Between Rhetoric and Necessity: Labour Migration Governance in Poland and Hungary

Over the past decade, Central and Eastern Europe has emerged as a key region shaping contemporary labour migration patterns within the European Union. Poland and Hungary occupy a particularly distinctive position within this landscape, combining increasingly restrictive political narratives on migration particularly regarding asylum and irregular migration, with a growing reliance on third-country workers. This article offers a comparative analysis of labour migration governance in Poland and Hungary, focusing on the interaction between regulatory frameworks, institutional practices and public discourse. Drawing on legal acts, policy documents, statistical data and academic literature, the study examines how both countries respond to demographic decline, labour shortages and economic competitiveness while simultaneously articulating security-driven or migration-sceptical narratives. The analysis demonstrates that, despite notable differences in political communication and public justification, Poland and Hungary increasingly converge in their practical regulatory solutions, expanding access to labour markets for third-country nationals through selective and sector-specific admission mechanisms. This article argues that both states represent variants of a shared functional model of labour migration governance, characterised by a persistent policy–rhetoric gap. While migration control remains central to political messaging, economic imperatives drive a gradual but consistent opening of labour markets. By adopting a focused two-country comparison, this article highlights broader regional patterns of regulatory adaptation and narrative tension that are likely to shape the future of labour migration governance in Central and Eastern Europe.