The proposal of pilot projects in September 2017, and of the Talent Partnerships in September 2020 with the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, gave momentum to the political debate on labour migration in the European Union (EU). The shift towards ‘talents’ hints at an approach focusing on the interlinkage between migration and skills development when defining new partnerships with partner countries.
In the context of global transitions, such as the green and digital revolutions, economies and labour markets are set to undergo major transformations, and future partnerships will have to tackle the short, medium and long-term needs resulting from these changes. To this end, identifying skills that are necessary today or will become important in the future is crucial. Due to demographic trends, the EU will soon face increasing workforce replacement needs while the young populations in southern Mediterranean countries are expected to grow exponentially. On this basis, this Policy Report aims to identify possible areas where Talent Partnerships can be developed between the EU and Southern Mediterranean countries within a mutually beneficial framework.
