Intra-EU Migration Flashcards
Where have many people migrated to the UK from
Poland
What can people from a country within the EU do
Live and work in any other EU country
What happens when a country joins the EU
The current members can choose not to allow immigration form the new countries for a few years
What happened in 2004
10 countries in central and Eastern Europe became new members of the EU -including Poland
Between 2004 and 2007 how many people migrated to the UK from Poland and what type of migrant were they
More than half a million people
Most were economic migrants
Push factors for why people left Poland
- High unemployment -about 19% in 2004, people of working age left Poland to find work in the UK (economic migrants)
- Low average wages -people of working age left to find higher wages, eg. the average income in the EU in 2004 was nearly 3 times greater than in Poland
- Low availability of housing -people left Poland because there was not enough housing for them to move into, eg. in 2004 there were just over 300dwellings for every 1000people
Pull factors for people coming the UK
- Ease of migration -only the uk, Ireland and Sweden decided to allow unlimited migration from the new member countries in 20004, other countries restricted entry, but will have to allow it by 2011
- Good exchange rate -a few pounds in the uk were worth lots of zloty (polish currency), so migrants could send home a few pounds and it would make a big difference
- Plenty of jobs and better paid jobs -labour shortage for certain occupations in the uk, eg. shortage of tradesmen such as plumbers (who were also paid more in the uk than in Poland)
Demographic consequences due to migration from Poland to the uk
Poland’s population has shrunk because so many people have migrated to other countries, eg. fell 0.3% 2003-2994
Birth rate has also decreased between 2003-2005 as many who have left are of reproductive age
Population of the uk has increased as a result, especially those of reproductive age
Economic consequences due to migration from Poland to the uk
U.K. economy loses out because money earring in the uk by polish workers is not all spent in the uk
The polish economy grows as money is sent back to Poland by migrants, eg. 2006 €3.45 billion sent back to Poland from abroad
Migration has also had a bad effect on the economy in Poland as there are a shortage of labourers so less work can be done meaning their economy does not grow much
Social consequences due to migration from Poland to the uk
Migration of working age people has helped the problems caused by the UK’s ageing population
Young migrants pay taxes and there are used to support the older retired people, eg. to pay for pensions
Cultural consequences due to migration from Poland to the uk
Shops selling polish products have opened in areas where lots of polish people have settled, eg. the West Midlands
The number of people attending Catholic Church services in the uk have increased because most of the polish migrants are Catholic
Political consequences due to migration from Poland to the uk
The immigration policy of the U.K. has been changed because of the influx of polish migrants
When Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, the uk did not allow unlimited migration like it had for Poland
Environmental consequences due to migration from Poland to the uk
Increased immigration from Poland has meant air traffic between Poland and the U.K. has increased, eg. there were just over 500,000 passengers to and from the uk in 2003 and 3.3 million in 2006
Increased air traffic means more greenhouse gases are released making global warming worse
Is migration into the UK permanent
No doesn’t have to be
What happened in 2008 (Poland)
Lots of migrants moved back to Poland