The Council held a debate on some outstanding questions concerning the Directive on the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents.
The questions examined referred to the inclusion of refugees in the scope of the Directive, the duration of residence in a Member State that is required with a view to acquiring the status of long-term resident, the integration of third-country nationals as a condition for obtaining such status and the mobility of long-term residents.
Following the debate, a large majority of delegations was of the view that refugees should be covered by the Directive, but in a separate article or chapter. Broad agreement was expressed by all delegations except one on the time-period of 5 years for acquiring permanent resident status. As regards the question of integration, a large majority of delegations favoured the possibility for Member States to set as a condition for acquiring long-term resident status that the third-country national comply with integration measures in accordance with national law. Finally, delegations agreed that the Directive should regulate and facilitate, subject to certain conditions, the mobility of the persons who have acquired long-term resident status from the Member State which has granted it to another Member State.�