EU turns to the rest of the world in hopes that hard-to-fill-jobs will finally find a match
The European Union proposes to make labor migration easier for specific jobs where the 27 nations can no longer find a local talent pool
BRUSSELS — Contrary to the vision of a “Fortress Europe” to keep illegal migrants out, the European Union on Wednesday proposed to lower the drawbridge for targeted labor migration where the 27 nations can no longer find a local talent pool to fill essential jobs.
With the proposal, the EU is seeking to walk a tightrope between populists and extremists, who condemn almost any kind of migration into the bloc, and businesses, from local to multinationals, who increasingly cannot find locals to fill jobs in the EU's quickly aging job market.
From construction to health care and the high-tech experts needed for the EU green transition, the local talent pool in the bloc of 450 million people has increasingly proved insufficient.
And instead of forcing talent from across the globe to seek entry into the lucrative EU labor market via the illegal and dangerous migration route where the EU is increasingly restrictive, Wednesday's plans call for a safe and legal way.
“This package is also a strong, if not strongest, disincentive to irregular migration,” said EU Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas.
Member nations already have a EU-wide platform where job seekers can more easily find vacancies in any of the 27 countries, but with the new plan, the system would go worldwide. The EU-wide platform now has almost 3 million vacancies, a vivid illustration of how third-country nationals could profit.
On top of the platforms, the plan calls for measures to cut red tape when it comes to professional qualifications so that job seekers should not be held back for months and years because of
Read more on abcnews.go.com
