Migration to the EU: Some Aspects of Georgian Population Attitude and Baltic States Experience

Abstract

Migration is one of important aspects of modern global world development, that includes many interrelated factors such as political, economic, social, cultural, etc. With recent trends, international migration is on the rise. Georgia has experienced a significant outflow of population caused by a sharp economic decline since the collapse of the Soviet Union in early 90s of 20th century. Many Georgian citizens migrated to the EU as labour migrants. After gaining the visa-free regime with the EU in 2017, the migration of Georgian citizens to the EU has increased. The reasons for emigration and immigration in Georgia do not differ from the rest of the world and are mainly caused by economic nature. The article presents the analysis and conclusions based on recent data gained by means of the sociological survey, which proves that the attitudes of Georgians towards migration mainly coincide with the approaches of Baltic States’ citizens.

The survey results confirm that the experience of the Baltic States is valuable for Georgia. The outcomes demonstrate that it is more productive for Georgia to encourage the circular migration, which means promoting the employment of Georgian workers in the host countries, and later to support and facilitate their subsequent return to Georgia in order to apply the work experience and skills acquired abroad in Georgia.