The EU Skills and Talent Package - a BusinessEurope position paper

Key messages

The EU’s economic migration policy has an important, complementary, role to play in helping to address labour and skills shortages, which are being experienced throughout all sectors of the economy, to varying degrees. As part of this, the EU Talent Pool, if well designed, can simultaneously help employers to find skilled workers and support third country nationals in their labour market integration.
The proposal for single permit holders to change employers would be a welcome addition to the Directive by affording third country nationals more flexibility in terms of their employment opportunities, thereby also helping to address broader labour market needs. At the same time, BusinessEurope considers that the definition of an employer is something that is best left to the national level.
The enhanced possibilities for the intra-EU mobility of long-term residents would be a welcome addition to the Long-Term Residents Directive, likewise efforts to facilitate the attainment of long-term residency through the accumulation of qualifying periods.

The timely launch of the full version of the EU Talent Pool around halfway through 2023, which will take a targeted approach to matching and which should be based on up-to-date shortage occupation lists.
An EU economic migration policy that is based on the stronger coordination of national immigration policies and which allows Member States to address their varying needs for skilled migrant workers while doing so in a way that is well coordinated at EU level.