Assessment of the European Union’s capacity to accept refugees with descriptive characteristics of migration waves

Abstract

For many years, the issue of Ukrainians migrating to other countries has been one of the most pressing issues in modern Ukraine. However, on 24 February 2022, this problem reached unprecedented proportions. The full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops has led to a phenomenon that the country has not seen since World War II – a multimillion migration of the population. The first countries on the path of Ukrainians fleeing the war were, admittedly, the neighbouring European countries that share borders with Ukraine. And then other EU countries and the world. The recipient countries suddenly faced a large-scale problem of being able to accept and provide aid to millions of Ukrainians. The purpose of this study was to formulate an assessment of the level of the European Union’s ability to overcome the socio-economic challenge caused by the massive migration crisis. To fulfil this purpose, several general scientific methods were used – analysis, synthesis, and generalisation, as well as elements of special scientific methods of sociological observation and expert assessment. The study found how quickly and orderly the EU countries responded to the powerful migration wave; which countries host the largest number of migrants; what is the biggest problem for migrants in the EU; and how the migration wave may affect the entire EU economy. The findings of this study may be useful in conducting further sociological research on both the current stage of the existing migration crisis and the study of general migration processes in the historical perspective. Furthermore, the analysis of the current experience of the EU countries helps to predict the algorithm of necessary actions by the authorities in similar situations in the future, as well as to provide practical recommendations to Ukrainians today