The European Commission has launched a new initiative under the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, through which it intends to bring to the block workers from third countries in order to fill the vacant positions that the EU citizens cannot fill in the block.
According to a press release of the Commission, the initiative called Talent Partnership will help to address skills shortages in the EU and will also strengthen mutually beneficial partnerships with third countries in the area of migration.
“Matching the skills of workers from countries outside the EU with the labour market needs inside the EU, Talent Partnerships should become a key part of the EU’s relations with partner countries when it comes to managing migration together,” the Commission noted launching the initiative.
During a conference of the Commission on the occasion, the Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, asserted that legal migration could bring great benefits to the EI society and economy, in particular, while the block emerges from the pandemic.
“Upskilling our existing workforce is essential, but labour migration can also play an important role in reducing the skills gap and boosting EU innovation potential,” the Vice-President said while also asserting that all parties involved in the initiative would benefit from it.
Whereas EU’s Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, insisted that the EU needs legal migration as the population of the member states is getting older and key sectors like healthcare and agriculture face skills shortages.
“Talent Partnerships will help match the skills of candidates to work in Europe with labour market needs. Talent Partnerships will also give Europe a great tool to work together with our partner countries on all aspects of migration, something that’s been missing up to now,” she said.
The Commission also expects the initiative to help reduce pressure on the EU labour market, which has been created by the shrinking of the working-age population.
At the same time, it hopes that the Talent Partnerships will provide returning migrants with opportunities for vocational education and training and improve the EU’s collaboration with its diaspora.
The Commission will now put forward several tailor-made Talent Partnerships with specific key countries and regions in cooperation with the Member States interested to participate and other stakeholders.
The initiative is part of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, a new regulation of the EU that intends to replace the number of irregular arrivals with regular arrivals, which has been unfolded in September 2020.
SOURCE: Schengen Visa Info
