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The Governance of Irregular Migrant Work: Policy Clusters and Regional Convergences
7 October 2025

The report investigates the governance arrangements underpinning the national policies addressing irregular migrant work in the Farm to Fork sector. The empirical findings reveal national governments’ lack of comprehensive strategies in this regard, their unpreparedness to address the growing platformisation of the field, and their inability to tackle the link between workers’ conditions, labour shortages, and food security. Nevertheless, regional clusters in policy approaches emerge: Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain and Morocco) are the only ones who enacted regulatisations, albeit of different types; Eastern European countries (Poland and Ukraine) appear oriented towards (de)regulation, promoting the liberalisation of foreigners’ access to the labour market; Northern and Central European countries (Germany and The Netherlands) show a tendency towards sanctioning employers with the aim of ensuring fair competition.

edited by:
Irene Ponzo
Researcher
THEMATIC AREAS
PROJECT
TAG
The Governance of Irregular Migrant Work: Policy Clusters and Regional Convergences
7 October 2025

The report investigates the governance arrangements underpinning the national policies addressing irregular migrant work in the Farm to Fork sector. The empirical findings reveal national governments’ lack of comprehensive strategies in this regard, their unpreparedness to address the growing platformisation of the field, and their inability to tackle the link between workers’ conditions, labour shortages, and food security. Nevertheless, regional clusters in policy approaches emerge: Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain and Morocco) are the only ones who enacted regulatisations, albeit of different types; Eastern European countries (Poland and Ukraine) appear oriented towards (de)regulation, promoting the liberalisation of foreigners’ access to the labour market; Northern and Central European countries (Germany and The Netherlands) show a tendency towards sanctioning employers with the aim of ensuring fair competition.

edited by:
Irene Ponzo
Researcher
THEMATIC AREAS
PROJECT
TAG
The Governance of Irregular Migrant Work: Policy Clusters and Regional Convergences
7 October 2025

The report investigates the governance arrangements underpinning the national policies addressing irregular migrant work in the Farm to Fork sector. The empirical findings reveal national governments’ lack of comprehensive strategies in this regard, their unpreparedness to address the growing platformisation of the field, and their inability to tackle the link between workers’ conditions, labour shortages, and food security. Nevertheless, regional clusters in policy approaches emerge: Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain and Morocco) are the only ones who enacted regulatisations, albeit of different types; Eastern European countries (Poland and Ukraine) appear oriented towards (de)regulation, promoting the liberalisation of foreigners’ access to the labour market; Northern and Central European countries (Germany and The Netherlands) show a tendency towards sanctioning employers with the aim of ensuring fair competition.

edited by:
Irene Ponzo
Researcher
THEMATIC AREAS
PROJECT
TAG
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