On 15 November 2023, as part of the Talent Package, the European Commission proposed the establishment of an EU Talent Pool. The proposal was accompanied by an Impact Assessment and Opinion of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board.

The Talent Pool would be based on the European network of employment services (EURES).

The proposed Regulation lays down rules on: 
(a) the authorities responsible for the management and functioning of the EU Talent Pool and the cooperation between them;
(b) the functioning of the EU Talent Pool IT platform and related support services;
(c) the conditions and procedures for the participation in the EU Talent Pool of jobseekers from third countries and employers;
(d) the facilitation of recruitment of jobseekers from third countries benefitting from a Talent Partnership. 

In its Resolution of 25 November 2021 with recommendations to the Commission on legal migration policy and law (2020/2255(INL) the European Parliament had recommended:

–  that the legislative act to be adopted should establish an EU talent pool and matching platform for third-country nationals who wish to apply for work in and migrate legally to a Member State, as well as for Union-based employers to search in third countries for potential employees, and should facilitate the admission and free movement of third-country workers. Job matching through the EU talent pool should happen on a voluntary basis. The European Parliament considers that such an EU talent pool should establish synergies with the existing framework, and that the legislative act should therefore amend Regulation (EU) 2016/589 in order to expand the current scope of the EURES Portal, established by that Regulation;

–  The EU talent pool, as established by the legislative act, should allow third-country nationals to express their interest in and apply for work, while also enabling employers to search for potential employees. Third-country nationals should be able to apply for work where there is a shortage in the Member States’ labour markets, after having gone through a transparent and non-discriminatory application and pre-screening process, facilitated by the Union. The EU talent pool would serve as an optional tool that Member States could use to meet the demands of and shortages in the Member States’ labour markets that cannot be met by the domestic workforce. The EU talent pool should be complemented by increased coordination between participating national authorities, with the involvement of public employment services and local authorities, and it should take into account national specificities and the different demands of national labour markets. The promotion of the EU talent pool and its usage could be enhanced by targeted information dissemination, promoting the EU talent pool and matching platform in third countries and participating Member States. In that spirit, the Union-wide transnational advisory service network, referred to in Recommendation 6, should facilitate the running of the EU talent pool and serve as a contact point for the EU talent pool in the Member States. Utilising that network, based on the harmonisation of applications, would help to reduce bureaucracy at Member State level. Within the EU talent pool, an EU talent remote network should be set up in order to allow third-country nationals to work remotely in a Member State other than the one in which they are residing, and such remote workers should enjoy equal treatment.

The lead committee is the LIBE committee, with MEP Abir Al-Sahlani as rapporteur.

On 6 February 2024, the Civil liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE)’s rapporteur presented a draft report. The Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), Culture and Education (CULT) and Development (DEVE) committee opinions were published on 19 February and 8 and 11 April 2024.

The Council agreed on its general approach on 13 June 2024. 

According to the agreed text, participation in the EU Talent Pool will be voluntary and Member States can now choose the entities taking part in the Talent Pool. Member States would also be allowed to withdraw from the Pool by notifying the decision to the Commission 6 months before the exit date.

Trilogue negotations between the Parliament and the Council are currently ongoing.

References

• Legislative Observatory, Establishing an EU talent pool, 2023/0404(COD)
• European Commission, Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL ESTABLISHING AN EU TALENT POOL, COM(2023) 716 final
• European Parliament, Resolution of 25 November 2021 with recommendations to the Commission on legal migration policy and law (2020/2255(INL)
• Council, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council 
  establishing an EU Talent pool- General approach, Brussels, 6 June 2024

Author: David de Groot, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu