18.6.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 155/17 DIRECTIVES COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2009/50/EC of 25 May 2009 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular points (3)(a) and (4) of the first subparagraph of Article 63 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament ('), After consulting the European Economic and Social Committee (?), After consulting the Committee of the Regions (%), Whereas: For the gradual establishment of an area of freedom, security and justice, the Treaty provides for measures to be adopted in the fields of asylum, immigration and protection of the rights of third-country nationals. The Treaty provides that the Council is to adopt measures on immigration policy relating to conditions of entry and residence, standards on procedures for the issue by Member States of long-term visas and residence permits, and measures defining the rights and conditions under which nationals of third-countries who are legally resident in a Member State may reside in other Member States. The Lisbon European Council in March 2000 set the Community the objective of becoming the most compe- titive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with () Opinion of 20 November 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal). (%) Opinion of 9 July 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal). (®) Opinion of 18 June 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal). more and better jobs and greater social cohesion by 2010. Measures to attract and retain highly qualified third-country workers as part of an approach based on the needs of Member States should be seen in the broader context established by the Lisbon Strategy and by the Commission Communication of 11 December 2007 on the integrated guidelines for growth and jobs. The Hague Programme, adopted by the European Council on 4 and 5 November 2004, recognised that legal migration will play an important role in enhancing the knowledge-based economy in Europe, advancing economic development, and thus contributing to the im- plementation of the Lisbon Strategy. The European Council invited the Commission to present a policy plan on legal migration, including admission procedures, capable of responding promptly to fluctuating demands for migrant labour in the labour market. The European Council of 14 and 15 December 2006 agreed on a series of steps for 2007, among which to develop well-managed legal immigration policies, fully respecting national competences, to assist Member States in meeting existing and future labour needs. To achieve the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy it is also important to foster the mobility within the Union of highly qualified workers who are Union citizens, in particular those from the Member States which acceded in 2004 and 2007. In implementing this Directive, Member States are bound to respect the principle of Community preference as expressed, in particular, in the relevant provisions of the Acts of Accession of 2003 and 2005. This Directive is intended to contribute to achieving these goals and addressing labour shortages by fostering the admission and mobility — for the purposes of highly qualified employment — of third-country nationals for stays of more than three months, in order to make the Community more attractive to such workers from around the world and sustain its competitiveness and economic growth. To reach these goals, it is necessary to facilitate the admission of highly qualified workers and their families by establishing a fast-track admission procedure and by granting them equal social and