would outline proposals next month for a "blue card" system for skilled immigrants, modelled on the US green card.
He said the US was getting 55% of all skilled migrants, and Europe only 5%.
"Skills shortages are already noticeable in a number of sectors and they will tend to increase," he said.
Mr Frattini has long argued that Europe needs policies to encourage legal migration, and to prevent illegal migration.
However, the European Commission's plans could be resisted by a number of European governments, which want to maintain national control over migration flows. Migrants are good, says Brussels (more)
Sweden top for welcoming migrants
Mark Alexander
