Öz This paper deals with the success of Europe in the global war for talent. While the first part of the paper explores the global structural changes that influence the war for talent and the limitations of EU policy in attracting talent, looking at the European Union as a whole as well as examining immigration policies in individual regions and countries, the second part explores EU policy that has been introduced to ‘fight’ the war for talent, such as the Blue Card and Scientific Visa. Finally, the paper tries to find an answer to the question how Europe fares against its main competitors: Australia, Canada and the US. Much of this discussion will be focused on the ability of the European Union to attract highly skilled migrants.