Izvorni znanstveni članak
The Fall of the “Iron Curtain” and Prospects for the “European Fortress”: Perspectives of European East-West Migration
Milan Mesić
; Filozofski fakultet, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The author first presents an overview of the main post-war, eminently political, migration flows for East to West Europe. For the people in many East European countries the fall of the “iron curtain” meant hope that they shall finally be able to migrate to the West in search of a better life. Yet the East European borders opened at a time when the dimensions of asylum-seeking and clandestine migration flows became alarming in the West European countries, and when an anti-immigration attitude was becoming stronger in them. The last years of agony of “real socialism” were marked by sharply increasing external migrations from East Europe. Will this trend be continued in the near future or perhaps will it even increase? The mass media transmit the often dramatic diverse predictions of politicians and experts given during numerous meetings dedicated to this que¬stion. The author examines some fundamental economic, social, demographic and culturological studies and analyses which have begun in the meantime in order to determine the validity of assumptions on European migration perspectives. He confirms the basic characteristics of the migration situation in West Europe before the socio-economic changes in the East. The author then examines, from various aspects, the East European migration potentials in comparison with the immigration needs of West Europe. Finally he offers certain suggestions for the regulation of trans-European migration. In the discourse on future East-West migrations the enormous territory of the former Soviet Union shall certainly be crucial, and the paper treats this space with special attention. Furthermore, the migration potential of Poland, as a traditional high emigration country, are also indicated, and also those of Hungary, which is an area with a low migration potential, but which will become attractive for immigration, especially as a transitional migration destination. In his conclusion, the author upholds the opinion of most experts that a policy of “closed borders” is not suitable as an effective means to prevent mass migration, or in other words, that it is not realistic to build a “European fortress”. Instead, various, partial or systematic strategies aimed at reducing the economic-social disparity between the East and West are suggested. In this sense, experts and politicians are ever more coming to realise that migration flows cannot be regulated only at their destinations, but are to be regulated (primarily) at their origins. In the case of post-socialist East Europe this means that it is necessary to find integral strategies of development and modernisation, which could in the long run reduce the generators at least in regard to “unnecessary migration”.
Ključne riječi
“iron curtain”; migration; East Europe; West Europe
Hrčak ID:
127296
URI
Datum izdavanja:
31.7.1992.
Posjeta: 1.859 *