2nd THAMM Regional Conference – 2nd THAMM Regional Conference

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After the first regional conference which focused on Strategic and operational trends, lessons and experiences with regard to labour migration responses to the COVID-19 crisis observed in European and North African countries held remotely in July 2021, the THAMM second regional conference offers to draw lessons and explore the potential for future skills mobility partnerships reviewing critically current and past mobility schemes between North Africa and Europe.

INTRODUCTION

The European Union approach to labour migration

Over the years, the European Parliament has underscored the need for a comprehensive labour migration policy in order to meet the European Union's goals for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.[1]

As recognised more recently by the European Commission, “the EU is currently losing the global race for talent. Other OECD countries, such as the USA, Canada, and Australia, are attracting more talent from abroad. The Impact of Demographic Change in Europe
report shows that Europe has an ageing and shrinking population and skills shortages that need to be addressed.”[2]

The recent Communication on Attracting Skills and Talent to the EU (COM (2022) 657 – 27.4.2022) recognises that “Legal migration benefits migrants as well as countries of origin and destination. It gives those who want to migrate an opportunity to improve their circumstances and helps address labour market needs of host countries.” In particular, the Communication acknowledges that “the EU needs to address occupational shortages in specific sectors” through a more strategic approach, “oriented towards better attracting and keeping talent […] and channelling legal migration towards regions and occupations experiencing skills shortages.”[3]

In addition, in 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on new avenues for legal labour migration.[4]

Building on this resolution, the European Parliament is drawing up a legislative-initiative report on Legal migration policy and law (2020/2255 (INL)).[5]

Within the operational pillar of the communication on talents, the first Talent Partnerships have been announced in the April 2022 Communication with North African countries, in particular, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia for implementation to start by end of 2022, drawing on the experience of pilot projects such as THAMM.
The Talent Partnership process with North African partners has started with a round of consultations, followed by labour market needs analyses, and a technical roundtable to ensure alignment of expectations and policies between the EU Commission, interested Member States and the partner country. Several financial instruments (Neighbourhood Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, Member States’ own funds, and private sector funds are anticipated to be mobilised for implementation.[6]

It will therefore be critical for North African countries to come to the negotiating table with clear objectives and strategic expectations.

North African countries’ approach to labour migration

North African countries
have also undertaken specific national initiatives. The North African countries have a tradition of labour emigration and other forms of migration and have each large diaspora groups abroad, notably in the EU Member States (EU MS). In 2013, Morocco
signed a Mobility Partnership agreement with the EU and a number of EU Member States (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom). One of the priority areas of this agreement is notably aimed at managing the movement of persons for short periods and regular and labour migration more effectively, as well as to strengthen the cooperation on migration and development in order to exploit the potential of migration and its positive effects on the development of Morocco and European countries. In 2014, Tunisia
signed a Mobility Partnership agreement with the EU and a number of Member States (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom). Amongst other objectives, the Partnership aims to improve the information available to qualified Tunisian citizens on employment, education and training opportunities available in the EU, and also to make mutual recognition of professional and university qualifications easier. Furthermore, it works towards a better integration of Tunisian nationals regularly living in the EU and of migrants regularly living in Tunisia as well as the mobilisation of Tunisian communities abroad in the development of Tunisia. Egypt
has signed several bilateral labour migration agreements with EU member states, most notably Greece in 1981 and Italy in 2005 but the latter has never been implemented. Egypt has several labour mobility and social security agreements with countries outside Europe, such as Jordon, Lebanon and United Arab Emirates.
Concurrently, labour markets have continued to be depressed in the post-Covid period with unemployment, underemployment, low wages, poverty, and deficits in decent work triggering social unrest and political transformation processes. The COVID impact on North Africa has been particularly harsh and has aggravated employment situations, particularly for the most vulnerable. While GDP growth in quarter two of 2021, in comparison to a year earlier, had regained strength, North African economies, except for Egypt, remained depressed compared to pre-pandemic.[8]

Pre-pandemic structural weaknesses, such as shares of NEETs among the highest in the world, and labour force and employment rates of women among the lowest, have only been exacerbated under COVID conditions and subsequently.[9]

For instance, in Tunisia, an ILO study found that “unemployment within the surveyed population increased by 33 per cent (going from 9 per cent to 12 per cent) between February and October 2020“ and “informal waged workers were 3 times more affected by job losses than formal waged workers.^{“ [10]}

Employment and unemployment indicators and decent work opportunities also represent important factors determining migration dynamics
that affect especially the youth. While migrants’ remittances have counter-intuitively been particularly resilient and constituted a social safety net for North African households[11]

, post-COVID reconstruction calls for an even higher investment in education, skills, employment, decent work, and social protection to address the root causes of irregular migration. Available data shows that irregular flows, particularly of youth, often minors, are on the increase from North Africa.[12]

It is therefore essential that any new labour migration and mobility model takes these dimensions into account.

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North African countries
are all going through phases of demographic transitions, albeit not at the same pace and with the same consequences, due to their substantive differences in terms of population size but all share high levels of youth and women unemployment, skills mismatch and substantive numbers of their nationals abroad or intending to obtain work experience abroad. The MED-HIMS surveys, implemented in most North African countries provide a wealth of information on recent trends.[7]
North African countries
have also undertaken specific national initiatives. The North African countries have a tradition of labour emigration and other forms of migration and have each large diaspora groups abroad, notably in the EU Member States (EU MS). In 2013, Morocco
signed a Mobility Partnership agreement with the EU and a number of EU Member States (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom). One of the priority areas of this agreement is notably aimed at managing the movement of persons for short periods and regular and labour migration more effectively, as well as to strengthen the cooperation on migration and development in order to exploit the potential of migration and its positive effects on the development of Morocco and European countries. In 2014, Tunisia
signed a Mobility Partnership agreement with the EU and a number of Member States (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom). Amongst other objectives, the Partnership aims to improve the information available to qualified Tunisian citizens on employment, education and training opportunities available in the EU, and also to make mutual recognition of professional and university qualifications easier. Furthermore, it works towards a better integration of Tunisian nationals regularly living in the EU and of migrants regularly living in Tunisia as well as the mobilisation of Tunisian communities abroad in the development of Tunisia. Egypt
has signed several bilateral labour migration agreements with EU member states, most notably Greece in 1981 and Italy in 2005 but the latter has never been implemented. Egypt has several labour mobility and social security agreements with countries outside Europe, such as Jordon, Lebanon and United Arab Emirates.
Concurrently, labour markets have continued to be depressed in the post-Covid period with unemployment, underemployment, low wages, poverty, and deficits in decent work triggering social unrest and political transformation processes. The COVID impact on North Africa has been particularly harsh and has aggravated employment situations, particularly for the most vulnerable. While GDP growth in quarter two of 2021, in comparison to a year earlier, had regained strength, North African economies, except for Egypt, remained depressed compared to pre-pandemic.[8]
Pre-pandemic structural weaknesses, such as shares of NEETs among the highest in the world, and labour force and employment rates of women among the lowest, have only been exacerbated under COVID conditions and subsequently.[9]
For instance, in Tunisia, an ILO study found that “unemployment within the surveyed population increased by 33 per cent (going from 9 per cent to 12 per cent) between February and October 2020“ and “informal waged workers were 3 times more affected by job losses than formal waged workers.^{“ [10]}
Employment and unemployment indicators and decent work opportunities also represent important factors determining migration dynamics
that affect especially the youth. While migrants’ remittances have counter-intuitively been particularly resilient and constituted a social safety net for North African households[11]
, post-COVID reconstruction calls for an even higher investment in education, skills, employment, decent work, and social protection to address the root causes of irregular migration. Available data shows that irregular flows, particularly of youth, often minors, are on the increase from North Africa.[12]
It is therefore essential that any new labour migration and mobility model takes these dimensions into account.

References

[1] European Parliament, Resolution of 12 April 2016 on the situation in the Mediterranean and the need for a holistic EU approach to migration, 2015/2095(INI); European Parliament, Resolution of 5 July 2016 on refugees: social inclusion and integration into the labour market, 2015/2321(INI).

[2] https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/promoting-our-european-way-life/new-pact-migration-and-asylum/skills-and-talent_en

[3] Communication on Attracting Skills and Talent, COM (2022) 657, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52022DC0657&from=EN

[4] European Parliament, Resolution of 20 May 2021 on New avenues for legal labour migration (2020/2010(INI)).

[5] The proposal is being put forward by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE).

[6] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52022DC0657&from=EN

[7] See more detailed data in the Conference Concept Note.

[8] https://erf.org.eg/publications/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-middle-eastern-and-north-african-labor-markets-employment-recovering-but-income-losses-persisting/

[9] https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/37412/9781464817359.pdf

[10] https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—africa/—ro-abidjan/documents/publication/wcms_791949.pdf

[11] See results from THAMM Impact of COVID-19 on Tunisians and Moroccans Abroad, 2021. In the IMPACT assessments, the reasons were analysed which are in the case of MOR: increase in the use of regular channels and in the case of TUN: those in a better economic situation were behind the stable remittance flows (as COVID did not have a big impact on their salaries).

[12] From Tunisia;https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2022/08/25/migrants-plus-de-2-000-mineurs-tunisiens-arrives-clandestinement-en-italie-depuis-janvier_6138978_3212.html from all North African countries, see: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/migration-flows/

OBJECTIVES OF THE CONFERENCE

Through presentations from the latest research findings and the sharing of practitioners’ experiences produced within and beyond the programme, the objectives of the conference will be to:

Inform implementation of programme activities among all partners involved in THAMM in its final phase of implementation ;

Inform ongoing discussions in the context of the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, Talent Partnership Initiative, Talent Pool, Skills Package, and at the Neighbourhood level, in terms of Team Europe Initiatives and Joint Programming;

Provide evidence-based original research on the impact of such schemes to inform conference discussions;

Appraise needs and expectations from the perspective of Government, workers’ organizations, and private sector stakeholders in North African and European countries in terms of skills needs in specific sectors or jobs, and for specific beneficiaries, in particular women and youth ;

Explore concrete, operational and sustainable cooperation avenues likely to increase impact on employment, employability both in CoO and CoD, skills demand and sustainable socio-economic (re)integration of migrant workers.

This regional conference aims to contribute to mid- to high-level labour migration governance dialogue aimed at policy makers and practitioners on both shores of the Mediterranean.

The 2nd THAMM Regional Conference will produce:

An original research paper synthesizing existing data and recent research findings envisaging critically the question of mobility schemes between the European Union and North Africa and exploring avenues for new partnerships;

A conference report containing the summary of discussions, key recommendations formulated by experts and group discussions, all presentations, and list of referenced research and practitioners’ published works; and

A series of video podcasts of the conference and experts and practitioners’ interviews.