Immigration in Contemporary Europe - Essay Example

What are the main trends and effects of immigration in contemporary Europe Immigration is whereby one has changed his or her habitat to join a new habitat different from the one he or is used to. For one to migrate from one place to another there are factors that lead one to change. These causes may be economical, political, social and religious conflicts while others just because of globalization and others for voluntary purpose. An economic migrant is a person that searches for better job opportunities in order to earn money that will help him or her to sustain his or her needs (Alexseev, 2006). On the other hand, a political migrant is one who runs away from his habitat because of conflicts from the government due to war. The person may leave his or her country for a new place to live in peace. These immigrants come from different backgrounds, which have variety of difference in terms of culture and norms. Immigration can have positive or negative impacts on both the country of origin and destination either for political, economic or even social situations. These recipient habitats are usually industrialized habitats it may be countries in Europe or the United states and even any other country, which is developed economically, politically, and security. Immigrants in these countries bring various impacts to the new habitat such as economy, culture, religious and security (Jane 1). One good thing immigration has done for host habitat is economy that involves employment in that they will be willing to do jobs that people in the host habitat will not or cannot do (Ioannis 1). They often work for longer hours and for lower income though that is controversial, sometimes exploitive against human rights but they act as beneficiary to the host habitat. This still happens up to date and even in years to come where many people have migrated and still doing so to develop their countries, and are willing to work so as earn a living in order to survive thus boosts the development and economy of the host habitat (Jane 1). In most cases when the immigrants’ are accepted in the host society and can largely contribute to the diversity of that society in terms of introduction of different cultures and people with talents which brings new ideas in the market of production of goods and offering of services thus contributing to the economic growth. After the European Union session in 2003 which allowed for its expansion, the biggest movement of labor across Europe was witnessed. During the December of 2003 period alone, over 40, 000 passengers flew between UK airports and those in Poland. In duration of five years after that, it became near impossible for one to fly from 20 UK airports to any of the Polish Cities. The number of people in that year moving from Poland to the UK was over 385, 000 (Jane 1). It is worthy pointing out that the origins and choice of destinations for migrants has been found to be differential among countries. Some countries responded to this huge influx of immigrants by restricting access to their labor markets. The tendency for one migrating from countries deemed to be in “new” Europe can be said to be varying significantly. The main focus of this paper will be thoroughly examining the trends, impacts and implications of one migrating from Poland to the UK. Poland has been deemed to be the largest sender country while UK is the receiver due to its particular need for highly skilled labor. This has lead to fear among sender countries of losing their highly skilled people to other nations who offer better opportunities and salaries. The receiving countries have in turn downplayed these fears by claiming that migrant workers are important in filling low skilled labor deficiency. Looking this situation from the European Union perspective, there is plenty of important implication. First and foremost, issues of equal access to employment and the mobility of the highly skilled labor have to be addressed. The second issue if the grave matter of brain waste from the highly skilled and overqualified workforce that is working below their abilities. This specific issue seems is salient in the manner that the European Union has been aspiring towards a knowledge based economy after the Lisbon agenda (Ioannis 1). We will begin by exploring the main features and trends and the core drivers of migration in the European Union that seems to be taking an East to the West migration axis. There is also a need to look at the nature of employment undertaken by migrant worker. This will be done with accordance to the workers skills and qualifications. Ones nation loss is another nation’s gain. An analytical approach has to be taken when looking at the impacts of brain drain and brain gain for the sending and receiving countries respectively (Jane 1). Immigrants are known to face stiff barrier in certain nations when it comes to employment, there is a need to understand how they end up coping in their new countries. Immigration Features and Trends There are various features and trends that we will be discussing in this paper. They include; Size and measurement, motivation, composition, and geographical distribution. These are some important features that will help us understand what motivates these people to migrate and their particular choice of country. Size and Measurement Data from the Poland Central Statistical Office (CSO) estimates that over 2.21 million poles migrated in the year of 2008 alone. Of the 2.21 million, an estimated 650, 000 is believed to be in the United Kingdom. Further research shows that the number could be higher given that in 2004, there were already over 550, 000 poles in the UK alone (Jane 1). Nevertheless, it is widely acknowledged that these figures happen to be hard to accurately gauge. The reason has been that they always concentrate on measuring the stock rather than the flow. Motivation It is no secret that the Poles main reason for migrating is economical reasons, but some are known to leave after missing their families back in Poland. Nevertheless, their migration is not solely based on the economic reasons, other common reasons for them migrating has been to learn English, start a business or live in a more liberal accommodating society. Composition It is been estimated that three quarters of the migrants from Poland are of the age of 16 to 40. From Age 20 to 30 is approximated to make up of 52 percent while 40 percent of the emigrants happen to be female (Jane 1). Geographical Distribution It has been observed that the distribution patterns of post enlargement migrants in the UK tend to significantly differ from those of other migrant groups and origins. Poland nationals have been seen to move to other parts of the country previously not have attracted immigrants. This can be seen from the district reports received research on migration patterns from all the areas of the UK. With poles moving to other European nations, there has been an influx of both legal and illegal migrants from outside the European Union who are trying to fill in the labor void. The construction sector is attracting people the most. This has ultimately led to firms recruiting North Koreans and Indian people to try and fill the labor void. Until recently, Poland can be said to have experienced a less inward migration (Ioannis 1). North Korean laborers can be found working in the agriculture and shipyards areas. It is important to note that post accession migration has plenty of positive labor market effects. Future Patterns and Trends During the 2008 to 2009 period, the English press runs wild with stories of mass Polish immigrant’s exodus from their country. This called for some concern among the English people and the already migrants. The local saw this as a means of them losing their jobs while others saw it as an opportunity to better their lives. The shocking discovery is that out of the 1 million migrants who came to the UK between 2004 and 2008, half of that figure has already gone back to Poland. The polish CSO indicates a smaller rate of return, with only slightly over 40, 000 people returning in 2008 (Ioannis 1). This could be as a result of the migrants moving to other countries like Germany. It can also be argued that due to recession, it has the ability to influence outward migration while not stimulating return migration. We can thus say that it is important not to underestimate the role of worldwide economic trends for any future inflow or outflow migration among the European Union nations. This finding can be said to be in line with the globally trends of outward flow of migration which has slowed down, but people seem not to be returning home. The Polish CSO carried out a labor Force Survey in 2008 founded on a study of outflow and inflow of migrants and return migrants. The results were astounding, as the number of returning migrants in 2005 was 60, 000while that of 2007 was 210, 000. Nonetheless, this could not be linked to the recent economic meltdown or recession but solely determined by the initial plans the migrants had. It was also discovered that 38 percent of the migrants had not planned to stay longer while only 2 percent credited the turning economical tide in Poland for their return (Ioannis 1). This led to the argument that the linkage between economic crisis and migration from Poland to be uncertain. Conclusion With any more European Union nations completely opening their labor markets, migration along their borders will continue been a constant issue. One cannot help but notice that it will take a wide range of complex economical and organizational factors to determine future patterns. With a huge margin of economical inequality between nations, there will always be a reason for the highly skilled and low skilled laborers to cross the borders and look for better opportunities away from their home nation. With the new trend of workers from the ‘new’ Europe looking for low skilled jobs in the ‘old’ Europe helps not fulfill ambitions of individuals. This can thus be deemed to be a waste of talent in the wider European Union. There is yet to be any significant evidence to support ‘brain drain’ has taken place in Poland and ‘brain gain’ has benefited the UK. This lead to the conclusion that mass outward migration will still have a wider socio-economic and political consequence. To decrease any economic inequalities among the European Union member state will be a long term project that will require time and resources. Nevertheless, one or two urgent tasks could lead to an improvement in the labor market mobility. This will call for an investigation on to how mutual systems of recognizing other state qualifications could work more efficiently. This means an improvement in accessing some professions for the migrant laborers. Lastly, there is a need to carry out a research into identifying barriers hindering one entry to highly skilled employment in other European Union states. Bibliography Alexseev, Kolorov. Immigration phobia and the security dilemma: Russia, Europe and the United States, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2006. Ioannis, Michaletos. (2013). Main trends in Illegal immigration movements in Southeastern Europe, Retrieved from, http://serbianna.com/analysis/archives/2030 Jane, Huddy. (2013). Brain Drain’, ‘Brain Gain’ or ‘Brain Waste’: East-West Migration after Enlargement, Retrieved from, http://www.migration-boell.de/web/migration/46_2445.asp Read More