Enhanced Nordic-Baltic cooperation on challenges of labour mobility in the Nordic-Baltic region 2014-1015

Purpose

The project aims at strengthening cooperation within the Nordic-Baltic area on the impact of increased labour migration and will elaborate proposals on how to accomplish sustainable regional migration and integration policies for the region.

This project aims at improvement of collaboration on migration data collection and analysis, by sharing best practices on integration of labour migrants and by presenting good examples and suggestions on the development of information and communication services for citizens in the sending and receiving countries. The project produces knowledge on how the labour markets, social security systems, and the overall demographic profiles are affected by the migration in the region, in both sending and receiving countries. It is believed that the acquired knowledge will help policy makers deciding on solutions that will in turn lead to a win-win economic and social development in the Baltic and Nordic countries.

Goals

To strengthen regional cooperation and capacity building for the development of a regional well-managed migration policy in the Baltic Sea Region.
Create a Nordic-Baltic platform for experts working daily with migration issues by authorities, labour market, educational institutions, researchers, companies and youth organizations from the Nordic countries, Baltic countries.

Project target groups

NGOs and social/welfare services in the Baltic coutries, Baltic immigrants‘ communities, parents‘ forums, rural community centres, employment and social authorities, trade unions, Nordic and Baltic embassies.

Partners (domestic, international)

Nordic Council of Ministers Offices in Estonia and Latvia;
NORDREGIO;
Nordic embassies to the Baltic countries;
Tartu University (Estonia);
National and regional authorities (Ministries of Social Affairs, MFA) in the Baltic countries
The Commition on Migration issues and the Committee of Human Rights of the Lithuanian
Parliament
IOM and NGOs

Key events and activities

Nordic-Baltic labour mobility study

The study explores the migration patterns between and within the countries in the Nordic-Baltic region, with a focus on labour mobility. The comparative study will be based on detailed statistical data obtained from the statistics offices in the respective countries, and supplemented by a pilot survey that will address additional questions such as circumstances and incentives leading to the decision to emigrate, migrants’ age, skills/deskilling, employment in sending and receiving countries, social networks, obstacles of integration in receiving countries, access to social security systems etc.

Publication on labour mobility in the Nordic-Baltic region

The publication aims at increasing awareness and bringing forward the most relevant Nordic-Baltic labour migration related issues to the political agenda in the Nordic-Baltic region. It will provide a general overview of the trends, policy considerations and associated challenges related to labour migration. Furthermore the publication will include a demographic vulnerability assessment of the Baltic and Nordic municipalities as well as few selected practices of coping with labour mobility and related demographic challenges at the local level in both Nordic and Baltic countries.