Building Walls Won't Fill Europe's Labour Shortages

Europe is growing older while much of the developing world is growing younger. Yet at the very moment when the continent needs migrant workers to sustain its economies, it is adopting one of the toughest migration reforms in its history. The European Union's Migration and Asylum Pact, which entered into force on 12 June 2026, seeks to restore order to migration governance. The question is whether it can do so without sacrificing the very principles on which modern migration systems depend: legality, fairness, and human dignity.

The new Pact introduces mandatory screening of irregular arrivals; expanded biometric registration through Eurodac, allowing authorities to collect and share more comprehensive biometric information to identify migrants, process asylum claims, and accelerate border procedures; and stronger return mechanisms. While these measures may improve migration management, they cannot substitute for well-functioning legal migration systems.

The ambition is understandable. Governments have a legitimate responsibility to manage their borders, combat migrant smuggling, and maintain public confidence in their immigration systems. No migration system can function effectively without clear rules and orderly processes.

Yet migration policy should ultimately be judged not only by how efficiently it prevents irregular arrivals or returns unsuccessful asylum applicants but also by how effectively it protects human dignity, expands legal pathways, and responds to the economic realities driving migration. If implemented without these complementary pillars, the Pact risks becoming remembered less as a framework for migration management than as another symbol of Europe's growing fortress mentality.

For countries like Bangladesh—whose economy and millions of households depend on labour migration—the implications are profound.

Bangladesh is one of the world's leading labour-sending countries. More than 15 million Bangladeshis have migrated overseas for employment over the past five decades, and in 2025 alone, more than one million workers left the country in search of opportunities abroad. Their contribution extends far beyond individual households. According to the IOM World Migration Report 2026, Bangladesh is the world's eighth-largest remittance recipient, receiving over USD 30 billion in remittances in 2025. These transfers strengthen foreign exchange reserves, support millions of families, and have become an indispensable pillar of the national economy.

While the Gulf states remain the primary destination for Bangladeshi workers, Europe is increasingly emerging as a strategic alternative. Aging populations, shrinking workforces, and persistent labour shortages across construction, healthcare, agriculture, logistics, hospitality, and manufacturing mean that migration is no longer simply a humanitarian or political issue; it is an economic imperative.

This presents an opportunity that should not be overlooked.

Europe's demographic future suggests that migration will remain an economic necessity rather than a political choice. The European Commission projects a steadily declining working-age population over the coming decades, while employers across the continent already struggle to fill vacancies in healthcare, engineering, transport, agriculture, information technology, and the green economy. The Commission itself now recognizes that expanding legal migration pathways is essential to maintaining Europe's competitiveness and sustaining long-term economic growth.

Restricting irregular migration without expanding safe and accessible pathways to the EU risks reinforcing the very smuggling networks governments seek to dismantle. People rarely embark on dangerous journeys because they are unaware of the risks. The Mediterranean remains one of the world's deadliest migration routes, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) continues to document thousands of migrant deaths and disappearances each year. Most migrants understand these dangers. What they often lack are realistic, affordable, and accessible legal pathways through which they can pursue the same aspirations safely and lawfully in the EU.

Recognizing persistent labour shortages, the European Commission has introduced initiatives such as the EU Talent Pool to connect aspiring migrant workers with employers facing critical skills and labour gaps. However, these efforts remain limited in scope and have yet to create meaningful opportunities for workers from countries such as Bangladesh. Scaling up these initiatives through bilateral skills and mobility partnerships would advance both Europe's economic interests and its objective of reducing irregular migration.

Migration is often portrayed as a crisis. In reality, it is one of humanity's oldest and most enduring responses to inequality, conflict, demographic change, and economic opportunity. The challenge is not migration itself, but how governments choose to manage it.

The EU Migration and Asylum Pact has the potential to bring greater order to one of the world's most complex policy areas. But order alone is not enough. A truly sustainable migration system must balance security with solidarity, sovereignty with international responsibility, and efficiency with humanity.

For Bangladesh and Europe alike, the future of migration should not be defined by higher walls or faster returns. It should be measured by whether people can move safely, work fairly, and live with dignity. If the Pact succeeds in creating that balance, it may become a model for modern migration governance. If it does not, it risks becoming another missed opportunity in a world that needs cooperation more than ever.