Europe’s demographic decline and widening skills and labour shortages are already creating major constraints for employers, and re-skilling alone will not be enough. The brief argues that more proactive immigration policies, including pathways for study and work, will be needed to sustain innovation and competitiveness, while partner countries in the Southern Mediterranean and wider MENA region face their own pressures, notably youth unemployment alongside population growth.

Against this backdrop, the publication examines the EU’s Pact for the Mediterranean (released 16 October 2025) as a possible framework to boost skills development and labour mobility between the EU and partner countries.

It outlines the Pact’s main structure (three pillars, including investment in people via education and skills, economic integration, and migration management), highlights proposed initiatives (including expanded Erasmus+ mobility, a Mediterranean University, reinforced TVET, and tools such as the MED Skills Tracker), and discusses practical and political constraints that could shape implementation from 2026, including legal frameworks, recognition of qualifications, and the need to align skills investment with future priorities such as the green transition.