VIENNA – There is a big problem regarding the lack of data on emigration in Romania, a widespread phenomenon with both positive and negative aspects for the country, says the latest Policy Brief. “Emigration from Romania: impact and legacy”published within the “WB2EU” network.
He explains that more than 4 million Romanians have emigrated since the 1989 revolution, returning the remittances sent and, upon their return, bringing new skills and attitudes. Furthermore, the policy brief mentions that migration has avoided significant social problems in Romania, providing employment to otherwise unemployable people and bringing greater social and political stability with the departure of the young, male, intrepid population and often poorly qualified.
“On the other hand, migrants and their families (especially children and the elderly) are vulnerable, both vis-à-vis the authorities and on a personal level. This may have contributed to radicalization,” notes the Policy Brief, explaining that the diaspora leans towards parties that appear anti-establishment, even if they are far-right.
Due to various administrative obstacles, including lack of identification documents for workers, emigration data is not, and could not be, entirely accurate, the brief explains. The authors of the Policy Brief estimate that almost 20% of people born in Romania no longer live in the country.
“Emigrants leave Romania for shorter or longer periods in order to obtain better wages to support themselves and their families or to study.8 According to limited evidence, they remain in the destination country due to higher salaries but also better working conditions. conditions for those who successfully integrate,” the guidance note states.
Furthermore, he explains that other factors motivating them to leave are social services, infrastructure and regional disparities, since the poorest regions of Romania are also those from which most Romanians emigrated before and after the membership of the European Union (EU).
Mentioning the positive consequences of migration, the policy brief highlights that it keeps people employed who would otherwise lose their jobs, transfers money through remittances, a source of prosperity for families in financial difficulty, that it increases political stability, although these effects are insufficiently studied and transmit knowledge, skills and cultural attitudes.
On the other hand, the Policy Brief explains that the negative consequences are the vulnerability of migrants who sometimes end up working in poor sanitary conditions with confiscated passports, and the vulnerability to loneliness and depression.
“The situation is currently better, after accession to the EU, but the balance of power between employers and employees remains unequal,” notes the Brief.
He also mentions that other consequences are the political radicalization of the diaspora and the de facto abandonment of children and neglect of the elderly for long periods of time, which often leads to lasting emotional damage.
“A problem often raised about migration is the flight of human capital (the so-called brain drain), that is to say the migration of the most “intelligent” and most educated individuals. Without this educated elite, the country of origin would have difficulty advancing in its economic development, or at least that is the complaint that we can sometimes hear in Romania,” underlines the Policy Brief.
However, he explains that Romanians generally emigrate from a situation of unemployment and it is not clear whether the state and the business community are actually investing in attracting skilled workers. The policy note highlights the fact that Romania is one of the countries with the lowest hourly labor costs in the EU.
In conclusion, the policy brief recommends that it is important to understand this issue and that a comprehensive curriculum is needed to study current and potential migrants. In addition, he recommends placing emphasis on social and educational policy, as well as improving the quality of the labor market.
The Policy Brief is published as part of the WB2EU project. The project aims to establish a network of renowned think tanks, do-tanks, universities, higher education institutes and policy centers from the Western Balkans, neighboring countries and EU Member States that will be the most decisive for the process of enlargement and Europeanization of the European Union. the region in the years to come. The WB2EU project is co-financed by the European Commission as part of its Erasmus+ Jean Monnet programme.