intra-European Migration Research Articles

Вірогідні наслідки євроінтеграції для розвитку міграційних процесів в Україні

Population losses caused by the war, in particular forced migration abroad, are an obvious challenge to the stability of Ukraine, and can become a serious brake on its post-war recovery and development. Future EU membership carries with it the risk of further departure of citizens who will have the right to live, work, and study freely on the territory of a united Europe. In order to find adequate answers to possible problems in a timely manner, it is necessary to try to identify the most likely direction of the development of the migration situation in the context of European integration, which is the purpose of this article. Its novelty lies in the substantiation of the possible volumes of migration, its dynamics, composition and consequences under the influence of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. The analysis is based on the most widely used theoretical approaches to explaining migration, data on intra-European migration movements after previous EU enlargements, as well as the migration experience of Ukrainians in recent decades. When processing factual and analytical material, historical, logical, comparative methods, the method of scientific abstraction are used. Both theoretical considerations and actual data indicate a natural short-term intensification of migration of the population of the countries joining the EU. As a result of the war, the destruction of the economy, unemployment and impoverishment of the population, the exodus from Ukraine may be even larger. Additional ground for such an assumption is the experience of labor migration, which has been used by Ukrainians since the 1990s as a strategy for survival in crisis conditionst. At the same time, joining the EU, as it was proven by previous enlargements, contributes to the increase of labor productivity, the activation of the economy, the inflow of foreign investments and, as a result, the gradual increase of wages and the welfare of the population, which in the context of migration reduces the motivation to leave and determines the return. Citizens of Ukraine, as a democratic state, will independently decide whether to stay in the country, leave it or return to its territory. At the same time, the state can provide institutional and informational support to migrants, protect the interests of its citizens abroad, and create conditions for return. The development of migration policy taking into account the perspective of Ukraine’s accession to the EU is extremely relevant not only from a scientific, but also from a practical point of view.

International Mobility and the “Academic” Ethos of Women in the Global Contemporary Art World: Double-Edged Means of Gaining Recognition

This article draws on a research study of intra-European migrations by Spanish artists and artist intermediaries in order to investigate the specific ways in which women build careers within the globalized contemporary art world. The uncertainties involved in pursuing both an artistic career and international migration frequently lead to “academic” behaviours among women in the population studied. Strategies such as turning to international programmes for artistic creation and international mobility and accumulating professional certifications facilitate these women’s career entries and allow them to aspire to internationalization, but such strategies may be counter-productive in the long term. This article shows how the academic professional ethos commonly found among women artists carries the risk of trapping them in gendered stereotypes and pushing them either towards dominated positions in the contemporary art world or professional bifurcation.

Securing Retirement Through Intra-European Migration: Older Romanian Women’s Transnational Struggle for Formal Social Protection

Securing Retirement Through Intra-European Migration: Older Romanian Women’s Transnational Struggle for Formal Social Protection

The Perceived Importance of Language Skills in Europe—The Case of Swedish Migrants in France

In a European context, where member states of the European Union share a common language policy, multilingualism and foreign language (FL) learning are strongly promoted. The goal is that citizens learn two FLs in addition to their first language(s) (L1). However, it is unclear to what extent the multilingual policy is relevant in people’s lives, at a time when the English language is established as a lingua franca. This survey-based study contributes insights into the relevance of the EU multilingual policy in an intra-European migration context, by focusing on Swedish migrants (n = 199) in France, who are L1 speakers of Swedish. We investigated the perceived importance of skills in FL French, FL English, and L1 Swedish, for professional and personal life. The quantitative analyses showed that participants perceive skills in French and in English to be equally important for professional life, whereas skills in Swedish were perceived to be less important. For personal life, skills in French were perceived as the most important, followed by skills in English, and then Swedish. In conclusion, the European multilingual language policy appears to be reflected in Europeans’ lives, at least in the case of Swedish migrants in France.

Editorial Introduction: Relocating East–West Migration and (Im)Mobilities

This introductory paper sets the scene for the special issue. It describes the rationale for the collection – which has to do with the multiple geopolitical, economic and health-related events of the past 30 years – and summarises some of the overarching changes in East–West migration dynamics within and beyond Europe over this period. However, this introductory article and the nine papers that follow also challenge and nuance the predominant East–West framing of recent intra-European migration. They identify numerous other trends: return migration and immigration into CEE countries, intra-CEE migrations and a range of issues relating to the impacts of migration on children and youth.

A Quest for Passion: Understanding Precarious Migration of Young Highly Qualified EU Citizens as Lived Neoliberal Subjectivity

In critical social research the concept of employability is associated with the neoliberal imperative that every individual should become a self-responsible, self-improving and enterprising subject in the increasingly precarious labour markets. Despite the prominence of employability in policies governing young people’s intra-European migration, few studies examine migrants’ subjectivities in this context. Building on narrative data, this article adds to our understanding on how neoliberal subject formations function as an instrument for governing young EU migrants’ lives in conditions of precarious labour. Central to this understanding, it develops the concept of passion to depict young migrants’ quest for obtaining work with opportunities for self-development and self-realisation. This concept contributes to the study of highly qualified intra-EU migration by allowing critical analysis of meanings given to mobility in relation to work; by highlighting dynamics of (self-)precarisation in this context; and by advancing debates on social-structural inequality among EU migrants pursuing their quest for passion.

DIASPORA START-UP PROGRAMS AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES: EVIDENCE FROM ROMANIA

Romania is one of the main countries of origin for intra-European migration. The national authorities recently implemented the first major program —Diaspora Start-up—to support the business initiatives of Romanian citizens who live abroad and who are interested in opening a business in their home country. This scheme was developed in parallel with a broader program—Romania Start-up Plus—which was designed to support the entrepreneurial initiatives of individuals residing inside the country. These programs have already supported over 8,600 non-agricultural start-ups created in urban areas. This study conducted a comparative analysis of the two programs based on different criteria and explored their regional dynamics regarding the emergence of start-ups and the prevalence of creative industries companies. The analysis highlighted important regional differences within Romania and revealed that the Diaspora Start-up program registered a statistically significant lower level of businesses registered as part of the creative industries. The results support the formulation of a hypothesis of negative selectivity within the programs designed to support Romanian migrants’ entrepreneurship, but further research is needed to test this hypothesis.

A Regretful Journey Home: Albanian Return Migration in the Wake of the Global Financial Crisis of 2008

Despite occurring almost a decade ago, the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis continue to influence the lives of many people today. Intra-European migration literature, for example, suggests that migration patterns were reshaped in its aftermath and emerging literature details mobilities and experiences of migrants in destination societies post-crisis. To date, less research documents the experiences of individuals who, in the wake of the crisis, were forced to abandon their migratory endeavours and had to navigate returning to their country of origin in a particularly challenging socio-economic context. Utilising in-depth interviews and family case studies with purposively recruited Albanian return migrants who had lived in Greece and Italy pre-crisis, the current study highlights how conditions in both destination and origin countries impacted return experiences. Findings illustrate an adverse interplay of circumstances that led to the unsettled return and portray a perturbing fluidity in the lives of return migrants who appear overcome by a sense of ‘double failure’ with regard to both outward migration and subsequent return to their country of origin.

Transnationalism and Settlement of Latvian Emigrants in the Nordic Countries

<p class="Abstract">The intra-European migration flows have fostered debates about the intentions of migrants to settle in their destination country or return to their countries of origin. Based on a quantitative analysis of survey data (<em>N</em> = 1391), this article presents a typology of migration patterns among migrants from Latvia in the Nordic countries. Using two dimensions—attachment to the destination country and attachment to the country of origin—the article identifies and characterises the following four migration patterns: (1) bi-nationals, (2) settlers, (3) footloose migrants and (4) isolated migrants who focus on their country of origin and are willing to return (separated).

The Running Experiment - Intra-European Migration

The freedom of movement and residence within the European Union and Schengen states is considered by many as the greatest achievement of the UE. However, intra-European migration brings not only benefits but causes many problems and tensions to the extent that it is perceived as one of the main reasons for Brexit. The short analysis of advantages and disadvantages should provoke the long-overdue discussion regarding potential adjustments and regulation of the said freedom.

Imagined mobilities and the materiality of migration: the search for ‘anchored lives’ in post-recession Europe

ABSTRACT The dichotomy between mobility and migration became a disputed conceptual distinction during the expansion of European Free Movement between the 1990s and early 2000s. Then, mobility literature sought to open a new chapter in the study of contemporary human lives by theorising them as ‘liquid' and suggesting movement as their universalising feature. Intra-European migrants have been increasingly characterised by their ‘mobility spirit' and therefore as legally unconstrained, driven by individualised behaviours and engaged in temporary cross-border movements. Set in the backdrop of post-recession intra-European migration, this paper explores how migrants’ mobility spirit is being negotiated with the need to anchor their lives to stable relationships and to the attainment of financial security. It draws on interviews conducted with Italian young adults in London and shows how imagined projects of temporary mobility materialize into longer-term migration experiences where the search for anchored rather than liquid lives becomes more prominent. Henceforth, the analysis challenges the typified profile of EU movers by pointing at their quest for social and financial stability and by exposing their personal vulnerabilities while making the theoretical distinction between migration and mobility less relevant.

Does Migration Pay Off in Later Life? Income and Subjective Well-Being of Older Migrants in Europe

This study examines whether intra-European migration pays off in terms of income and subjective well-being (SWB) for migrants aged 50 + who are now growing old abroad and in what way their SWB is associated with their relative income position. Using panel data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe allows us to go beyond the classical comparison with the native reference group and draw on information about respondents who stayed in the place of origin (‘stayers’). Our findings indicate that migration does pay off in later life. Compared to similar stayers, migrants have higher income and higher SWB levels. Furthermore, we find that older migrants’ SWB is positively associated with their relative income position for those with an income above the income of both stayers in the origin and natives in the destination country.

Migrants at Work: Perspectives, Perceptions and New Connections

Migration – and the experiences of migrants – continue to occupy an important and controversial place in the scholarly and political debates on contemporary labour markets and societies. As new scenarios emerge at local, national and global levels, new insights and perspectives become necessary. The articles in this themed issue reflect the interest Work, Employment and Society has had in the topic of labour migrations and migrants at work for well over a decade and which led, for example, to the themed issue Migration at Work: Spaces, Borders and Boundaries in 32(5), 2018. Migration has of course been a prominent issue across the social sciences, and in recent years particularly in relation to the ‘refugee crisis’ of 2015 and to intra-European migration ahead of and in light of Brexit. The experiences of migrants from Eastern and Central Europe in the workplace, their overqualification and devaluing of their cultural capital, and their positioning within segmented labour markets have produced a number of articles in past issues (e.g. Ciupijus, 2011; Samaluk, 2016; Sirkeci et al., 2018) to which those in the current issue (Leschke and Weiss; Rydzik and Anitha) make an important addition. [...]

The long-term effect of intra-European migration on cognitive abilities in later life.

The study raises the question about the long-term effect of intra-European migration on cognitive abilities in later life. In contrast to previous research that compares migrants to natives of the destination country, this study uses stayers in the European origin countries as reference group for migrants who moved to another European country earlier in life and are now growing old abroad. Selection into migration is addressed methodologically by applying an instrumental variable approach. Using the Global Bilateral Migration Database to generate the country- and time-specific share of emigrants as instrument for migration, the results indicate that intra-European migration turns out to have a negative long-term effect on the level of cognitive abilities.

Health professional mobility in the WHO European Region and the WHO Global Code of Practice: data from the joint OECD/EUROSTAT/WHO-Europe questionnaire.

WHO Member States adopted the Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel 10 years ago. This study assesses adherence with the Code’s principles and its continuing relevance in the WHO Europe region with regards to international recruitment of health workers. Data from the joint OECD/EUROSTAT/WHO-Europe questionnaire from 2010 to 2018 are analyzed to determine trends in intra- and inter-regional mobility of foreign-trained doctors and nurses working in case study destination countries in Europe. In 2018, foreign-trained doctors and nurses comprised over a quarter of the physician workforce and 5% of the nursing workforce in five of eight and four of five case study countries, respectively. Since 2010, the proportion of foreign-trained nurses and doctors has risen faster than domestically trained professionals, with increased mobility driven by rising East-West and South-North intra-European migration, especially within the European Union. The number of nurses trained in developing countries but practising in case study countries declined by 26%. Although the number of doctors increased by 27%, this was driven by arrivals from countries experiencing conflict and volatility, suggesting countries generally are increasingly adhering to the Code’s principles on ethical recruitment. To support ethical recruitment practices and sustainable workforce development in the region, data collection and monitoring on health worker mobility should be improved.

Young Spanish au pairs in London: migration and gender tensions in the context of intra-EU mobilities

ABSTRACT This article explores the study of young Spanish au pairs in London within the context of intra-European migration following the 2008 financial crisis from an ethnographic, feminist and gender perspective. It contributes to a greater understanding of the ways in which the free movement of workers in the EU and the commodification of care work are linked to emerging dynamics of European (re)peripheralisation and the production of new forms of precarity. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2015 and 2017, it shows how the ambiguous, transient nature of the “au pair” category forces young female migrants to constantly renegotiate gender norms. Their experiences are shaped by gender norms that draw on the sexual division of labour to naturalize caregiving and by gender imaginaries of equal opportunities that challenge the gender order, as gender tensions intersect with the production of new forms of precarity that increase deregulation and heighten vulnerability.

Beyond the 2008 crisis? Tracing global social protection arrangements amongst onward Andean migrants in Belgium

ABSTRACT After the 2008 financial crisis, migrants were particularly affected by restrictive migratory policies as well as welfare state budgetary cuts in family allowances, pension rights and unemployment benefits. In this context, this contribution looks into the experiences of Andean migrants that have moved onwards from another EU state to Belgium while trying to counteract these policies. The author argues that depending on their gender, class and ethnic locations Andean migrants are able to construct different sets of global social protection arrangements that allow them to protect themselves and their family members in various countries across Europe and Latin America. Data draws from a multi-sited ethnography conducted during 20 months in Belgium, Colombia and Peru with 85 participants that included the Andean migrants themselves as well as their family members. The analysis contributes to the literature on onward Intra-European migration as well as studies on transnational social protection.

The Effect of Intra-European Migration on Cognitive Abilities in Later Life

English Abstract: The study raises the question about the long-term effect of intra-European migration on cognitive abilities in later life. In contrast to previous studies, not natives in the destination country but stayers in the origin country are used as reference group for migrants who moved to another European country at some point in life and are now growing old abroad. Using SHARE data and applying an instrumental variable approach in the first and fixed effects models in the second analytical step, the results indicate that migration turns out to have a negative long-term effect on the baseline level of cognitive abilities but that the process of cognitive decline does not differ significantly between migrants and stayers. German Abstract: Die vorliegende Studie geht der Frage nach, inwiefern sich intra-Europaische Migration auf die kognitiven Fahigkeiten im spateren Leben auswirkt. Im Gegensatz zu vorherigen Studien werden nicht Personen der Ziellander, sondern Personen der Herkunftslander als Vergleichsgruppe herangezogen. Unter Nutzung des SHARE Datensatzes und unter Verwendung eines Instrumentalvariablen-Ansatzes im ersten sowie von Fixed Effects Modelle im zweiten Analyseschritt, zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass Migration langfristig einen negativen Effekt auf das Basisniveau der kognitiven Fahigkeiten hat. Hinsichtlich des Prozesses der kognitiven Alterung zeigen sich jedoch keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen Migrantinnen und Migranten und den Vergleichspersonen der Herkunftslander.

Unequal Europe, unequal Brexit: How intra-European inequalities shape the unfolding and framing of Brexit

This article argues that focusing on intra-European inequalities is key to a deeper understanding of the Brexit process, as the impacts of the Brexit process on core–periphery inequalities within Europe and on intra-European migrations remain under-researched topics. Focusing on sociology, this article provides a critical analysis of the burgeoning literature on Brexit, highlighting the centrality of methodological nationalism and its critique by critical race scholars. We expand the latter’s critique, providing a different solution to the national framing of the debate. Drawing on world-system theory and post-Bourdieusian social theory, we explore the role that Britain played in legitimising core–periphery inequalities in Europe and social hierarchies between West and East, and North and South, European populations. We highlight the UK’s influence over EU supranational policies and its association, among non-UK EU citizens, with a ‘meritocracy narrative’ that shapes patterns and meanings of intra-European migration. We further explore how inequalities of nation, class, race and gender make EU citizens unequally positioned to access the promises of this narrative. Overall, the article argues that a focus on intra-European inequalities is essential to an understanding of how Britain contributed to the unequal Europe it aims to leave, and how EU citizens’ unequal migrations make Brexit an asymmetrical process.

Unequal Youth Migrations: Exploring the Synchrony between Social Ageing and Social Mobility among Post-Crisis European Migrants

This article explores how symbolic boundaries between youth and adulthood shape experiences of upward and downward social mobility among EU migrants. Drawing on 56 biographical interviews with Italians who moved to England after the 2008 economic crisis, and focusing on three individual case studies, the article reveals that normative understandings of adulthood emerge as a central concern from participants’ biographical accounts, and that they mobilise unequal forms of cultural, economic and social capital to maintain a feeling of ‘synch’ between social ageing and social mobility. Drawing on Bourdieu and the sociology of adulthood, the article proposes the notion of synchrony to explore how tensions in the relationship between social ageing and social mobility shape experiences of migration. This allows for an innovative theoretical bridge between cultural class analysis, adulthood studies and migration studies, and for a better understanding of how intersections of class and age shape intra-European migrations.