| ROMANIANS, EUROPEAN WORKERS 23/01/2008 |
| (2008-01-23) |
| Last updated: 2008-01-24 17:57 EET |
Over 10% of Romania’s total population, meaning more than 2.5 million people, decided to leave the country for a better life elsewhere. A report by the European Citizen Action Service shows that migration in Romania has risen noticeably after 1990. Thus, we could identify 3 stages in Romania’s history of post communist migration. Between 1990 and 1995, 3% of those who migrated did so in search of a better job in countries like Israel, Turkey, Italy, Hungary and Germany. The second stage, from 1996 to 2000, saw a doubling of that figure, but the most favored countries were Canada, Italy and Spain.
Not only have the destinations changed in recent years, but also the profile of migrants. In the beginning it was mostly men who left the country. They didn’t have higher education and most often came from rural areas. But in recent years an increasing number of women, including those from urban areas, have migrated, so that at present there are more female migrants than men. The European Citizen Action Service report also shows that Romanians are highly appreciated for the jobs they do abroad. They are the best employees, according to this service, not just because they are good at what they do, but also because they are willing to work more for less money.
Most Romanians abroad work in health care, social welfare, the construction industry, and agriculture. This situation has been witnessed against the backdrop of Romania’s entry into the EU on January 2007, despite the fact that the country does not enjoy unlimited access to the EU labor market. Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Finland, the Baltic States, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden have granted free access to Romanians seeking jobs, but the rest of the EU temporarily restricted access, invoking the need to protect their own citizens’ jobs. According to the European Citizen Action Service these restrictions are instruments deployed in internal political fights, rather than purely economic factors. They recommend these countries give up such restrictions, which are against the spirit of European Union.
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2025-04-03
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