Political scientist Julia Rone has received an ERC Starting Grant for research into the role of labour migration in the European digital transition. For the first time, she is systematically investigating how migrant workers at various levels of the digital technology sector contribute to European ambitions for digital strategic autonomy.
Europe is investing billions in artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, semiconductors, and data centres, among other things. At the same time, the demand for labour is increasing. In 2025, France relaxed its so-called Talent Passport to attract international specialists, while the European Union is working on instruments such as the Talent Pool to recruit workers from third countries. The plans to substantially expand European data centre capacity also illustrate the scale of the challenge.
Rone: “The discussion on European digital autonomy is therefore not just about technology, capital, and data. Labor migration is also a crucial prerequisite for enabling that autonomy. After all, large digital infrastructure projects depend on workers: from highly educated AI specialists and engineers to technical workers with intermediate and lower levels of education who are involved, for example, in the construction and maintenance of data centers and other infrastructure.”
Migration as the missing link
Until now, scientific research has paid relatively little attention to the way in which migrant workers help make European digital infrastructure possible. Rone aims to fill this gap by studying labor migration across the entire technological ‘stack’: from chips and networks to cloud and AI.
An important premise of Rone’s project is that digital labor must be viewed more broadly than just the highly educated worker. According to her, the contribution of migrant workers with intermediate and lower levels of education often remains underexposed, even though these groups are also essential for the development, operation, and expansion of digital infrastructure.
Rone is also mapping out how the rules and practices surrounding digital labor migration are established. In doing so, she examines the interplay between policymakers, businesses, trade unions, and employees. For instance, she investigates how European and national labor and migration regimes are changing under the influence of the growing demand for personnel in the digital economy.
Societal consequences
The results can offer a new perspective on two major political issues that are usually treated separately: migration and digitalization. “The European commitment to digital strategic autonomy cannot be viewed in isolation from the workforce that actually builds and maintains the necessary infrastructure,” says Rone.
As European digital growth becomes increasingly dependent on migrant workers, questions arise regarding working conditions, social protection, and the position of employees who often work on temporary or vulnerable contracts. At the same time, international recruitment offers companies a quick way to address staff shortages, alongside the longer-term strategy of training and reskilling employees within Europe.
The ERC Starting Grant enables Julia Rone to systematically investigate these developments. Her research thereby reveals the labor dependencies underlying Europe’s pursuit of digital autonomy and can contribute to a better-informed debate on how that transition takes shape socially and economically.