Article 1Subject matter
1.This Directive lays down:
(a)a single application procedure for issuing a single permit for third-country nationals to reside for the purpose of work in the territory of a Member State, in order to simplify the procedures for their admission and to facilitate the control of their status; and
(b)a common set of rights to third-country workers legally residing in a Member State, irrespective of the purposes for which they were initially admitted to the territory of that Member State, based on equal treatment with nationals of that Member State.
2.This Directive is without prejudice to the Member States’ powers concerning the admission of third-country nationals to their labour markets.