Evolution of regional patterns
of international migration in Europe
The recent evolution of European international migration marked by the
general and gradual enlargement of the migration system centered on
the EU countries.
Important changes in the European migration scenario: the former
emigration countries of Southern Europe have increasingly become
targets for immigration flows, radically changing their position in
migration dynamics.
MIGRATION PATTERNS IN EUROPE
Until World War II, “the predominant movement was out of rather than
into Europe as millions crossed the ocean to settle in the New World: an
estimated 55 to 60 million during 1820-1940, of whom 38 million went to
the United States”.
Intra-European flows:
Polish and Ukranian workers – France and Germany
Italian workers – Great Britain
Migration losses until the end of 1960s.
1970s: positive net migration for all the regions of the continent.
Migration gain from 3 million people of the 1970s to 4.8 million in the
1980s and 11.4 million in the 1990s where Western Europe has gained
the most.
Different national situations for large regional areas: particularly high
migration gains registered in CEE in 1980s as a result of positive
balances estimated for the Russian Federation (ethnic migrations from
the other states of the former USSR).
According to another UN source (referring to data on country of birth)
international migrants in Europe numbered 17.2 million in 1960
increasing to 64 million in 2005, going from 4.7 per cent of the total
population to 8.8 per cent. 1975 – 1990 dramatic increase in CEE, when
the stock of immigration rose to 25 million: reclassification of persons
who had moved inside the USSR before 1990 as internal migrants and
who became international migrants.
Growth in other geographical areas clearly shows that in recent decades
Europe has become an area of immigration. 1960 – 2005 number of
international migrants grew 3.2 times in Western Europe; 8.3 times in
Southern Europe!
1st period until the early 1950s: The forced migration at the end of World
War II. The main European flow – forced migration as a result of the
direct and indirect effects of peace treaties. The most important: Poland
to East an West Germany, from the former Czechoslovakia to East and
West Germany and Austria, from the USSR to Germany and Poland.
2nd period: Labor migration and recruitment of foreign workers. First
bilateral agreements between Italy and Belgium and France and ended
with the stop policies of the early 1970s.
Dividing line along the Iron Curtain, completely separating East and
West. Within the Western bloc, countries of emigration included Southern
European countries, Ireland and Finland, while the immigration area
incorporated the remaining countries of Northern and Western Europe.
Regional pattern: migration flows mainly on a European scale.
Decolonisation
return of a large proporion of the European
settlers to their countries of origin.
The first arrival on a large scale of immigrants coming from nonEuropean and non-Mediterranian countries; definite transformation of
Europe into a continent of arrival.
Golden period of European labor migration: favourable political climate
towards international migration. Bilateral agreements for the recruitment
of workers through official channels, regularised positions of foreign
workers who had used unofficial channels of entry.
1957: Treaty of Rome – principle of the free circulation of workers within
the EEC.
3rd period: 1973-1974 stop policies – the end of stage of expanding
immigration, passage to the stage of stabilization. Receiving countries
trying to encourage return migration to export unemployment back to the
sending countries. Increasing control over entries, economic pull factors
moving from industrial sector to services.
Prevalence of push factors and economic globalization leading to the
enlargment of the area of attraction and the types of flows.
Late 1970s an important change in European regional patterns of
international migration: beginning of the immigration flows towards the
traditional emigration countries of Southern and Northern Europe.
Increasing importance of irregular migration.
Enlargement and homogenisation of European migration system with the
entry of new members in 1980s, still the European migration scenario
was more fragmented than today. Clear division between receiving and
sending countries, sharp differentiation between the immigration policies
of countries.
Deep changes in the whole migration scenario in the last twenty years.
Change of the function of the immigrant labor force in the receiving
countries: it no longer played the role of “qualitative” rebalancing in the
labor market, it took on a “qualitative” role, filling the gaps that can occur
in specific employment sectors.
4th period: the fall of the Berlin Wall – removed political barriers to
emigration. Radical change for the geography of continental flows.
Example: Albania, a country that was completely isolated for more then
40 years and has become one of the most important emigration
countriesin Europe in an extraordinarily short period of time (1990s –
687.000 people).
Increasing role of the EU in the field of migration.
Strong growth of spontaneous and irregular flows of labor migration
towards Southern European countries as a result of the lack of adequate
official recruitment channels, need for repeated regularisations.
1990s: positive net migration in all the countries of Northern, Western
and Southern Europe. Different situation in CEE: large migration gains
for Russia, losses for other countries. Very rapid migration changes in
new EU members that are recording positive net migration balances
(Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia).
Greater attention to the promotion of skilled migrations, increase of
employment related migration.
Expanding area of attraction and decrease of intra-European migration
along with the growth of flows originating in other continents: Latin
America, Far East, sub-Saharian Africa. Increased importance of flows
from Eastern European countries (Romania, Ukraine, Moldova).
Importance of the political factor in directing migration flows. EU
attempts to achieve a common policy towards the migration system.
Important role of migration issues in negotiations with the new member
states.