228 Ralf E. UlRich
although the net gains or losses are smaller than assumed. In 2008, 3.8
million people moved to and 2.3 million people exited a state of the EU
(Eurostat 2012a, b). This example includes migration f lows both inside EU
states and from or to a non-EU state.
The relevance of migration for demography and the job market of the
destination country depends less on the absolute number of immigrants
than on the migration balance. Short-term high levels of immigration are
often followed by an increase in re-migration back to the home countries.
Such re-migration may, in fact, have always been one of the goals of migrants
- for example, to earn and save a certain amount of money. Re-migration,
of course, can also be an expression of a sort of ‘failure’, on the part of the
migrants, to gain a foothold, their expectations being disappointed. Last but
not least, there are also schemes in which some people live certain parts of
their lives in two or more different countries, creating transnational family
situations as well.
If one considers the f inancial imbalances that led to the recent high
levels of youth unemployment in Southern Europe as being of a more long-
term nature, it is easy to perceive that the migration link between the EU
and MENA might be partly reversed in the future. As young people from
Spain are currently looking for employment in Latin America, some MENA
countries might attract young labour migrants from Southern Europe in
the future. On the other hand, if some of the demand for immigrant labour
in the EU has obviously been sparked by excessive money creation and
speculation (e.g. the Spanish construction market) this demand might have
been of a temporary nature.
References
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International Migration Review 8 (4): 543-566.
DRC (2007), Global migrant-origin database. Brighton: University of Sussex, Migration Research
Centre. w w w.migrationdrc.org. Accessed 12 January 2009.
Eltigani, E.E. (2000), ‘Changes in family-building patterns in Egypt and Morocco: A comparative
analysis’, International Family Planning Perspectives 2 6 (2): 73 - 78.
Ethelston, S. (1999), ‘Water and women: The Middle East in demographic transition’, Middle
East Report 213: 8-12, 44.
Eurostat (2012a), Immigration by sex, age group and citizenship, 1998-2010. epp.eurostat.ec.europa.
eu. Accessed 14 May 2012.
Eurostat (2012b), Emigration by sex, age group and citizenship, 1998-2010. epp.eurostat.ec.europa.
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