Commission welcomes political agreement on the EU Talent Pool, making the EU more attractive to skilled talent from outside the EU

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The European Commission welcomes the provisional political agreement reached today between the European Parliament and the Council on the EU Talent Pool. Once in place, the EU Talent Pool will be the first EU-wide platform to facilitate international recruitment of jobseekers residing outside the EU. This is a key step in making the EU more attractive to skilled talent from outside the EU, and hence more competitive globally.

As part of the EU’s comprehensive approach to migration set out in the Pact on Migration and Asylum, the Talent Pool will offer opportunities for labour mobility and contribute to the EU’s competitiveness agenda  by helping Member States attract and retain global talent. Participation in the Talent Pool is voluntary for Member States.

This new platform will make it easier for employers across the EU to identify and recruit jobseekers from non-EU countries for occupations facing labour shortages within the EU. Jobseekers from third countries will be able to register their profiles on the platform and showcase their skills, qualifications, work experience and language knowledge. This will give EU employers access to a broader pool of talent. The job vacancies of EU employers from participating Member States will be available in the EU Talent Pool, allowing jobseekers to find jobs that match their skills.

The Talent Pool will also support the implementation of Talent Partnerships, a Commission initiative to match  the skills of workers from countries outside the EU with the labour market needs inside the EU, while engaging partner countries strategically on broader migration management cooperation including the prevention of illegal migration. Jobseekers who have developed their skills under a Talent Partnership will be able to flag them in their profiles on the EU Talent Pool platform.  In addition, the Talent Pool will also support the implementation of future European legal gateway offices, starting with the EU-India pilot, aimed to facilitated skilled labour mobility.

Next Steps

The regulation must now be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. As soon as the regulation enters into force, the Commission will develop the platform, with the aim of making it operational as soon as possible.

Participating Member States will set up National Contact Points to support the implementation of the tool. 

Background

The EU Talent Pool proposal was presented in 2023 as part of the Commission’s Skills and Talent Mobility package, delivering on President Ursula von der Leyen‘s commitment to make the EU more attractive to talent from outside the EU. It is also a deliverable of the Union of Skills and part of the comprehensive approach to migration under the Pact on Migration and Asylum. 

For More Information

Proposal for a Regulation on the establishment of an EU Talent Pool 

Union of skills – European Commission

Legal migration and resettlement – Migration and Home Affairs

Pact on Migration and Asylum