The research project Experience of Integration – Migrant Workers’ Perspective – What Helps the Integration of Migrant Workers in Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria? aims to understand more about policies on migrants’ employment and integration in four Central-Eastern European countries, as well as to identify effective policies which are encouraging migrants to stay in these countries (and not to go further to Western Europe).

The project achieves these through learning more about possible entry points for legal immigration with a particular emphasis on migrants’ perspectives – motives for immigrating, working conditions, relationship to the new country and community etc. The research aims to provide relevant information and guidance for policy recommendations: the chosen countries are all struggling with serious labour market shortages while simultaneously their governments are proposing a rather repressive stance on immigration – What could be those immigration policies that address the increasing labour demand while also respecting the sensitivity of the issue.

The results will be presented in a country report for each country and a concluding study, and policy recommendations will be prepared both on the national and EU levels.

See the Bulgarian report here (in English and Bulgarian). 

Time frame: February 2019 – February 2020
Partners: Menedek (Hungary) – leading partner, University of Warsaw (Poland), Romanian Institute for Research on National Minorities (Romania), Multi Kulti Collective (Bulgaria)
Funding: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Budapest