During a debate with EC Vice-President Dubravka Šuica on harnessing talent in Europe's regions, EPP-CoR members stressed the need to support those cities and regions which are being strongly impacted by the twin transition as well as the need to have place-based responses to address demographic change.
Dubrovka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Democracy and Demography said that demographic change is having a negative impact on a considerable number of regions. She stressed "Several regions are facing a ‘talent development trap'. The ‘talent booster mechanism’ will support regions in training, retaining and attracting people as well as the skills and the competences needed to address the impact of the demographic transition."
Tanya Hristova, Chair of the CoR SEDEC Commission, said that the CoR will engage local and regional governments to take advantage of the European Year of Skills (EYS) when implementing their strategy for attracting and retaining talent in their territories. She added that the CoR considers regions specifically affected by the green and digital transition, such as coal and carbon-intensive regions, as well as automotive regions, to be prime candidates for the Talent Booster Mechanism, as they will have a significant number of workers in need of upskilling and reskilling."
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of Central Macedonia (Greece) said "We need to help young people who want to live and to work in their own regions by offering them a way to maximize their own talents. I would like to make a call to all our colleagues, in particular those coming from regions affected by green and digital transitions to put forward their candidatures to test the new Mechanism in its pilot phase, this year. Your active role will encourage skilled people of your regions to choose to remain."
Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca (Romania) said "If left unaddressed, the brain drain may affect the long-term sustainability of the European project, and even affect the future of the European Union! We ask for urgent and concrete measures on the ground in order to diminish the brain drain, shrinking working age population and to support harnessing talents in the EU."
Adrian Teban, Mayor of Cugir, Alba County (Romania) said that "Without investments, there is a risk that the newly qualified individuals will not meet the labor market requirements because they are not fitting as such or because they are fitting in another geographical area. In this last case, we have to bear in mind that, for objective reasons, the internal geographical mobility of the labour force in Eastern European Member States is very low, while the migration abroad represents a viable option for a considerable part of the population. That is why there is a risk that the new qualifications remain either not put to use or put to use abroad."
Radim Srsen, Mayor of the Municipality of Dolní Studénky (Czech Republic) said "I strongly feel that we miss real action. We need all policies and tools to bring quality life to rural areas. We need to talk to young talented people not to think on their behalf. Let's act together to stop brain drain and retain talented people in all regions."
Zlatko Zhivkov from the Montana Municipality (Bulgaria) said "In my municipality Montana we do not have unemployment problems, but there is a hunger for skilled labor. Overcoming structural problems and reducing territorial disparities requires political commitment at all levels of government, accompanied by integrated measures".
Bruno Hranic, Mayor of the Municipality of Vidovec (Croatia) spoke on key jobs and the importance of vocational education in order to secure day to day services.
Nikola Dobroslavic, President of Dubrovnik-Neretva Region (Croatia) said that the EU is under threat, especially in lesser developed areas because of depopulation and brain drain. He added "One possible answer is effective cohesion policy. It is very good that CoR continues to support cohesion policy within the MFF, but this is not sufficient. We must look for new solutions. The war in Ukraine shows how important it is for each country to be self-sufficient in this regard."
Željko Turk, Mayor of the City of Zaprešić (Croatia) said that many workers need re-skilling and upskilling. "Cohesion policy and the Just Transition Fund are key to aid this. It is time for additional capacity-building at the EU level to allow young people to be in the focus of our attention."
Mariusz Frankowski, Councillor of the capital city of Warsaw (Poland) spoke on the need to introduce systemic solutions to allow regions and cities to keep talent in the national market. "We must take steps to encourage people to return to home markets/countries, particularly those who want to open start-ups in the most important sectors. We need access to European funds. To innovative companies this can become a significant barrier."
Adrián Ariel Zittelli, Director-General for European Union Affairs for the Region of Murcia (Spain) said "Investing in people and vocational training is a key element to boost the competitiveness of our companies through the development of quality talent and professional skills.”
Jozef Viskupic, Chairman of Trnava Self – Governing Region (Slovakia) said "Talents are the most important building blocks of economic growth. Brain drain limits social progress and the competitiveness of the local region. In our region we are focusing on upskilling in the automotive sector, as well as promoting interregional cooperation in specific sectors."