Why Europe’s Labour Needs Clash with Its Migration Policy
Poinews.com – As the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact begins its full implementation on June 12, the continent faces a growing dilemma: it requires more workers yet insists on limiting migration. This contradiction has become a focal point of intense political debate, with the reality of labor shortages increasingly challenging the rhetoric of strict border controls.
Europe’s aging population is a key driver of this crisis. In 2022, about 22% of the EU’s population was aged 65 or older, while the working-age demographic continues to shrink, particularly in Germany, Italy, and Central and Eastern Europe. Despite low unemployment rates and record employment levels, sectors like healthcare, construction, agriculture, transport, and technology are struggling with critical staffing gaps.
On June 1, EU co-legislators approved the creation of “return hubs” to detain migrants without residency rights, a measure aimed at tightening border management. However, this approach clashes with the reality that non-EU nationals have contributed to over half of the EU’s net job growth since 2019. For instance, in Italy, migrants generate approximately €8 billion annually in social security contributions, funding around 600,000 pensions while receiving €3 billion in benefits. In Germany, migrant workers contribute to retirees at the same statutory rate as citizens.
“Those who tell you the contrary don’t tell you the truth,” says Nicolas Schmit, an MEP with the S&D group and former European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights. “If Europe goes for zero migration, we will end up in a dead continent.” The European Commission, ECB, and various research bodies concur that immigration is essential for sustaining economic growth and supporting welfare systems.
Public discourse, however, often overlooks these statistics. Media coverage frequently highlights overcrowded reception centers in places like Lampedusa and Moria, alongside pressure from far-right and centre-right parties for visible border action. This has led to a “dual track” strategy, where governments adopt stricter asylum rules and border enforcement to appease voters, while simultaneously expanding targeted labor migration programs for sectors facing staffing crises.
Italy exemplifies this divide, promoting anti-immigration narratives while approving “flows decrees” that admit tens of thousands of non-EU workers each year. Germany has also modified its Skilled Immigration Act to create new pathways for laborers without university degrees. Schmit, who co-founded the EU’s Talent Partnership and Talent Pool initiatives with former Migration Commissioner Ylva Johansson, argues that this disconnect between policy and practice is unsustainable. “We have to transform this toxic discussion on migration into a real one, a debate based on facts,” he insists. “But I know, in our time, facts are not always at the centre.”
Tesseltje de Lange, professor and director of the Centre for Migration Law at Radboud University Nijmegen, agrees that the political framing is misleading. “The rhetoric of less migration is a false narrative,” she explains. “European businesses and households cannot do without migrant labor.” Even with legal pathways in place, the system remains inefficient. De Lange’s research highlights daily hurdles: delayed qualification recognition across member states, visa appointments monopolized by brokers, and labor market tests that slow down hiring processes.
“It sometimes takes nine months just to secure an embassy appointment,” de Lange notes, underscoring the bureaucratic delays that hinder employment. The EU’s Blue Card, designed to attract skilled workers, underwent reforms from 2023 to 2025, lowering salary thresholds and broadening eligibility. Yet uptake remains uneven, hindered by fragmented national schemes, slow processing times, and limited awareness among employers. Meanwhile, some governments are simultaneously tightening family reunification rules while importing labor, a move de Lange describes as self-defeating.
