Assita Kanko, ECR Shadow Rapporteur and Coordinator in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, welcomed the trilogue agreement on the EU Talent Pool reached today.

She stated that the final outcome “has the potential to help our businesses remain competitive as it remains a technical instrument designed to address genuine labour shortages”.

Kanko said that the negotiations had helped to correct the direction of Parliament’s initial mandate. “I was cautiously optimistic about the Commission’s proposal, but Parliament’s initial mandate went much too far. I am glad that the Talent Pool is now, more or less, back to its intended purpose: a practical tool to help European businesses find talent that is unavailable in the EU labour market,” she said.

Kanko emphasised that the agreement maintains a clear division of responsibilities and avoids unintended migration incentives.

“Safeguards are in place to avoid abuse, but the key point is this: we are not relaxing existing rules, and we are not touching the prerogatives of Member States in the area of labour migration. That line must remain absolutely clear,” she said.

Kanko highlighted several provisions that strengthen legal certainty and prevent misuse. These include the requirement for participating employers and intermediaries to be lawfully established in the relevant Member State and the creation of a registry of offending employers. She also pointed to clearer rules on the removal of profiles based on false declarations and the deletion of inactive profiles after one year, as well as the obligation to inform jobseekers that registration or selection does not guarantee entry or stay in any Member State.

She underlined that national authorities remain fully responsible for visas, work permits, labour-market tests and all migration procedures. Any accelerated procedures will remain entirely optional and a matter for national authorities.

Kanko described the agreement as a realistic and workable outcome, saying:

“European businesses need solutions that are simple, transparent and abuse-proof. The final text keeps the Talent Pool anchored in practical needs and avoids unnecessary bureaucratic expansion.”