The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties (LIBE) committee approved the EU Commission’s latest proposal to solve the EU’s labor shortages by opening more accessible “legal pathways” for third-world migrants to come and work in Europe. The plan foresees importing at least 7 million additional labor migrants by the end of the decade.
As we reported earlier, the so-called EU Talent Pool—part of the upcoming Demographic Toolbox—would establish a centralized and simplified system for work visa applications to attract more foreign workforce, meant to fill critical sectors with acute labor shortages across Europe.
Critics, however, warned that such a system will inevitably be abused by employers who just want to pay lower wages, putting the native European population at a disadvantage, just like in the case of the H-1B visas in the U.S.
What’s more, the Commission explicitly stated that the program will target Africans in particular, seeing the young and unemployed population of the continent as the EU’s “primary demographic reservoir.” Those in Brussels who criticized the proposal for promoting cultural replacement instead of even trying to raise native European birthrates with pro-family policies were called “far-right extremists” peddling “hate speech.”
Wednesday’s vote in LIBE was passed by 50 in favor and 19 against, with 3 abstentions. Unsurprisingly, it was only supported by the mainstream parties—von der Leyen’s EPP, the socialist S&D, the liberal Renew, and the Greens—while all three conservative parties (Patriots, ECR, and ESN) voted against the proposal. Only the far left abstained, realizing that it couldn’t support something that undercuts European workers yet wouldn’t vote together with the Right.
MEP Charlie Weimers (ECR) said that Brussels’ core argument about Europe’s labor shortages is nothing but a convenient lie, as there are twelve million unemployed in the EU today. He pointed to existing statistics showing that even working third-world migrants tend to cost Western welfare states more than they pay in taxes, adding that the Commission “made it clear that the idea is to increase the recruitment of people from some of the world’s most dysfunctional countries.” Weimers stated:
This is not need- or qualification-driven immigration, it is immigration driven by ideology. And as always, European taxpayers will be responsible for the bill.
The Patriots for Europe, Brussels’ third largest and main opposition group, submitted a minority position calling for a pro-natalist political shift and strengthening Europe’s native workforce instead of importing millions of labor migrants who will likely never leave or even properly integrate. The mainstream parties are so opposed to these ideas that the committee chair Javier Zarzalejos (EPP) even blocked MEP Tom Vandendriessche (PfE) from making his explanatory statement.
“This is not selective labor migration of highly skilled specialists, but a project to bring as much cheap labor to Europe as possible,” Vandendriessche said in a press statement later. Although it’s presented as voluntary for each member state (for now), the Talent Pool will lead to a structural increase in migration, putting further pressure on wages and social security across the bloc. The Flemish MEP explained:
[The EU] is trying to sell this as a solution to bottleneck occupations, but the reality is that they want to import a cheap labor reserve. This does not mean more welfare, but more social dumping and lower wages in Europe.
The conservative groups also agreed that the other main problem with the EU’s approach to solving the demographic crisis is the refusal to include pro-natalist policies, such as the Hungarian family policy system, which was raised as an example by MEPs from many different countries. Hungary has half a dozen different support programs that successfully encourage people to start families younger and have more children, and recently announced the world’s largest tax cuts for mothers, giving them lifetime income tax exemption after just 2 children starting next year.
“If we want to strengthen our economy, we should focus on innovation and homegrown talent, not on mass migration of millions of non-European foreigners,” Vandendriessche added.
After being approved at the committee level, the proposal will now have to be voted on by the entire plenary, but the result is expected to be much the same.
🚨 | The EU Talent Pool is just a backdoor for mass migration, driving down wages and undermining national sovereignty. If we want a stronger economy, we should invest in innovation and homegrown talent, not import cheap labor at the expense of our own people. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/YrHdoNvik5
— Patriots for Europe (@PatriotsEP) March 20, 2025
