EFFAT calls on EU institutions to put workers’ rights first as Parliament adopts the EU Talent Pool Regulation
Brussels, 11 March 2026: This week the European Parliament adopted the EU Talent Pool Regulation with 414 votes in favour, 182 against and 21 abstentions. Representing sectors with a high proportion of mobile and migrant workers, EFFAT express concerns as the adopted text falls short of providing adequate protection for workers.
The risk of Enabling Exploitation
Since the publication of the Commission’s proposal, EFFAT has consistently warned that the EU Talent Pool risks benefiting unscrupulous employers seeking cheaper labour rather than genuinely improving job quality. Many of the occupations identified as being in shortage in EFFAT’s sectors, including cooks, waiters, hotel cleaners and butcher, are already characterised by low pay, precarious contracts and difficult working conditions.
EFFAT’s key concerns with the Regulation as adopted include:
- Access for labour intermediaries and temporary work agencies to the EU Talent Pool, without adequate regulation of abusive subcontracting practices. EFFAT is leading a dedicated campaign calling on the Commission to propose binding legislation on subcontracting and intermediaries, inspired by our Model Directive
- Weak enforcement: although participating employers are required to comply with labour law and collective agreements, monitoring relies on national contact points that lack the resources to fulfil this task effectively, and rely on information given by labour inspectorates who are already overstretched across Member States.
- No dedicated complaints mechanism within the EU Talent Pool for jobseekers facing abuse or exploitation.
- Minimal involvement of social partners: trade unions and employers’ organisations have no voting rights in the Talent Pool steering group and are not involved in identifying labour shortages.
Labour Shortages Must Be Addressed at the Root
EFFAT firmly believes that labour shortages in our sectors can only be tackled by creating quality jobs, improving wages and working conditions, strengthening collective bargaining coverage, and ensuring equal treatment for all workers, regardless of their origin. Facilitating the recruitment of migrant workers through instruments that lack sufficient safeguards risks exacerbating social dumping, increasing unfair competition, and harming both workers and responsible employers.
‘What we already see in our sectors today tells a stark story’ said Virginie Demoucron, EFFAT Political Secretary in the Tourism Sector. “Millions of migrant workers are employed in deplorable conditions, with no safe avenue to report violations of their rights without risking retaliation or deportation. Developing regularisation pathways and ensuring they can access justice to defend their rights as workers must be the absolute priority”.
LIBE Vote on the EU Return Regulation: A Dangerous Precedent
EFFAT is concerned over the vote in the LIBE Committee on the draft EU Return Regulation. The alternative text tabled by the EPP and backed by far-right groups represents a significant step backwards for the rights of migrant workers and their families in Europe.
The proposal threatens to place hundreds of thousands of people at risk of detention, allows families to be torn apart and sent to deportation centres in countries they have never lived in, and grants sweeping powers to restrict freedom of movement, search personal belongings, impose disproportionate security measures, and share personal data with third countries that lack adequate safeguards.
EFFAT calls on MEPs and Member States to reject this dangerous drift and to uphold the fundamental rights of all workers on European soil.
Ends
