Steering Economic and Social Cohesion in the CADSES Space: Valuing Migration as a Development Tool
Although immigration is frequently considered as a factor contributing to development, it often lacks appropriate support services. Immigrant's home investments rely on individual inventiveness or informal networks, while national social systems fail to deal with cross-border movements. Poland, Slovakia and Hungary are the new EU border countries and Romania, the former Yugoslav countries and Albania have high immigration rates. Immigration flows to Greece and Italy are increasing and becoming a major challenge. Suitable tools have to be introduced to cope with this situation. The MIGRAVALUE project aims at launching a model for the active management of immigration as a key tool for the integrated economic and social development of host countries and countries of origin. It involves partners from the EU as well as EU neighbouring countries, representing a broad network of public and private stakeholders, including businesses and immigrants. It shall enhance the spatial cohesion of the involved regions by pointing out the financial and human capital of immigrants. Two main objectives of the project are to further the scope of the ongoing MIGRALINK project which is focused on productive returns. MIGRAVALUE will activate sustainable systems to channel migrants' remittances to foster local development in their countries of origin. Moreover, the social dimension of development by establishing co-operative and transnational welfare programs will be addressed. The activities of the project reflect this integrated, yet twofold approach on economic and social perspectives and also provide analyses and a modelling component.