COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an EU Talent Pool
Date: 2023-11-15
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: foreign national, information system, job application, job vacancy, labour shortage, occupational migration, professional qualifications, recruitment, skilled worker, third country

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 15.11.2023  SWD(2023) 718 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT  Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an EU Talent Pool {COM(2023) 716 final} - {SEC(2023) 716 final} - {SWD(2023) 716 final} - {SWD(2023) 717 final}  
 
 
Executive Summary Sheet 

Impact assessment on establishing an EU Talent Pool 

Why? What is the problem being addressed?  

A. Need for action 

The overarching challenge in the EU is the significant and growing shortage of labour and 
skills,  in  view  of  structural  drivers  of  the  EU  workforce  transformation  including  poor 
working  conditions  in  certain  occupations  or  human  resource  management  practices  further 
exacerbated  by  the  EU  demographic  challenges,  in  particular  the  shrinking  working  age 
population. 

Therefore, apart from using the untapped potential of the EU domestic workforce, attracting 
talent  and  skills  from  outside  the  EU  is  key  to  address  existing  and  future  skills 
shortages,  including  those  linked  to  the  green  and  digital  transition,  which  might  not  be 
sufficiently addressed by other initiatives. It also incentivises potential economic migrants to 
come to the EU through legal  channels,  which  contributes to reducing irregular migration 
pressure.  

However,  the  current  level  of  international  recruitment  of  jobseekers  from  outside  the 
EU is still insufficient, since: 

• 

job  matching  between  those  EU  employers  looking  for  workers  and  interested 
jobseekers  from  third  countries  is  cumbersome  and  ineffective  (e.g.  insufficient 
information or clear channels for international recruitment, high costs); 

•  employers  and  jobseekers  from  third  countries  interested  in  a  job  in  the  EU  have 
difficulties  understanding  how  skills  and  qualifications  obtained  in  third 
countries correspond to those required at national level; 

•  migration procedures are cumbersome and non-transparent; 
• 

there  is  an  inconsistent  and  fragmented  approach  to  cooperation  with  third 
countries on legal migration and the management of migration overall, which prevents 
the  EU  from  attracting  the  skills  it  needs  and  fully  using  the  potential  of  beneficial 
cooperation on overall migration management. 

What is this initiative expected to achieve?  

The EU Talent Pool initiative aims at supporting international recruitment of jobseekers from 
third countries via legal pathways to address EU labour and skills shortages. 

To achieve this general objective, the initiative sets out four specific objectives:  

•  Ensuring more effective international job matching; 
• 

Improving  comparability  of  skills  and  qualifications  obtained  in  third  countries  with 
those required at national level; 
Improving understanding and access to the migration procedures; 
Incentivising cooperation on migration with third countries, including in the context of 
a Talent Partnership. 

• 
• 

What is the value added of action at the EU level?  

The  EU  as  a  whole  is  more  attractive  for  jobseekers  from  third  countries  interested  in 
migration  than  the  sum  of  its  Member  States  individually.  A  single  EU-wide  job-matching 

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platform  offering  information  on  immigration  and  recruitment  processes  as  well  as  support 
services  would  improve  the  overall  efficiency  of  labour  migration  management  at  EU 
level  and  promote  the  EU  as  a  single  migration  destination.  Thanks  to  the  economies  of 
scale, the EU would better compete on the global stage in attracting foreign talent. This will 
ensure  a  greater  number  of  potential  candidates  with  the  right  skills  and  will  better 
address  labour  needs  of  employers  in  each  Member  State.  All  this  will  help  addressing 
labour and skills shortages across all the EU.  

B. Solutions 

What  legislative  and  non-legislative  policy  options  have  been  considered?  Is  there  a 
preferred choice or not? Why?  

The Impact Assessment evaluates three policy options, all voluntary for the Member States: 

•  Option 1  consists  of  a  set  of  non-legislative  measures  aiming  at  improving 
information provision and facilitating  identification and matching (improving the 
EU  Immigration  Portal,  job-matching  events,  an  online  catalogue  of  pseudonymised 
profiles  of  jobseekers  from  third  countries,  coupled  with  a  network  of  national 
coordinators  that  would  facilitate  the  connection  between  interested  employers  and 
candidates). 

•  Option 2 provides for a legislative action developing an EU Talent Pool open to all 
skills levels while at the same time targeted to address shortage occupations of EU 
and national relevance. An EU wide job-matching platform would be developed with 
accompanying  support  services.  Such  an  EU  Talent  Pool  would  re-use  certain 
components of the EURES IT solution. Another alternative considered would be an 
EU  Talent  Pool  targeting  only  high-skilled  workers.  Given  its  targeted  nature,  this 
option  additionally  foresees  that  the  tool  would  provide  a  platform  for  channeling 
jobseekers  from  third  countries  taking  part  in  a  Talent  Partnership  into  a  job 
placement  in  a  participating  Member  State  (since  such  partnerships  are  aimed  at 
addressing labour market and skills needs in the participating Member States, amongst 
other things).  

•  Option  3 provides  for  an  EU  Talent  Pool  without  targeting  any  specific  shortage 
occupations. This would be an open and completely market-driven tool. It would be 
driven  by  employers’  needs  rather  than  integrating  them  into  a  broader  strategic 
consideration of labour market and other policy objectives at EU and national level. As 
an  open  tool  it  would  allow  jobseekers  from  third  countries  participating  in  Talent 
Partnerships to register in the EU Talent Pool. An EU wide job-matching platform 
would  be  developed  with  accompanying  support  services  (for  both  employers  and 
jobseekers from third countries). The EU Talent Pool would foresee a totally new IT 
solution,  without  re-using  any  EURES  IT  components,  bringing  together  profiles 
registered  by  jobseekers  from  outside  the  Union  and  job  vacancies  of  employers 
established in the Member States. The job-matching system would in this case be fully 
reliant on AI-based algorithms inspired by existing private sector platforms. 

The preferred option is Option 2, as it has overall the most positive impact on supporting the 
international  recruitment  of  jobseekers  from  third  countries  through  legal  pathways,  to  meet 
the EU labour and skills shortages. This option is the most economically convenient to reach 
the objectives of this initiative (see below further explanations on the benefits of the preferred 
option). 

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Who supports which option?  

The majority of consulted stakeholders supported the different  measures proposed as part of 
the  option  that  was  then  selected  as  the  preferred  one.  As  to  the  two  legislative  options, 
stakeholders had different views with regard to the targeted or open nature of the EU Talent 
Pool.  Member  States  supported  in  general  an  EU  Talent  Pool  focused  on  those  sectors  and 
occupations  facing  labour  shortages  both  at  EU  and  national  levels  as  well  as  the  necessary 
flexibility  to  be  able  to  adapt  to  the  labour  market  evolution.  A  majority  of  economic  and 
social partners and some other stakeholders concurred with this targeted approach, at least in a 
first  stage.  By  contrast,  the  European  Parliament  in  its  resolution  2020/2010(INI) 
recommended  covering  all  employment  sectors  at  the  outset.  The  majority  of  stakeholders 
were  in  favour  of  using  the  existing  experience  of  national  public  employment  services  and 
building  upon  existing  instruments  (such  as  re-using  certain  IT  and  governance  elements  of 
EURES).  

C. Impacts of the preferred option 

What are the benefits of the preferred option (if any, otherwise main ones)?                                 

The  preferred  policy  option  would  address  employers’  needs  whilst  taking  into  account  a 
broader strategic consideration of labour market and other policy objectives at EU and 
national  level.  This  policy  option  would  be  open  to  all  skills  levels  whilst  providing  a 
flexible mechanism to identify and address labour and skills shortages in a more strategic and 
structural  manner.  Offering  a  job  matching  platform  and  a  wide  range  of  personalised 
guidance  and  services  would  benefit  business  and  in  particular  SMEs,  as  it  would  facilitate 
international  recruitment  and  guarantee  access  to  a  wider  pool  of  relevant  job  seekers  from 
outside the EU.  

The initiative will contribute to the European Year of Skills and will be a key component of 
the  initiative  included  in  the  Commission’s  Package  on  talent  mobility,  as  set  out  in  the 
Commission’s work programme for 2023. 

What are the costs of the preferred option (if any, otherwise main ones)?                                  

The preferred option will imply1: 

• 

•  one-off costs for IT development of the EU Talent Pool platform (2026-2027) of EUR 
6 722 056 – 6 804 539 (with 11 - 20 Member States participating) for the Commission 
and EUR 2 672 400 – 4 175 625 for ensuring interoperability between the EU Talent 
Pool and the Member States’ relevant national systems (for the Commission). 
recurrent yearly costs after 2027 of EUR 1 906 255 – 1 947 497 covering maintenance 
of the EU Talent Pool IT Platform, developing its additional features and infrastructure 
during  the  first  two  years  of  its  operation  (with  the  costs  reducing  gradually  in  the 
following years) (for the Commission). 
 5 426 500 - 6 000 000 of annual costs for staff costs2, communication, training of the 
National Contact Points in the Member States, provision of online information (for the 
Commission).  

• 

1  

With regard to the costs after 2027, they are indicative and do not prejudge the available budget for the initiative 
under the  MFF 2028-2034. 

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• 

recurrent  yearly  costs  related  to  governance  of  EUR  9  440  000  –  16  040  000  for  all 
participating Member States, assuming that at least 11 to 20 Member States will join 
the  EU  Talent  Pool  by  2030.  These  cover:  EUR  8  000  000  –  14  600  000  for  the 
designated National Contact Points (as from 2026) and EUR 1 440 000 (after 2027) for 
the  administrative  support  for  issuing  the  “EU  Talent  Partnership  passes”  and 
facilitating  job  placements  in  the  context  of  the  Talent  Partnerships  (both  these 
categories of costs to be covered by AMIF).  

•  yearly costs after 2027 related to the maintenance of interoperability between Member 
States’ national  systems  and the EU Talent Pool  IT platform  of EUR  348 075  –  543 
867 for all participating Member States during the first two years of the operation of 
the  system  (with  the  costs  reducing  gradually  in  the  following  years),  assuming  that 
between  11  to  20  Member  States  will  join  the  EU  Talent  Pool  by  2030  (for  the 
Member States). 

How will businesses, SMEs and micro-enterprises be affected?  

The preferred policy option would benefit  businesses, especially  SMEs. By providing  a job-
matching platform and additional services, it will make international recruitment faster, easier 
and  more  effective,  thus  helping  employers  to  fill  job  vacancies.  The  benefits  are  mainly 
linked to time-savings across the various steps of the recruitment process and cost savings, as 
well as access to a wider pool of candidates with relevant profiles. 

Will there be significant impacts on national budgets and administrations?  

Member States would need to establish their National Contact Points as from 2026 and may 
require the administrative support for issuing the “EU Talent Partnership passes” to facilitate 
job placements in the context of the Talent Partnerships (after 2027)3. 

These recurrent yearly costs (to be covered by AMIF) amount to EUR 9 440 000 – 16 040 000 
for all participating Member States, assuming that at least 11 to 20 Member States will join the 
EU  Talent  Pool  by  2030.  They  cover:  EUR  8  000  000  –  14  600  000  for  the  designated 
National Contact Points and EUR 1 440 000 for the administrative support for issuing the “EU 
Talent Partnership passes”. 

In  addition,  maintenance  of  interoperability  of  national  systems  with  the  EU  Talent  Pool  IT 
platform after 2027 would be required from an IT perspective (see the costs above). They will 
amount to yearly costs of EUR 348 075 – 543 867 for all participating Member States during 
the  first  two  years  of  the  operation  of  the  system  (with  the  costs  reducing  gradually  in  the 
following years), assuming that between 11 to 20 Member States will join the EU Talent Pool 
by 2030 (costs for the Member States). 

These costs would be offset by the expected benefits for the Member States’ economies and an 
expected increase in GDP generated by additional wages.  Overall, there would be a positive 
impact on public finances. 

Will there be other significant impacts?  

By  providing  a  platform  for  job  placement  of  jobseekers  from  the  partner  countries  in  the 

2  

3  

It is estimated that 13 staff would be needed in the Commission for all tasks related with the EU Talent Pool. This 
staff will arrive gradually, depending on the stage of the evolution of the initiative. Until 2027 there would be 10 
staff needed. Costs after 2027 are indicative and do not prejudge the available budget for the initiative under the 
MFF 2028-2034. 
Idem. 

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context of the Talent Partnerships, the EU Talent Pool would increase the Talent Partnerships’ 
effectiveness. In turn, this is expected to better engage key partner countries on all aspects of 
migration cooperation.  

When will the policy be reviewed?  

D. Follow up 

By 2031 (after estimated three years of the operation of the EU Talent Pool), and every three 
years  after,  the  Commission  will  submit  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the 
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions a report on the 
application of the Regulation.  

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