"Freedom of movement is one for the great achievements of the EU but how can we deal with freedom of movement on one side and brain drain on the other side. Freedom of movement and brain drain are 2 sides of the same coin. Everyone in the EU is free to move voluntarily but no one should be forced to leave his own regions or cities due to economic reasons." Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca and Chair of the COR SEDEC Commission made these remarks during an Exchange of views with Commissioner Ferreira on Harnessing talent in Europe's regions.
Boc said that the booster mechanism provides some solutions which the CoR supports but there was the need to move forward swiftly because if left unaddressed, brain drain may affect the long-term sustainability of the European project and even the future of the EU.
Mayor Boc pointed out that several regions in Romania lag behind because of lack of infrastructure, but there is lack of Human Resources. "We have 4 million Romanians working outside of Romania. How can we change brain drain to brain gain? Brain circulation is a solution. Another option is to improve working conditions and quality of life to keep talents force at home."
He called on the Commission for help to:
- improve economic conditions and salaries
- invest in education
- improve quality of life / work life balance
- capatlise on the huge potential of rural areas and supporting projects in connection with smart villages
Boc said that the CoR recommends to have a strong task force coordinated by Commissioners Ferreira, Schmidt and Suica together with LRAs to act with concrete measures to improve current situation and finance measures via existing instruments.
The CoR also recommends for post 2027 cohesion policy to include EU level regional targeting and earmarking for harnessing talent in the EU. "We have to talk now about the future of cohesion policy after 2027." said Boc.
In his concluding remarks, the former Prime Minister of Romania said "LRAs should be strategic partners in design implementation and monitoring of the relevant strategy for harnessing talents in EU regions. The spirit of cohesion and harnessing talent should eb embedded in every policy of the EU.