The Eastern Migration and the Labor Markets in the EU: The Case of Romanian Workers in Spain

Abstract

This paper focuses on one of the most debated issues in the context of Eastern enlargement, id est the ‘danger’ of expected massive East-West migration, and its impact on the labor market in the EU. During the 90’s, a large number of immigrants arrived in Western European states from the Eastern part of the continent. Some factors induced a negative perception on East-West migration shared by the public opinion. We refer to the relatively high rate of unemployment in the EU countries, while the presence of immigrants is seen as a source of pressure on labor market supply. To address the public opinion’s fears, transitional arrangements concerning free movement of workers from the new 8 Central and Eastern members have been implemented. Similar arrangements are being concluded between each EU country and the future new members -Romania and Bulgaria – on a bilateral base. The free movement of labor is one of the four pillars of EU Internal Market. It was assumed that the right of free movement would be followed by appropriate geographical and occupational mobility. The real picture is very different from what was expected and, in spite of a high unemployment rate, the intra-EU mobility continues to be very low. Given the above mentioned, the East-West migration and its impact on the labor market have to be examined in the context of the paradoxical situation in the EU countries: unemployment and shortages in labor supply. Most recent studies clearly showed that the enlargement had a positive impact on the EU labor market, and the flow of workers from the East did not crowd out the workers in the host countries. Put it differently, the migrants fit more the labor market demand, probably on a complementary base. Our micro-study intended to reveal the role of Romanian migrant workers in one of the most dynamic EU economies. To this end we carried out a research based on questionnaires. Given the limited number of responses, our findings cannot be generalized. Still, they complement the knowledge on this issue. The paper is structured as follows: the first chapter makes a short literature review concerning the immigration and the EU labor market; based on statistics, the second chapter analyses several aspects of the mobility issue in the EU labor market, while the core of the paper is a case study, based on questionnaires, on Romanian workers in Spain, illustrating the immigrants’ role in one of the most dynamic economies. The last part concludes