The EU has opened its first Legal Access Office in a partner country

Brussels – Today (19 February), the European Union inaugurated its first European Legal Access Office in a partner country. It did so in New Delhi, India, during the artificial intelligence summit currently taking place in the Indian capital. This is no coincidence: the EU aims to employ at least 20 million people in the ICT sector by 2030, but digital skills are in short supply, and Brussels is looking beyond its borders to fill the gap. The Office’s objective is to “facilitate safe, legal, and well-informed migration and mobility from India to EU Member States in the ICT sector.” 

The headquarters was inaugurated by Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India. Representatives of EU Member States also attended the event. A “portal”, as Virkkunen described it, through which “the European Union will strengthen its ability to attract talent and draw Indian students, researchers, and professionals in the ICT sector.” India is the most populous country in the world, and European companies “will be able to draw on this larger pool of talent.” 

In practice, the European Legal Access Office will support Indian students, researchers and professionals in the sector by “providing clear and reliable information on mobility pathways and the various requirements in terms of skills and qualifications in all 27 EU Member States,” according to a note of the EU executive. At the same time, it will support employers and higher education institutions based in the EU “so that they can connect with Indian talent.” The Access Office in India will be complemented by a support office in the EU, and a digital tool “will serve as a one-stop shop for clear and reliable information on mobility opportunities for work, study, and research.” 

The initiative was announced on 27 January during the EU-India summit, which saw the signing of what Ursula von der Leyen called “the mother of all trade agreements.” This regular migration pathway, which aligns entirely with the needs of EU Member States, is a model that the EU may aim to replicate in other partner countries. In this case, the aim is to catch up to achieve one of the digital targets for the decade: ensuring that at least 20 million ICT specialists are employed across the 27 Member States. Engineers, software developers, data analysts. To date, there are just over 10 million.