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Labor Migration Article

How Can Labor Migration Policies Help Tackle Europe’s Looming Skills Crisis?

Europe is facing a looming skills crisis, with three-quarters of small and medium-sized enterprises across various sectors reporting difficulties finding workers with the right expertise and experience. And as European societies age and workforces shrink, these difficulties will only become more acute. This crisis threatens not only Europe’s economic growth but also its ability to make progress on other major policy priorities, including building sufficient and affordable housing, meeting green transition commitments, and keeping up with digital innovations.

Responding to these skills shortages will require a multipronged approach. Reforming and expanding training opportunities for workers across Europe and improving working conditions should be central elements. But labor migration will also need to be part of the response, given the shrinking of the European workforce and the time-sensitive nature of certain skills needs, which cannot be put on hold while training programs are designed and implemented.

In all of this, there is a compelling case for greater EU-wide coordination. This report explores the potential benefits of a more unified European approach to labor migration, challenges that have impeded past coordination efforts, and which actions should be top of the European Union’s to-do list.

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Europe is facing a looming skills crisis, with three-quarters of small and medium-sized enterprises across various sectors reporting difficulties hiring the workers they need.

Labor migration policies could play a critical role in addressing these shortages, especially as the EU's population ages and the demand for skilled labor intensifies. Developing legal pathways for skilled migrants and investing in integration programs may help fill labor gaps while supporting inclusive growth.

Governments are now challenged with designing frameworks that attract talent while maintaining social cohesion. The debate continues on how best to balance these needs across the continent.

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EU and partner countries commit to tackling irregular migration, legal pathways, human trafficking, border safety, and international protection

EU Member States¹ and partner countries² have agreed on a Joint Declaration outlining six key priorities for 2025-2030, including expanding legal pathways, tackling irregular migration, enhancing international protection, prevention of racism and discrimination, and stronger support for integration.

Key elements of a future common approach are on tackling irregular migration; a focus on cooperation for safe returns; and addressing labour shortages in specific sectors across the region by matching available talent in partner countries through regional and bilateral labour mobility schemes, specifically in the Silk Routes Region, while preventing brain drain and respecting national priorities.

The Conference endorsed and clearly defined the roles of the Reference Group to overlook the implementation of the Call for Action; and of the three Thematic Working Groups focused on law enforcement cooperation to combat irregular migration, return and reintegration, and legal pathways for migration, which will be hosted by the ICMPD.

Sedef Dearing, Director for Migration Dialogues Cooperation at the ICMPD, opened the Senior Officials Meeting prior to the Conference. Ms Dearing praised the endorsement of the Ministerial Declaration and the Call for Action; and also expressed ICMPD’s commitment for stronger collaboration in migration dialogues such as the Budapest Process.

First convened in 1993, the Budapest Process is an inter-regional dialogue focused on migration policy and its implementation through projects with participating and observer States. To date, with 51 participating governments and 10 international organisations, it covers Europe, the Western Balkans, Central Asia, and West and South Asia.

This year’s Conference was supported by the European Commission, Australia, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Türkiye.

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How Can Labor Migration Policies Help Tackle Europe’s Looming Skills Crisis?

Europe is facing a looming skills crisis, with three-quarters of small and medium-sized enterprises across various sectors reporting difficulties in finding suitably qualified workers.

The continent’s rapidly aging population, coupled with declining birth rates, has led to a shrinking workforce. Policymakers are now looking toward labor migration as a potential solution to fill these gaps and maintain economic growth.

Experts argue that well-crafted migration policies can provide a reliable pipeline of talent, especially in sectors like healthcare, technology, and construction. However, such policies must ensure fair treatment of migrant workers while aligning with the host country’s economic needs.

Beyond economic factors, the integration of migrants into host communities is critical. Language training, skills recognition, and anti-discrimination initiatives play vital roles in making migration a success for both newcomers and receiving societies.

Top EU Court Questions Italy's Albania Scheme

Top EU court questions premise of Italy's Albania migrant camp scheme

The European Court of Justice has questioned the legitimacy of the 'safe countries' list Italy has used to send migrants to Albania to await decisions on their asylum claims. The ruling is another blow to a key aspect of the Italian government's migration policy.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Friday, (August 1), ruled in favor of Italian judges who have blocked the Italian government from sending migrants to detention centers in Albania.

The long-awaited judgment is the latest setback to Giorgia Meloni's and her government's flagship plan to outsource migrant processing to a non-EU country and speed up repatriations of failed asylum seekers. Legal challenges have put the costly scheme on hold for months now.

In a press release, the judges of the highest court of the European Union say that while a non-EU citizen may have their asylum application "rejected under an accelerated border procedure" when the EU member states classify their home country as 'safe', member states "may not include a country in the list of safe countries of origin if that country does not offer adequate protection to its entire population."

In other words: While Italy is free to decide which countries of origin are safe to speed up asylum procedures -- a principle at the heart of the Albania scheme --, it can only do so if a country offers sufficient security for everyone living there, and, crucially, if authorities disclose the sources for their assessment.

The sources on which "such a designation is based must be sufficiently accessible," ensuring that both applicants and courts can access and challenge the supporting evidence, the ECJ judges argued.

This means the ECJ judges effectively agreed with Italian judges that initially raised this issue last year.

In its statement, the ECJ said a court in Italy's capital Rome had referred the matter to EU judges because it couldn't access relevant information, which prevented it from "challenging and evaluating the legality of assuming a country's safety."

Sudanese Refugees Return

Free trains, full hearts: Sudanese refugees return home from Egypt

The choice is difficult though, many Sudanese have been asking themselves the question, should they and are they able to continue their lives in Egypt, with all its economic problems, and their own declining currency, or might it be worth returning to their country, despite conflict continuing in some areas?

Some of those who decided to return home were among the families who boarded a free train to the southern Egyptian city of Aswan, from where they prepared to take buses to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. The transport was offered for free as part of a voluntary return program.

The program is a collaboration between state-owned Egyptian National Railways and Sudan's state-owned arms company, Defence Industries System, which is covering the full cost of the journey, including tickets and onward bus travel from Egypt's southern city of Aswan to the Sudanese capital.

Returning Sudanese refugees in Egypt expressed mixed feelings. Some expressed joy at an anticipated reunion with family members who remained in Sudan, but others were worried about the journey ahead and the conditions they might find when they arrived.

Most said their decision to return was not easy, but largely driven by the harsh economic circumstances they had encountered in Egypt.

Germany Welfare Changes for Ukrainian Refugees

Germany to start legal procedure to lower welfare benefits for new Ukrainian arrivals

Ukrainian war refugees have been able to come to Germany for the past three years under the EU's Temporary Protection Directive, which was introduced in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As part of this directive, they are able to directly claim certain welfare benefits, which normally are only accessible to German and EU nationals as well as long-term non-German residents of Germany who are unemployed. This is known as Citizen's Allowance (Bürgergeld) in Germany, and Ukrainian nationals have been able to qualify for it upon arriving without undergoing anything that would resemble an asylum application process.

However, this special arrangement might be about to change: Under a draft bill, Ukrainians who have arrived in Germany since April 1, 2025 and those who plan to come to Germany in the future, will no longer be entitled to Bürgergeld but will instead receive benefits under the generic Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act.

A total of about 1.25 million war refugees from Ukraine have been living in Germany since Russia's invasion of the country in February 2022, with more slowly adding to that tally. Government figures show that in the second quarter of 2025, around 21,000 Ukrainians had entered the country for the first time. If all these newcomers were to claim Bürgergeld, it could cost the government 10 million euros monthly — at a time when the ruling coalition is seeking to find new ways to make savings on welfare spending.

However, the Federal Office of Labor and Social Affairs meanwhile said it believes that since the administration of asylum-related benefits is far more involved than that of Bürgergeld, chiefly on account of being processed locally and not centrally, the bureaucracy involved in this change would practically cancel out the saving. In total, about 12 percent of all unemployment-related benefits paid out in Germany in 2024 went to recipients who had come to Germany as Ukrainian war refugees.

Italy Asylum Seekers in Trieste

Italy: Over 180 asylum seekers homeless in Trieste, associations say

A number of pro-migrant associations in the north-eastern Italian city of Trieste have complained that the authorities appear to have left a group of around 180 asylum seekers homeless and with no proper welfare assistance.

More than 180 asylum seekers in the area of Trieste are not under the care of the hosting system and are forced to live without assistance and proper housing, according to the Italian Consortium of Solidarity (ICS), the Waldensian community, the International Rescue Committee and the Italian Council for Refugees.

The organizations called out the "grave" failure of institutions to provide assistance and the "absence of a structured program" to manage the phenomenon. Speaking at a meeting on Tuesday, August 5, representatives of the associations explained that "in 2022, 2023 and 2024, in Trieste", no assistance had been provided in a number of cases, calling such failure a "grave phenomenon."

Since June 2024, "we have observed an improvement of the situation," also thanks to the "systematic transfer twice a week of asylum seekers to other cities (some 60 people every week)," stated the organizations.

However, since June 2025, such a practice has sharply slowed down, with transfers that only occur once a week (some 35–40 people a week). "The situation has become very problematic, even for the most vulnerable people who have been abandoned in the street while waiting for a hosting place, even though they have formalized their request for protection in Trieste."

The associations highlighted that "the Prefecture of Trieste has so far failed to offer any alternative measure, even a temporary one" for these people. "On July 28, at least 85 people were reported to be without assistance, in addition to 10 people with vulnerable situations; as of July 30, 111 asylum seekers (single men) and 13 vulnerable cases" had been reported, they added.

And on Monday, August 4, "the number of asylum seekers without housing included 173 single men, two single women and four families with children," they stressed.

The very quick deterioration of the situation regarding hosting failures in Trieste is being reported for the fourth consecutive year as a humanitarian crisis requiring the immediate intervention of authorities that have so far failed to comply," the associations concluded.

EU Court Ireland Asylum Ruling

Top EU court rules in favor of asylum seekers denied accommodation in Ireland

The European Court of Justice has strengthened the rights of asylum seekers even in cases where the host country is overwhelmed. The specific case concerned two migrants in Ireland who were forced to live in precarious conditions for weeks.

Ireland has been guilty of wrongfully denying two asylum seekers accommodation and adequate material benefits, judges of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found in a ruling published on Friday (August 1).

The overload cited by Ireland due to a high number of refugees from Ukraine did not constitute grounds for an exception, the highest court of the European Union said.

EU member states must provide "material reception conditions which ensure an adequate standard of living, whether through housing, financial aid, vouchers, or a combination of the three," the corresponding press release reads. "Those conditions must cover basic needs, including appropriate accommodation, and safeguard the physical and mental health of the persons concerned."

According to the ruling, these obligations are derived from the EU's binding Reception Conditions Directive from 2013 and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union from 2000. The lawsuit was filed by two asylum seekers -- an Afghan national and an Indian national -- who had to live in Ireland for several weeks under precarious conditions because they were denied the minimum benefits to which asylum seekers are entitled.

The two men each received only a voucher worth €25, they weren't provided housing and did not have enough to eat, according to their own statements, and were unable to maintain their hygiene, according to the court.

Without accommodation, the asylum seekers not only had to live on the streets or in homeless shelters, they also weren't eligible for the daily expenses allowance provided for by Irish law. The Irish authorities invoked force majeure, arguing that all accommodation capacities had been exhausted due to the large number of Ukrainian refugees living in Ireland at the time.

The European Court of Justice rejected this argument, saying that EU law stipulates that member states "must in any event cover the basic needs" of asylum seekers -- even if a large number of third-country nationals arrives unforeseeably, overwhelming reception capacities.

The Luxembourg-based court also said that authorities didn't exhaust the option of individual temporary housing in Ireland.

Ireland could therefore have accommodated the two refugees elsewhere or provided them with money and vouchers to enable them to find accommodation, according to the judgment.

Five alleged smugglers arrested in coordinated raids across Europe

Authorities have taken a total of five people into custody in Germany, the Netherlands and Bosnia Herzegovina, following coordinated operations against a group of alleged migrant smugglers. German authorities said that the arrested individuals are accused of being part of a gang that smuggled Syrian migrants into Europe.

African Migrant Boat Capsizes

African migrant boat capsizes off Yemen, killing dozens

Despite a decade of civil war, Yemen remains a key transit country for migrants seeking access to wealthy Arab nations like Saudi Arabia. Ethiopia, facing widespread poverty and conflict, sees many of its citizens attempting the journey.

Ethiopian migrants face significant risks during their passage through Yemen, where the ongoing war between Iran-linked Houthis and the UN-recognized government puts lives in danger. A 2020 Human Rights Watch Report exposed killings and expulsions of Ethiopian migrants during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to an IOM report published in March, 60,000 migrants arrived in Yemen in 2024. The route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen is among the world’s busiest and most perilous. The Horn includes Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somaliland, where drought and food insecurity drive migration.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirmed that a vessel carrying 200 migrants capsized off the coast of Shuqrah, Yemen, on August 3. At least 56 people died, 14 of them women. The majority were believed to be Ethiopian. 132 people are still missing. So far, 12 male survivors have been found.

Torture suspect arrested in Germany for allegedly killing migrant in Libya

The arrest of the 29-year-old followed a probe carried out by anti-mafia investigators in Italy which was prompted by a complaint filed by a migrant after he landed on Lampedusa, according to a online press release by Palermo police published on Thursday (July 31).

According to dpa, eye witnesses who were held at the same facility in Libya have since backed key parts of the Somali migrant's account. Investigators in Palermo, the capital of the Italian island of Sicily, believe the suspect operated a detention facility in the Libyan town of Bani Walid, located some 150 kilometers southeast of the capital Tripoli. There, he and several unidentified accomplices allegedly held migrants who wanted to cross the Mediterranean. The man is believed to be one of the persons who tortured and extorted migrants at the facility. The suspect was allegedly tasked with maintaining order at the facility and of carrying out the orders of Libyan traffickers.

Italian investigators are also accusing the suspect of having murdered a minor, who had resisted a rape attempt. Police allege that the man wanted to film the attack, to blackmail his family to pay for his release from the facility. The 29-year-old is under investigation on charges of transnational criminal association to commit offenses against persons, including murder, torture and abduction as well as illegal entry into the European Union.

The man traveled from Libya to Italy before reaching Germany, according to Italian and German officials.

German police were reportedly able to track the suspect down in collaboration with Italian investigators, who had reportedly been able to locate him by analyzing IP addresses linked to his Facebook account.

At least 68 African migrants dead and scores missing after ship capsizes off Yemen coast

At least 68 migrants are dead and 74 more missing after a ship sank off the coast of Yemen Sunday, the UN's migration agency said. Tens of thousands of migrants cross the perilous waters between the Horn and Africa and Yemen every year in search of work in Saudi Arabia and the wealthy Gulf states.

At least 68 African migrants died and 74 others were missing after their boat capsized Sunday in the waters off Yemen, the UN’s migration agency said.

Abdusattor Esoev, head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Yemen, told the Associated Press that the boat, with 154 Ethiopian migrants, capsized off Yemen’s province of Abyan.

Twelve migrants survived the shipwreck, he said, adding that the bodies of 54 migrants washed ashore in the district of Khanfar and 14 others were found dead at a different location and taken to a hospital morgue.

Two medics said rescuers were still looking for survivors.

The IOM says Yemen continues to witness a significant increase in the influx of irregular migrants arriving from Africa.

Migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab strait that separates Djibouti and Eritrea from Yemen each year on flimsy boats in the hope of reaching Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in the hope of finding work.

The IOM describes the route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen as "one of the world's busiest and most perilous mixed migration routes". It said it recorded the arrival of more than 60,000 migrants in Yemen last year.

UK: Social media people smugglers to face jail

The British government is looking to pass new legislation to clamp down on people smugglers who use social media to promote their services, including English Channel crossings, fake documentation and accommodation.

People smugglers who use social media to advertise their services to migrants looking to enter the United Kingdom illegally could face up to five years in prison, according to new plans announced by the British government.

The facilitation of illegal immigration is already a criminal offense in the UK, but the government wants to give police and law enforcement agencies more options to combat smuggling gangs who promote illegal crossings of the English Channel online.

According to analysis by the British interior ministry, the Home Office, a record 25,000 people have made the dangerous journey this year alone, around 80% of whom used social media to contact and communicate with smugglers.

"Selling the false promise of a safe journey to the UK and a life in this country – whether on or offline – simply to make money, is nothing short of immoral," Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told The Sunday Times.

"These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media. We are determined to do everything we can to stop them, wherever they operate."

Anti-trafficking religious network reached more than 900,000 globally in 2024

Talitha Kum, an international network of nuns, allies and partners has published its annual report about human trafficking to coincide with World Day Against Human Trafficking. The organization said they reached more than 900,000 people globally with their anti-trafficking activities and support in 2024.

The Talitha Kum network, an international network of nuns, allies and partners published its annual report this week to mark the World Day Against Human Trafficking on July 30.

In 2024, members of the Talitha Kum network say they reached 939,185 persons across the world with their activities and prevention programs, registering a 20 percent increase compared to 2023. "This result was made possible by the extension of the prevention programs, strengthening cooperation, and a more structured support for victims who survived," underscored the international network comprising 64 active national networks in 108 countries.

A total of 222,573 women and 204,000 children (boys and girls) were involved in prevention and awareness activities; 31,157 women and girls received direct health care and support as victims who survived.

In 2024, 46,863 victims who survived human trafficking received direct support from Talitha Kum, marking a 19 percent increase. The services provided by the organization's networks include secure lodging, psychological support on trauma, legal assistance, and professional training paths, and they grew by 26 percent, in particular in Asia and the Americas.

These interventions were brought forward mainly by the nuns and those cooperating with the network.

"The prevention initiatives reached 690,356 persons (an 11 percent increase), while the activity of the network involved 123,493 individuals, with a 36 percent increase," noted the report.

"The year 2024 was also marked by the increasing impact of armed conflicts in various African countries, in Myanmar, in Ukraine, and in the Middle East," declared Sister Abby Avelino, coordinator for Talitha Kum International.

"These crises caused the displacement of entire communities, increasing the risks for women, children, migrants, and refugees. Despite these challenges, Talitha Kum has increased its support to victims and survivors," she added.

Several shipwrecks in Mediterranean Sea result in dead and missing

Several shipwrecks on the central Mediterranean route between North Africa and Italy in recent days have resulted in at least 38 dead and around 66 migrants missing. Two children died after one boat capsized mid-rescue on July 29. Recent events have prompted sea rescue organizations and the IOM to call on the EU to provide more safer migration routes to Europe.

At least 18 migrants are confirmed to have died in a shipwreck off the Libyan coast — just days after another migrant boat capsized in Mediterranean waters.

According to a Libyan Coast Guard official, the incident happened near the coastal city of Tobruk in the eastern part of the country, which is located near the border with Egypt.

Another 50 people are still missing from this most recent shipwreck, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which issued a statement about the incident on Tuesday (July 29). Ten people from this boat are confirmed to have survived.

According to the news agency Reuters — citing a "diplomatic source from the Egyptian consulate in Benghazi" in eastern Libya — the migrants involved in the incident were all Egyptian nationals.

The source added that ten bodies had already been identified and sent back to Egypt, while the survivors were being held in a detention facility for irregular immigrants in Libya. "Libya remains a major transit point for migrants and refugees, many of whom face exploitation, abuse, and life-threatening journeys," IOM added, asking the international community to establish more safe ways to migrate to Europe.

The UN agency added that more must be done to combat human trafficking and smuggling. This accident at sea follows another incident over the weekend when another 18 migrants died after their boat capsized.

At least another 15 migrants from that shipwreck remain missing, although the German Catholic KNA news agency cited that there were as many as 80 passengers on the ill-fated boat at the time of the incident.

Since the overthrow of longterm Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has increasingly become a transit country for migrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Europe.

Countless migrants say they have experienced serious abuse, exploitation, torture, or rape along their journeys to Libya and in Libya itself.

The IOM stresses that these kind of ongoing tragedies at sea serve as "a stark reminder of the deadly risks people are forced to take in search of safety and opportunity."

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