Publication date: 07 August 2025
This ad hoc query compares the existence, type, and scope of bilateral or multilateral agreements on labour mobility between EMN Member and Observer Countries and non-EU/EEA countries, including whether they target general or sector-specific mobility, contain protection provisions, and provide monitoring or evaluation mechanisms.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Publication Type: Ad Hoc Queries
Keywords: labour mobility, labour mobility agreement, labour mobility partnership, labour shortage
Publication date: 05 May 2024
This ad hoc query maps the existing procedures in EMN Member and Observer Countries to obtain the recognition of third-country qualifications for the profession of doctor with basic medical training. It looks into the requirements in place, including linguistic criteria, the cost of the procedure for the applicant, and the number of applications received and processed in 2023.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Publication Type: Ad Hoc Queries
Keywords: recognition of qualifications, doctor, labour shortages
Publication date: 05 October 2023
This study offers a thorough and current examination of the legislation, policies and practices related to the integration of international protection applicants into the job market in EMN Member Countries. It offers an overview of the various stakeholders responsible for implementing labour market accessibility and highlights both the challenges encountered and examples of good practices.
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Main theme: Integration
Publication Type: Thematic Studies
Keywords: labour market integration, labour shortages, waiting period, labour market access, discrimination
Publication date: 16 November 2015
This EMN Inform summarises the main findings of the EMN Study "Determining labour shortages and the need for labour migration from third countries".
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Main theme: Economic migration
Publication Type: Informs
Keywords: labour migration, labour shortage
Publication date: 30 June 2015
This study examines the interconnection between labour shortages in the Member States and labour migration policies from third countries to Member States.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Publication Type: Thematic Studies
Keywords: labour migration, labour shortage
Publication date: 07 August 2012
This article examines ways of better identifying the role of mid- and low-skilled migration in filling labour and skill shortages.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: labour migration, low-skilled, semi-skilled, labour shortage, skill development
Publication date:
Johan Wets and Tom De Bruyn, researchers at the Reasearch Center HIVA of the KUL publish their study about shortages of staff in the healthcare sector in Belgium.
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Publication date: 30 March 2011
In the context of the comprehensive US immigration reform, improved controls and dealing with unauthorized foreigners were discussed extensively in the US Senate in 2006 and 2007. But what about the future flows?
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Main theme: Economic migration
Publication Type: Study
Keywords: Immigration reform, labour shortages, Migration Advisory Commitee
Publication date: 30 March 2011
What about the role demography could play in the research on the causes of international population movements? This Paper aims at analysing this role and also analyses the intersection of future demographic trends with possible labour market developments
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Publication Type: Study
Keywords: ageing, demographic projections, demography, labour shortages, population decline
Publication date:
On 18 November, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached an agreement on the creation of a platform designed to facilitate the recruitment of non-European workers. The “EU Talent Pool” will connect employers established in the EU with non-EU jobseekers in sectors where Member States face labour shortages. Participation in the Talent Pool will be voluntary for Member States, and the platform will remain free of charge for both jobseekers and employers.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: EU Talent Pool, foreign workers, labour shortages, competitiveness
Publication date:
The EMN Slovakia Conference will focus on how Slovakia can develop effective international partnerships to address labour shortages through fair and sustainable migration. The event will bring together policymakers, experts, employers, and migrant organisations from both EU and non-EU countries to share good practices in managing bilateral labour mobility. Key themes include protecting migrant workers, improving coordination, and ensuring that labour migration benefits all parties involved.
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Publication date:
On 3 December 2025 in Stockholm, the EMN Sweden Conference will gather stakeholders to discuss labour shortages and international talent attraction. The event will explore EU and national strategies to address these challenges and strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. Policymakers, experts and practitioners will exchange insights, good practices and new research findings.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: talent attraction, labour shortages, competitiveness
Publication date:
This conference will explore the role labour migration might play in addressing labour market shortages in the Netherlands and the broader European context, while considering both the benefits and the challenges it brings. Participants will look at case studies and delve into concrete examples from other EU Member States, and explore various approaches to managing labour migration. Policymakers and experts will engage in this dialogue to examine the diverse policy choices that might shape the future of labour migration policies.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: labour migration, labour migration policy, labour shortage
Publication date:
As labour and skills shortages have been increasing and are expected to continue rising over the coming decades in all EU Member States, the European Commission published an action plan setting out key measures that the EU, Member States and social partners should take in the short to medium term to address this challenge.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: labour shortage, skills shortage, social partner, labour market integration, skills development, intra EU mobility, talent partnership
Publication date:
As the demand for migrant workers increases amid persistent labour shortages and geopolitical shifts in Central and Eastern Europe, this conference will delve into the ways countries attempt to attract migrants, ensure ethical recruitment, and implement labour market integration policies.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: labour migration, labour shortage, Eastern Europe
Publication date:
Today, the Parliament of the Brussels Capital Region adopted in plenary session an ordinance relating to economic migration. The objective is to modernize, make coherent and simplify the current texts, to better respond to labour shortages identified in the job market.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: labour market shortage, shortage occupation, Brussels, foreign workers
Publication date:
The European Migration Network (EMN) Glossary is an essential resource, which offers an EU-wide multidisciplinary vocabulary of approximately 500 terms and concepts related to asylum and migration. Let's focus today on the term "labour shortage" to make sure we have a common understanding and use of the term!
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: labour shortage, labour market access
Publication date:
The European Migration Network (EMN) held a two-day conference titled ‘Shaping the future of EU legal migration: where are we and where do we want to go?’. The event was part of Spain’s current presidency of the Council of the EU, with a focus on legal migration strategies to attract the talent and skills needed from abroad.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: talent partnership, talent mobility, skills recognition, EU Talent Pool, labour shortage
Publication date:
Through its campaign “So what, we continue the exploitation?”, the CIRÉ underlines that undocumented workers who informally fill the labour needs, are at risk of being exploited. It pleads to give them access to legal work, particularly through the single permit procedure.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: undocumented migrants, undocumented worker, single permit, labour shortages, labour exploitation
Publication date:
The 2023 Innovation Awards were awarded at the IOM Global Chiefs of Missions Meeting (GCOMM) in Istanbul on 25 October 2023. In the category "Regular Pathways", Displaced Talent for Europe (DT4E), which facilitates skilled migration for displaced talent to respond to labour market shortages, was acknowledged as the changemaker.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: regular pathway, skilled migrants, displaced person, labour market shortage
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Walloon Minister-President Elio Di Rupo has written to Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to call for the regularisation of undocumented immigrants capable of working in jobs in short supply, reports L’Echo.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: labour shortage, shortage occupation, regularisation, single permit
Publication date:
The Annual Conference 2017 will focus on the Reform of the EU Legal Migration System.
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Main theme: Migration
Keywords: legal migration, labour shortage
Publication date:
The launch event of the European Dialogue on Skills and Migration aims to help the Commission understand what to do better to maximize the benefits of migration for the EU as a whole.