Debate: The Commission's proposal for "Attracting skills and talent to the EU", particularly the Talent Partnerships with North African countries
Date: WEDNESDAY, 8 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Maroš Šefčovič
Language: EN

I think most of the honourable Members who intervened clearly underline the need for a well-trained and skilled European workforce. And I would like to underscore that it does not go against the training and preparing our workforce in Europe. But we also have to realise that we are in a global competition for talent; we see it from all global economies, and therefore we need to do our utmost to train our people well, but also to be very competitive in this talent management, in attracting talented people from abroad.  And if you have any doubts, so please talk to our IT industry, talk to our battery sector, talk to our business leaders or to our healthcare professionals. And they will tell you how hard it is to actually get good people with the proper skills to do the jobs.  And I totally agree with Ms Arena’s and Mr Lenaers’ comments. Ms Al-Sahlani also underlined the fact that when we are engaged in this effort, it has to be done in a fair European way. And, therefore, I also resent some of the remarks, which I consider to be totally inappropriate, racist, and I think we just have to watch our language much more when we speak in this House.  Another very important point made by Ms Al-Sahlani and Mr Moreno Sánchez was that if we are looking for our partnership with third countries, it has to be mutually benefiting. It has to be based on the circularity, and it has to be based on the active and conducive engagement, where we want to cooperate with them on migration policies, on talent, on avoiding the brain drain, but also to cover the issues which are sometimes very sensitive and cover irregular migration, because we need to look at it from the comprehensive perspective.  I very much want to tell you that we listened very, very carefully to your remarks, to your comments. We want to thank you in the Commission for your very active role in promoting this positive and constructive legal migration agenda. I think it was underlined by Ms Strik, Mr Boeselager and Ms Picierno that we need to have a good comprehensive legislation in this regard. I think that how important it could be nowadays was very well described by Mr Pospíšil or Mr Bielan or Mr Gallée in the case of Ukraine.  I think here we should of course be very proud of Ukrainian people, but also of ourselves, because we managed in practically no time to adopt the solutions which helped to integrate Ukrainian refugees, which opened the kindergartens, which create the conditions for them to work. We open our hospitals to make sure that they will get proper healthcare if needed.  This just demonstrates how much we can do if we are properly mobilised. And I think that’s for us also a lesson learned on how we should look at this comprehensive package from this experience.  I think that Ms Picierno and Ms Carvalho said that what we need is indeed what I think Mr Zorrinho described as a ‘triple win’: we need European societies, migrants and third countries all in the camp of winners.  And therefore, I just would appeal to all of you, and I know that we will have the support of this House for adoption of our legislative proposals, of our migration package, to do it in an ambitious way and to do it within this mandate, because I think that also this debate confirms how important it is for the European Union. So thank you very much, and thank you very much Mr President, for giving me the floor.