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Experts to discuss the EU diaspora and mobility issues at the high-level event in Riga

On 11–12 May at the National Library of Latvia in Riga a conference entitled “How to Improve Intra-European Mobility and Circular Migration? Fostering Diaspora Engagement” will take place. The conference is organised under the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with association "Europeans Throughout the World" and  European Latvian Association.

Taking into account the fact that in recent years Latvia has experienced the voluntary emigration of an unprecedented number of citizens, the Latvian EU Presidency will organise a conference on diverse aspects of intra-EU mobility and the free movement of persons, as well as the role of European diasporas, at the same time addressing new challenges that EU Member States encounter.

The conference will address legal impediments to workforce mobility in the European Union, its macro-economic, social and cultural aspects, for instance, the access to social security system and the transferability of social payments among the Member States. The concerns of EU citizens on risks to the social system in the respective country caused by workforce mobility, and credibility for such concerns will also be discussed. The conference participants will exchange opinions on experience of EU Member States in facilitation of return migration, exploring in detail the experience of Latvia and Lithuania.

The aim of the conference is to establish a set of policy recommendations and proposals for European institutions in the field of mobility and engagement with the diaspora in order to shape a more integrated and better functioning EU internal labour market.

The conference brings together high-ranking officials from EU Member States and experts form international bodies, including the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), members of NGOs, researchers and other experts from various countries. Representatives of the Governments of Georgia and Israel will also share experience of their respective countries.

The free movement of persons in the EU is a cornerstone for European integration and one of the fundamental rights of European citizens. Since the countries in Central and South-Eastern Europe joined the EU there have been significant changes in the patterns of intra-EU mobility. Previously, migration flows were mainly moving from Europe’s South and Ireland to the North-western EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland. Following the enlargement predominantly the citizens of the new Member States make up the migration flow. At the same time the trend of migration flow from the Southern Member States of the EU still continues.

Due to the recent financial and economic crisis, this process has increased to some extent, while at the same time changing due to return migration. All the circumstances mentioned above have promoted the formation of new European diasporas in the EU.

The conference is co-organised with the Latvian Institute of International Affairs supported by the European Commission, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Latvia.

HOW TO IMPROVE INTRA-EUROPEAN MOBILITY AND CIRCULAR MIGRATION? Fostering Diaspora Engagementeu2015.lv

Contact

IVARS LASIS

Press Secretary
+371 67016117
+371 27875808
ivars.lasis@mfa.gov.lv

 

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