EU Talent Pool implementation and Member State participation

H.E. Ambassador Kyllike SILLASTE-ELLING

Permanent Representation of Estonia to the EU

Rue Guimard, 11-13

1040 Brussels

BELGIUM

[email protected]

Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË – Tel. +32 22991111

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EMPLOYMENT, SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND INCLUSION

The Director-General

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR MIGRATION AND HOME AFFAIRS

The Director-General

Brussels EMPL.E.1/BV/hb (2026) 4147622

Subject: EU Talent Pool implementation and Member State participation

Your Excellency,

On 30 March 2026, the co-legislators adopted the Regulation establishing an EU Talent

Pool. The Regulation will enter into force 20 days after the publication on the Official

Journal.

The EU Talent Pool will be the first Union-wide IT platform designed to facilitate the

matching between EU employers and third-country nationals residing outside the EU who

are seeking employment opportunities in the EU. By targeting EU-wide shortage

occupations, it will directly support Member States in tackling their specific labour force

gaps. It will also provide information on recruitment and immigration procedures, and

provide fair recruitment safeguards to ensure a level-playing field in the labour market.

The Commission will start working on the development of the IT platform and all other

necessary arrangements, with a view to deliver the EU Talent Pool platform before 2028.

i) Rules on Member States’ participation in the EU Talent Pool

The Regulation establishes that Member States’ participation is voluntary (Article 3).

Member States may notify the EU Talent Pool Secretariat, established in the Commission,

of their intention to participate at any time. Member States’ participation takes effects 9

months after the notification to allow the Commission and the Member States to work on

all necessary arrangements.

2

Participating Member States will receive dedicated funding support to set up and run the

National Contact Points as well as to ensure interoperability with the national systems.

ii) Notification to the Commission by the Member States interested in participating

In order to effectively launch the process of development of the platform and ensure a

timely delivery, the Commission would like to know whether your Member State would

be interested in joining the EU Talent Pool at this stage or potentially in the near future.

Please note that this does not prejudge the right of the Member States to notify their

intention to join the EU Talent Pool at any time, as provided for in the Regulation.

Therefore, we invite you to communicate to the Commission by 15 May 2026:

1) The intention to participate in the EU Talent Pool;

2) The appointment of your Member State representatives for:

• The Steering Group,which should be composed of two representatives from

each Member State, one expert in the field of employment and one expert in the

field of migration, alongside representatives from the Commission and social

partners (Article 9). Member States may also nominate two alternate members.

• The National Contact Point: Each participating Member State shall designate

an entity which shall act as its National Contact Point. Participating Member

States shall ensure that their National Contact Point is composed of experts in

the fields of employment and immigration from relevant national authorities

(Article 10). When notifying the designated entity, please also provide the

relevant contact details.

Member States are kindly invited to send this information to the functional mailbox EU-

[email protected].

iii) Exchange of views with the Member States on the IT development and the EU

Talent Pool implementation

The Commission considers essential to involve Member States as much as possible in the

discussions on the design of the IT platform – to ensure that it is developed according to

their needs, – and on the setting up of the National Contact Points and the access to the

funding support.

For this purpose, the EU Talent Pool Secretariat will convene an online inaugural meeting

of the Steering Group at the beginning of June 2026. You will receive further information

soon.

All Member States are encouraged to join the meeting: 1) those having notified their

intention to participate will join with the representatives nominated for the Steering Group;

and 2) those having not yet notified their intention to participate will be able to join as

observers with representatives nominated ad hoc for the purpose of this meeting.

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to reach out to EU-TALENT-

[email protected].

We would like to express our sincere appreciation for your support to this initiative, and

we look forward to receiving the confirmation of participation and nominations for the

relevant representatives.

3

Yours sincerely,

Mario NAVA Beate GMINDER

c.c.: D. Dion, A. Vella, A. Luchici, S. Grieco, A. Carvalho, C. Ghighi, B.

Debussche Valkovicova, J. Benk, V. Rimondini

Electronically signed on 16/04/2026 20:16 (UTC+02) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121

H.E. Ambassador Kyllike SILLASTE-ELLING

Permanent Representation of Estonia to the EU

Rue Guimard, 11-13

1040 Brussels

BELGIUM

[email protected]

Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË – Tel. +32 22991111

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EMPLOYMENT, SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND INCLUSION

The Director-General

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR MIGRATION AND HOME AFFAIRS

The Director-General

Brussels EMPL.E.1/BV/hb (2026) 4147622

Subject: EU Talent Pool implementation and Member State participation

Your Excellency,

On 30 March 2026, the co-legislators adopted the Regulation establishing an EU Talent

Pool. The Regulation will enter into force 20 days after the publication on the Official

Journal.

The EU Talent Pool will be the first Union-wide IT platform designed to facilitate the

matching between EU employers and third-country nationals residing outside the EU who

are seeking employment opportunities in the EU. By targeting EU-wide shortage

occupations, it will directly support Member States in tackling their specific labour force

gaps. It will also provide information on recruitment and immigration procedures, and

provide fair recruitment safeguards to ensure a level-playing field in the labour market.

The Commission will start working on the development of the IT platform and all other

necessary arrangements, with a view to deliver the EU Talent Pool platform before 2028.

i) Rules on Member States’ participation in the EU Talent Pool

The Regulation establishes that Member States’ participation is voluntary (Article 3).

Member States may notify the EU Talent Pool Secretariat, established in the Commission,

of their intention to participate at any time. Member States’ participation takes effects 9

months after the notification to allow the Commission and the Member States to work on

all necessary arrangements.

2

Participating Member States will receive dedicated funding support to set up and run the

National Contact Points as well as to ensure interoperability with the national systems.

ii) Notification to the Commission by the Member States interested in participating

In order to effectively launch the process of development of the platform and ensure a

timely delivery, the Commission would like to know whether your Member State would

be interested in joining the EU Talent Pool at this stage or potentially in the near future.

Please note that this does not prejudge the right of the Member States to notify their

intention to join the EU Talent Pool at any time, as provided for in the Regulation.

Therefore, we invite you to communicate to the Commission by 15 May 2026:

1) The intention to participate in the EU Talent Pool;

2) The appointment of your Member State representatives for:

• The Steering Group,which should be composed of two representatives from

each Member State, one expert in the field of employment and one expert in the

field of migration, alongside representatives from the Commission and social

partners (Article 9). Member States may also nominate two alternate members.

• The National Contact Point: Each participating Member State shall designate

an entity which shall act as its National Contact Point. Participating Member

States shall ensure that their National Contact Point is composed of experts in

the fields of employment and immigration from relevant national authorities

(Article 10). When notifying the designated entity, please also provide the

relevant contact details.

Member States are kindly invited to send this information to the functional mailbox EU-

[email protected].

iii) Exchange of views with the Member States on the IT development and the EU

Talent Pool implementation

The Commission considers essential to involve Member States as much as possible in the

discussions on the design of the IT platform – to ensure that it is developed according to

their needs, – and on the setting up of the National Contact Points and the access to the

funding support.

For this purpose, the EU Talent Pool Secretariat will convene an online inaugural meeting

of the Steering Group at the beginning of June 2026. You will receive further information

soon.

All Member States are encouraged to join the meeting: 1) those having notified their

intention to participate will join with the representatives nominated for the Steering Group;

and 2) those having not yet notified their intention to participate will be able to join as

observers with representatives nominated ad hoc for the purpose of this meeting.

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to reach out to EU-TALENT-

[email protected].

We would like to express our sincere appreciation for your support to this initiative, and

we look forward to receiving the confirmation of participation and nominations for the

relevant representatives.

3

Yours sincerely,

Mario NAVA Beate GMINDER

c.c.: D. Dion, A. Vella, A. Luchici, S. Grieco, A. Carvalho, C. Ghighi, B.

Debussche Valkovicova, J. Benk, V. Rimondini

Electronically signed on 16/04/2026 20:16 (UTC+02) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121