What does Europe need: walls or workers? Recent national developments in managing labour migration in Europe

The EU’s migration regulations have undergone significant developments since the 1957 Treaty of Rome’s provisions for the free movement of workers within the newly created European Economic Community (EEC). The most notable regulations have focused on the movement of citizens between EU Member States. Examples include the Schengen Agreement (1985), abolishing internal border controls and establishing a common visa policy, and the Maastricht Treaty (1992), which introduced a common immigration policy for non-EU citizens. As the number of non-EU citizens increased across Member States, the EU’s regulatory framework for migration (and asylum) also evolved; Eurofound’s EU PolicyWatch database contains a detailed brief (T1 2025) of the policy background. Labour migration is acknowledged as an important element in addressing the EU’s skills shortages (see European Commission Work Programme 2025(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab priorities). At the same time, the 2024 EU Pact on Migration and Asylum aims to strengthen the effectiveness of returning irregular migrants with mechanisms such as the Dublin III Regulation(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab.

In order to understand how recent national debates and initiatives related to migration management affected labour market policies across the 27 Member States and Norway, Eurofound’s EU PolicyWatch(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab database mapped over 125 national measures(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, introduced between 2023 and 2025 and targeting third-country nationals. Table 1 shows an overview of these measures, which can be grouped into several categories:

• measures aimed at more efficient immigration management

• immigration policies to address labour shortages

• changes to the migrant integration support systems

• several other specific measures

Table 2 displays the policy measures implemented to manage immigration efficiently. All countries, except Bulgaria, Germany and Slovakia reported government measures regulating the entry, stay and residence of third-country nationals, that is non-nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

In a number of countries, changes to permit procedures and visa requirements were introduced to either tighten control or simplify processes for specific groups. A case in point is Lithuania(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, where employment procedures for foreign nationals have become stricter since July 2024 and many categories of migrant now require a temporary residence permit. National migration strategies were also updated to ensure a more robust immigration policy in several countries, specifically focusing on preventing illegal immigration or misuse of the system. In Poland(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, the newly adopted national migration strategy, entitled ‘Take back control. Ensure security. Poland’s comprehensive and responsible migration strategy for 2025–2030’, prioritises state security and control of the inflow of migrants by enhancing border control and management.

Labour market testing policies were reported in several countries. In Latvia(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, for example, stricter rules were introduced for employers to demonstrate that they have attempted to recruit local workers. In Malta(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, a new labour migration policy aims to ensure that employers prioritise Maltese and EU nationals and introduces restrictions for companies with a high turnover of third-country national staff.

Some countries reported return policies targeting migrants, as in Cyprus(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, where an Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) programme supports asylum seekers and migrants who do not have a legal right to reside in the country to return voluntarily to their home countries in an organised, safe and dignified manner. In Portugal(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, the Action Plan for Migration, adopted in 2024, establishes a National Foreigners and Borders Unit within the Public Security Police. This unit is responsible for controlling the borders, supervising the entry and stay of third-country nationals, and carrying out procedures to remove people who are staying illegally.

Member States adopted a variety of measures to address labour shortages (Table 3). In addition to increasing border control and return procedures, Portugal(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab also developed a protocol to facilitate the recruitment and hiring of foreign workers for large companies in sectors affected by labour shortages. It means that employers can now directly hire workers abroad through Portuguese consulates in a streamlined process. The protocol was signed by five national employer confederations but was opposed by the trade unions due to concerns related to precarious employment and poor working conditions.

Sectoral labour shortages are the main reason behind the adjustments in migrant worker quotas, which were implemented in Croatia(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, Germany(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, Hungary(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, Italy(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab and Romania(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, for example, to address major labour gaps for seasonal workers in tourism, agriculture and construction. In Belgium, both the Flemish(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab and the Walloon(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab regions streamlined their labour market policy to facilitate the employment of foreign workers required to strengthen the economy and address structural labour shortages. The requirement to prove that no suitable candidates are available locally for sectors experiencing labour shortages has been eliminated in both regions.

Specialised permit schemes, such as the EU Blue Card, were implemented in a number of countries to supplement the workforce. In Austria(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, the Red-White-Red Card programme, designed to attract highly qualified and skilled workers for shortage occupations, was extended to increase employment opportunities for people from Ukraine. Germany(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab introduced an Opportunity Card and made EU Blue Card rules easier to facilitate access for qualified third-country nationals; Finland(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, Romania(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab and a number of other countries followed suit. Romania(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab developed a digital nomad visa for foreigners who work online without taking local jobs.

Bilateral agreements with non-EU countries are another way to attract skilled workers or seasonal labour. Bulgaria(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab signed agreements with Moldova, Armenia, Georgia and Israel to facilitate temporary and seasonal employment in sectors facing worker shortages, such as construction, services and agriculture. Agriculture and fisheries are sectors for which Greece has also entered into agreements with Egypt(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab and Bangladesh(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab for seasonal workers. In Greece, this was complemented by a regularisation measure(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab for undocumented foreign nationals holding long-term employment in the country, estimated to grant residency to around 30,000 workers.

Several initiatives to promote a region or a country as an attractive employment destination were recorded. Finland(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab’s Work in Finland initiative, run by Business Finland and the KEHA Centre (the public employment service), matches international talent with companies seeking to hire. France(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab developed the Choose France for Science programme to attract around 100 scientists by 2030. In Denmark(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, national and regional strategies(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab were developed to increase the number of foreign nationals to address both highly skilled and vocational labour shortages. Latvia(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab and Lithuania(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, both characterised by a high emigration rate, developed programmes to target their nationals living abroad and encourage their return and to promote entrepreneurship.

As the lack of recognition of qualifications is one of the most important barriers to migrant workers accessing labour markets, Germany(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, Slovakia(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab and Spain(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab streamlined and facilitated processes for recognising qualifications in professions affected by shortages in order to speed up employment.

Measures aimed at improving migrants’ integration support systems include language courses, an essential element for labour integration; examples can be seen in Czechia(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, Estonia(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, Slovakia(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab and Slovenia(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab. Programmes to promote entrepreneurship among migrants also aim to support integration. These include Italy(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab’s Futurae programme, which targets migrants, including second-generation migrants, and Estonia’s programmes supporting refugee employability(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab and entrepreneurship for migrant women(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab. Luxembourg(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab introduced the concept of ‘intercultural living together’ to replace ‘integration’, broadening the scope of support for new residents. Malta(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab's integration strategy and action plan aims to foster a cohesive and inclusive society, given that foreign nationals make up to one-fifth of the entire population.

Several measures that are more specific or target areas outside of direct labour market regulation, immigration control or broad integration were also recorded. For example, Finland(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab’s new collective bargaining agreement for rural industries clarifies employment relationships in the picking of wild berries to address the exploitation of foreign workers, an addition welcomed by the social partners in the country. In France(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, the Erasmus of apprenticeship law aims to ease the mobility of trainees by extending their duration in the country and reducing the age limit; this was also positively received by the social partners. In the Netherlands(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, a new law aims to balance the benefits of the internationalisation of the higher education system with the need to maintain the quality, accessibility and efficiency of higher education, and to strengthen the position of the Dutch language within academia in response to the rapid increase in international student enrolment and the growing prevalence of English-taught programmes.

Migration, including migration for labour purposes, is a matter of national interest and security. It is thus not surprising that the vast majority of the measures captured in the EU PolicyWatch database consist of legislation or similar statutory regulations (Figure 1).

The social partners were involved, or at least consulted, in the design or implementation of more than half of the measures recorded. In Finland, they were involved or consulted in all six measures recorded, while in Portugal this was the case for six out of seven measures; in Denmark and Estonia, it was the case for five out of seven. In most of these cases, the social partners approved, or were cautiously supportive, of government measures. Belgium, Italy and Romania were the only countries that did not report any involvement or consultation of the social partners.

Out of the 125 measures reported, only 3 are social partner initiatives. The Austrian(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab International Skilled Workers Initiative aims to facilitate recruitment for Austrian companies and SMEs for occupations for which there are shortages. Greece(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab’s Economic and Social Council (OKE) opinion on the conditions and procedures for the entry, residence and employment of workers who are third-country nationals emphasises the need to simplify procedures and ensure equal treatment between foreign and local workers, while also encouraging the integration of refugees on the labour market. In Norway(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, the Labour Immigrants Committee, in which the social partners are represented, recommends several measures aimed at improving the integration of migrant workers. These include a requirement for employers to provide the necessary basic language training (usually English or Norwegian) during working hours to employees in industries exposed to higher risks in terms of health, safety and environment.

In most European countries, labour migration is a clear example of the two sides of one coin. On the one hand, it is treated as a matter of national security and availability of national resources in terms of health and social protection, public education and housing. On the other hand, it is a quick solution to the increasing labour shortages affecting all sectors, including those recognised as essential during recent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost-of living crisis that followed and the widespread housing crisis. Regardless of the preferred side of the coin, labour migration is complex and constantly changing. Greater involvement of the social partners in these matters is therefore essential in order to shape better policies that support economies and businesses and protect workers.