The EMN National Contact Point in the Czech Republic organized a two-day conference entitled EU and Labour Migration: Needs, Strategies and Challenges. The conference took place as part of the Czech EU Presidency on 5 and 6 October 2022 in Prague.
The conference aimed to bring policy makers from Member States and EU Institutions, international organisations, NGOs, social partners, the private sector and non-EU countries in order to foster a good exchange of information and raise awareness, while sharing best practices in the area of labour migration.
The conference was opened by the Minister of Interior of the Czech Republic Vít Rakušan, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson and the High Representatives of organisations working on migration, including the Director General of the International Organization for Migration António Vitorino. The opening panel provided a strategic view on the needs and challenges related to labour migration.
As the Czech Minister of Interior Vít Rakušan said, the Czech Republic had had the lowest unemployment rate in the EU over the last six years and one of the highest inflows of labour migrants per population. He said that that was the reason why the Czech Republic was a good example of a country that used labour migration as a tool to address labour shortages.
The conference addressed labour migration management as well as cooperation with non-EU countries. The concept of Talent Partnerships as part of the operational pillar of a sustainable EU policy on legal migration was also discussed. The panelists also touched upon challenges that are linked to migrant workers already present on the territory of the EU Member States.
While discussing talents acquisition, an inspiring discussion on the impact of digitalization and new technologies on labour migration was brought in. Discussants touched upon the topic of digital nomads i.e., migrants living in one country but working in another. Innovative programmes, projects and initiatives were presented in this respect.
The conference also addressed unexpected challenges to the labour market that were brought up by the pandemic. A particular attention focused on people fleeing the war in Ukraine and trying to find a recognition in the EU.
Among the conference speakers there were representatives of the European Commission, public administration, academia, international organizations, employers’ associations, municipalities and NGOs.
The recording from the conference is available at: https://www.emncz.eu/en/conference/
