The opinion, unfortunately a shared argument, that asylum seekers arriving in the EU are a burden on the economies of its member States must be discredited. To think that people fleeing armed conflicts, persecution and natural disasters encounter obstacles in their attempt to find salvation is mind-boggling, but this reality has been in place since the so-called migratory crisis that began with the outbreak of the Arab Springs in the early 2000s in the Middle East and North Africa. Not only were these people faced with walls, kilometers of barbed wire and policemen armed with rods just when they thought they could breathe a sigh of relief, but their hope of being able to start their lives over again by living safely was shattered.
As a matter of facts, the European Union is behaving more and more like a “fortress” by implementing rather restrictive migration policies aimed at making it very difficult for people who would like to seek asylum to enter. In the last 5/7 years, nationalist policies have been getting stronger and stronger, especially in those EU countries where there are external borders. The fight against illegal immigration has taken the form of hindering the work of those NGOs that, in the Mediterranean route, attempt to rescue boats overflowing with people who, after paying a fortune to boatmen, risk being shipwrecked in the open sea in an attempt to reach the EU. The populist rhetoric that is gaining momentum and that is intent on hindering the migratory phenomenon focuses on one particular aspect, which is also wrong, of what the reception of asylum seekers in the EU entails and that is: “migrants are a burden on the national and European economy”. Added to this are various clichés that are popular among large sections of the population in these countries such as “migrants steal our jobs”. Moreover, such governments play on issues of national identity, instilling in their citizens the fear of Islam, crime and unsecured borders that bring terrorism to European cities.
However, in a Europe that is getting older and older and where there is an unprecedented decline in birth rates, immigration is instead Europe’s salvation. The EU, because of this demographic decline, is in crisis. It needs millions more migrants in the coming years to avoid the growing labor shortage, to fill the so-called “brain drain” and related vacancies in those jobs that are socially regarded as low status, but which are instead crucial to running the economies of its member States. Moreover, it needs immigrants to fill the State coffers.
As mentioned, European politicians are desperately trying to avoid any new influx. However, there simply will not be enough Europeans in the coming decades to work in factories, restaurants, and hospitals, or to fund pensions and staff nursing homes, unless the EU proactively incentivize economic immigration with less restrictive policies (1).
In fact, the EU should focus on attracting more immigrant workers to further and strengthen its own economic interests. The picture described by Eurostat statistics for the future of the EU is quite frightening (2). There will not be enough European workers to make the EU economy work without smooth integration of migrants into the market. The idea that Europe does not need migrants, cannot afford to take them in, or has no room to incorporate workers from non-EU countries into its labor market is to be strongly opposed. Equally damaging are beliefs that immigrants take jobs away from Europeans, depress wages, squeeze the welfare state and are a huge burden on taxpayers. Recently, then, rhetoric regarding technological progress in the economy and how this makes it unnecessary to welcome immigrants into the European labor market is gaining traction.
The European Union simply cannot afford to leave out of the labor market people of working age who arrive within its borders eager to be able to work. First because, once they arrive, migrants have to find means of livelihood and, if not in good standing, the only alternative they have is the black market, and this is a disadvantage for the EU because it fosters the informal economy and organized crime, rather than countering it as desired. It also does not solve the problem of the lack of European workers. This argument correlates with the one related to the reception system. In this regard, the management of arrivals and subsequent regularizations needs to be reviewed, but this has been a known issue for a long time. The EU cannot continue to make the countries where immigrants first set foot in Europe responsible for their asylum claims. In fact, if the system were more efficient, migrants would be integrated into regular employment, paying taxes and contributing to social security (1). According to an OECD report:
welcoming refugees is not only a humanitarian and legal obligation, it is an investment that can yield substantial economic dividends. Refugees can contribute economically to the societies that welcome them in many ways: as workers, innovators, entrepreneurs, taxpayers, consumers and investors. Their efforts can help create jobs, raise the productivity and wages of local workers, lift capital returns, stimulate international trade and investment, and boost innovation, enterprise and growth (OECD, 2016) (3).
OECD studies show that immigrants in general tend to be net contributors to public finances. The taxes that refugees pay can help service and repay the huge public debts incurred in many countries to provide benefits to existing populations. Not to mention the enormous contribution they make to the countries they originate from through remittances (3).
The priority should be to get refugees into employment as soon as they arrive in the host country. They need the right to work, appropriate skills and job opportunities. A huge waste of talent is then the failure to recognize immigrants’ qualifications once they arrive in Europe and meet the requirements to enter the labor market on a regular basis. Recognition and conversion of foreign qualifications should be simplified. While government assistance for refugees should initially be generous, timely and broad-based, an open-ended welfare provision can have a negative impact (3).
Policymakers should stop referring to refugees as a “burden” on the EU economy, but rather view their workforce as an opportunity to prevent the decline of the European economy. With sound reception policies and related policies to integrate them into both the society and the regular labor market, immigrants can yield substantial economic dividends (3). In addition to this, research shows what an increased flow of migrants entails once they enter the regular economies of EU countries: GDP per capita increases, unemployment rate decreases, and additional government spending is more than offset by increased tax revenues (4). As a matter of facts, migration generally improves economic growth and productivity in host countries. According to the IMF, “migrants in advanced economies increase output and productivity in both the short and medium term” (5). This is true because native and migrant workers bring different skill sets to the labor market, which complement each other and increase productivity.
Logics emerged from these data support the positivity of migrants’ inclusion within the EU’s regular labor market. Indeed, the contribution of these people could be very crucial in avoiding the upcoming decline that the European economy will suffer if such solutions are not considered for EU’s economy preservation and improvement. The only way to cope with the demographic as well as the economic decline that the EU will face in an increasingly pressing way is to welcome immigrants into its economy.
References:
- https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-migrants-asylum-economy-afghanistan/
- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?oldid=497115
- https://www.oecd.org/migration/refugees-are-not-a-burden-but-an-opportunity.htm
- https://www.cnrs.fr/en/asylum-seekers-are-not-burden-european-economies
- https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2020/06/19/blog-weo-chapter4-migration-to-advanced-economies-can-raise-growth
By The European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
