Enhancing legal and organised labour migration to the EU

Key points

The EESC:

• underlines that promoting legal and organised labour migration to the EU and related EU policies and instruments must be based on human rights, the rule of law, the integration of third-country nationals (TCNs) into the labour market, respect for the EU’s common values and compliance with binding international legal instruments relevant to migration and human and labour rights;
• calls for a balanced approach between the EU and the countries of origin (CoOs) in all current and future migration frameworks. It stresses the importance of mitigating the risk of brain drain through economic growth and decent jobs in CoOs, supported by the EU’s cohesion policy. Social partners on both sides, in line with national circumstances and practices, must be institutionally involved in order to identify opportunities, risks and challenges for domestic labour markets, and for them to become part of a robust monitoring framework for all bilateral labour migration agreements;
• points out that pre- and post-departure training, with social and professional integration and skills development programmes in CoOs accommodating a certain percentage of workers staying in their home countries in order to promote social and economic development, can be an effective way to mitigate the risk of brain drain;
• points out that equal rights for migrant workers from third countries must be promoted across all skill levels. Measures should enhance their protection throughout the migration cycle, including accessible pre-departure and post-arrival information, orientation and training, and legal access for complaints and redress;
• notes that international skills and mobility partnerships can strengthen domestic labour markets, matching labour supply and demand, transferring skills at all levels and maximising ‘brain gain’, while addressing ‘brain drain’ and increasing competitiveness and growth for CoOs and CoDs;
• points out that, at present, a common framework and transparency in the negotiations for the Talent Partnerships (TPs) is lacking and calls on the Commission to present an action plan with next steps for the TPs, lessons learned, from ongoing and past projects and policies to enhance coherence and facilitate smooth mobility;
• stresses that the EU needs to mobilise all available labour, while enhancing migration policy to attract and retain skilled workers in a complementary way. The activation of the EU’s domestic labour force should be prioritised to meet long-term labour market needs and shortages, focusing on under-mobilised groups, while in specific cases the interests of companies to fill urgent vacancies with migrant workers must be respected.