France wants the European Union to bar mass amnesties for undocumented immigrants as part of a common immigration policy enforced during the upcoming French presidency of the EU, Agence France Presse reports.

Drafting an EU immigration charter is a priority of France 's six-month presidency of the bloc, starting on July 1, said Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and the junior minister for European affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet.   "The principle is that indeed we should agree, all 27 of us, that there should be no mass blanket amnesty that could affect the situation in one member state or another," said Jouyet. "And if there were to be amnesties, it must be ensured that we receive notice, that there is an exchange of information and that we are well aware of the impact," he added.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out against broad amnesties declared unilaterally by some EU countries such as Spain , arguing that the bloc's open borders mean a single state's policy affects it as a whole.

Spain granted an amnesty for around 600,000 illegal immigrants in 2005 and is facing pressure to restrict immigration as the economy cools.

Italy granted residency to half a million illegal immigrants a year later but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's new right-wing government is preparing an arsenal of anti-immigration measures.  

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According to The Associated Press, the Australian government announced it will increase its intake of skilled migrants next financial year in a bid to address issues with a tight labor market driven by the resources boom.  The federal government has pledged to increase its migration program by 37,500 places from Fiscal Year 2008, taking the total intake to 190,300. Of the additional places, 31,000 will be for migrants in the skilled stream, following on from a one-off increase of 6,000 places for skilled migrants between 2007-2008.

"The Australian labor market is the tightest it has been in a generation, with skill and labor shortages pushing up labor costs and contributing to inflationary pressures," according to the government estimation in its yearly budget review.   The government expects the increase intake of migrants will deliver $1.9 billion over four years in additional revenue, more than offsetting the $1.4 billion cost of those additional places arising from increased demand for government services and benefits.

The resources boom and the promise of higher wages in the mining industry has been largely responsible for the labor shortages felt by industries across the board.  "Immigration will continue to be an important contributor to labor supply, with skilled migration in particular helping to address Australia's skill needs in the short-term while also delivering fiscal benefits," according to government comment.