by Isilda Mara, Lead Expert of the new ETF Skills Lab Network Community on Migration
Introduction
As the European Union (EU) struggles with persistent skilled labour shortages amid demographic ageing and rapid digitalisation, the need for innovative workforce development strategies has become increasingly urgent. Traditional labour migration policies face growing constraints due to political sensitivities, regulatory complexities and socio-economic costs for both sending and receiving countries.
Key migrant-sending regions - the Western Balkans (WB6), Eastern Partnership (EAP) and North Africa - have a pool of skilled professionals facing limited local career opportunities and strong incentives to emigrate. What is more, labour and skills shortages are looming in some of these countries which have already high emigration rates.
Against this backdrop, virtual labour mobility is an emerging concept in which “cross-border provision of services can be provided remotely as such allowing skilled professionals in non-EU countries to work for EU clients and employers without physically relocating”. (Baldwin, R. & Dingel, J., 2021) .
Can this model serve as both a strategic approach and a viable alternative to traditional skilled migration capable of aligning EU labour market needs with regional development priorities? Does it offer tangible economic benefits that can mitigate the negative effects of brain drain, and reinforce the broader geopolitical and economic interests of EU Member States?
The rationale for virtual labour mobility
This model can be a game changer by enabling ‘migration without movement’, where talent is connected across borders via digital platforms. For the EU, it provides access to cost-effective, highly skilled workers while avoiding the logistical, legal and political challenges associated with visa-based migration. Meanwhile, sending regions benefit from the ability to retain talent, generate foreign income and build digital capacity, without the disruption of community displacement or long-term loss of human capital.
The economic logic behind this approach is reinforced by structural trends. Many of the neighbouring countries of the EU have a young, skilled workforce that is often underemployed, particularly in ICT, business services and engineering. At the same time, EU labour markets are increasingly experiencing shortages in these fields – as well as others – exacerbated by demographic ageing and the slow pace of workforce re-skilling.
In the future, EU Member States will be faced with a growing demand for digitally intensive and knowledge-based occupations, (see: Skills for a stronger Europe, CEDEFOP) and this is especially true for smaller Member States with limited domestic talent pools. As such, virtual labour mobility could enable such countries to access neighbouring talent with minimal friction, reducing reliance on intra-EU competition and costly relocation schemes.
Unlocking the potential of virtual labour mobility
Empirical evidence on the recent trends in skilled migration and online work only strengthens the case for virtual labour mobility (Mara 2022; Astrov et al. 2023). It has been shown that between 2015 and 2019, EU countries were net recipients of skilled professionals, particularly from neighbouring regions such as the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partnership, and North Africa. These regions, in turn, have experienced significant outflows of high-skilled workers per capita, reinforcing long-standing concerns about brain drain and the loss of human capital.
At the same time, data from 2020–2021 highlights global engagement in the online labour market. The EU and the US exhibit the highest per capita demand for online freelance services, while countries such as Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, Moldova, and Ukraine lead in per capita supply of online workers (Mara 2022; Astrov et al. 2023).
Furthermore, an ETF report on new forms of work (ETF, 2024) highlights the rise of platform work in EU neighbouring countries, emphasising the increasing relevance of digital work arrangements. Though, while platform work primarily focuses on short-term freelance opportunities, virtual labour mobility can offer structured long-term employment, as such providing better employment opportunities as well as career paths for skilled professionals in non-EU countries.
The trends above reveal a natural yet underutilised opportunity for virtual labour mobility. They illustrate that (i) the EU is already attracting skilled professionals from neighbouring countries and (ii) a thriving digital labour market exists in the EU neighbouring regions, which could be further expanded through targeted policy support. EU businesses are actively seeking digital services that skilled professionals in neighbouring regions are well-positioned to provide.
By harnessing this untapped potential and fostering structured remote work arrangements, the EU could address labour shortages while minimising additional emigration from fragile labour markets. In doing so, this approach would be beneficial both for receiving and sending countries.
From the perspective of receiving countries in the EU, the model of virtual labour mobility expands access to a flexible, skilled labour force capable of meeting high-tech and service-sector demand. It also helps mitigate the demographic drag on growth and offers SMEs, start-ups and public institutions a more affordable and scalable way to source talent.
From the perspective of sending countries in the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partnership and North Africa, virtual mobility generates foreign income, enhances digital and language skills, and supports local job creation. Most importantly, it reduces the need for physical migration, thereby retaining long-term developmental capacity and facilitating social cohesion. Rather than fuelling a permanent talent exodus, it promotes brain circulation, allowing professionals to contribute to both the origin and destination countries.
Recommendations and ideas for the way forward
To fully leverage virtual labour mobility, policy interventions should focus on five strategic areas: a) Establish legal clarity on taxation, social protection and employment status for cross-border remote work; b) Invest in digital infrastructure in partner countries, make them part of the EU Digital Agenda and support them through European digital programmes; c) Enhance training and certification, and promote joint upskilling programmes in digital skills, EU languages and remote work readiness - as envisaged by the EU Talent Partnerships; d) Create online talent-matching platforms and develop EU-supported marketplaces for firms to source talent from vetted professionals in WB6, EAP and North Africa; and e) Incentivise private-sector engagement and offer fiscal or regulatory incentives for EU companies that hire remotely from neighbouring regions.
In a nutshell, virtual labour mobility is not just a workaround for migration barriers—it is a structural opportunity for the EU to align its economic needs with the aspirations of its neighbours. As Mara 2022 and Astrov et al. 2023 illustrate, the EU is already benefiting from skilled workers and services from its periphery. As such, by formalising and expanding a ‘virtual mobility’ model - through policy, investment and partnership - the EU can strengthen its digital economy, reduce geopolitical vulnerabilities and offer a more balanced migration model that is beneficial both for the EU and Its neighbouring regions and can be a game-changer for skilled migration.
References
Baldwin, Richard, and Jonathan I. Dingel. "Telemigration and development: On the offshorability of teleworkable jobs." Robots and AI. Routledge, 2022. 150-179.
European Training Foundation (2024). “New forms of work and platform work in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean”, https://www.etf.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/publications/new-forms-work-and-platform-work-southern-and-eastern
Mara, Isilda “Flight and migration, brain drain and population aging”, OeNB 2022 Conference on European Economic Integration 2022, Conference on European Economic Integration 2022 - Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB)
Vasily Astrov, Richard Grieveson, Christian Hanelt, Branimir Jovanović, Artem Kochnev, Miriam Kosmehl, Isilda Mara, Markus Overdiek, Thieß Petersen, Olga Pindyuk, Oliver Reiter, Nina Vujanović and Stefani Weiss “Keeping friends closer: Why the EU should address new geoeconomic realities and get its neighbours back in the fold”, Joint Study, No. 2023-02, Vienna, February 2023
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