CAVOUNIDIS, Jennifer "Greek Development, Assistance and Coordination of Migration Policy"

Jennifer Cavounidis Center of Planning and Economic Research, Athens Rome, December 10, 2013

Overview of Presentation 1. Migration to Greece: Trends and source countries 2. Development Assistance: Trends and composition 3. Development Assistance and Coordination with Migration Policy: Evaluation 4. Conclusion

1. Migration to Greece: Trends and source countries  In the last decades of the twentieth century, Greece was transformed from a traditional migrant – sending to a migrant‐receiving country.  Flows of immigrants into Greece started to accelerate in the mid‐1970s, but it was with the collapse of socialist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe at the beginning of the 1990s that migrant inflows took on massive proportions.  Albania most important source country, accounting for over half of all migrants.

1. Migration to Greece: Trends and source countries (2)  Balkan countries of Albania, Bulgaria and Romania account for two‐thirds of migrants.  Three‐quarters of migrants come from collapsed socialist regimes of Central and Eastern Europe.  In recent years countries of Asia and Africa have emerged as the dominant source countries of migration to Greece.

Foreign Population of Greece 2001: Nationalities accounting for at least 1% of Foreign Population Country of nationality Total Albania Bulgaria Georgia Romania U.S.A. Russian Federation Cyprus Ukraine United Kingdom Poland Germany Australia Turkey Armenia Egypt India

Total 762.191 438.036 35.104 22.875 21.994 18.140 17.535 17.426 13.616 13.196 12.831 11.806 8.767 7.881 7.742 7.448 7.216

As % of total foreign population 100.0% 57.5% 4.6% 3.0% 2.9% 2,4% 2,3% 2,3% 1,8% 1,7% 1,7% 1,5% 1,1% 1,0% 1,0% 1,0% 1,0%

Foreign Population of Greece 2011: Nationalities accounting for at least 1% of Foreign Population Country of nationality

Total

Total

913.909*

Albania Bulgaria Romania Pakistan Georgia Ukraine United Kingdom Cyprus Poland Russian Federation India Bangladesh Germany Egypt Moldova Philippines

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480.824 75,915 46,523 34,177 27.400 17,006 15,386 14,446 14,145 13,807 11.333 11.076 10,778 10.455 10.391 9.804

As % of total foreign population 100,0% 52.6% 8.3% 5.1% 3.7% 2.9% 1.9% 1.7% 1.6% 1.5% 1.5% 1.2% 1.2% 1.2% 1.1% 1.1% 1.1%

Despite recession, unauthorised migrant inflows continue  Greece has been in a deep recession since 2008: between 2008 and 2013, the GDP of Greece declined by 25%.  Conditions in the labour market are very difficult, with high unemployment rate – 27%.  In most countries of Europe, the recent economic crisis led to a decrease in migration inflows.  However, in the case of Greece, the deterioration of the labour market did not result in the abatement of unauthorised flows.  Police data on arrests (Ministry of Public Order 2012) indicate that Afghanistan and Pakistan are the main countries of origin.

Total Official Development Assistance (ODA) 2007‐2011, in $US millions and as % of GNI (gross national income) Type of aid Bilateral Multilateral Total

2007 249.19 (0.08%) 251.63 (0.08%) 500.82 (0.16%)

2008 312.17 (0.09%) 390.99 (0.12%) 703.16 (0.21%)

2009 296.94 (0.9%) 310.33 (0.10%) 607.27 (0.19%)

2010 211.82 (0.07%) 295.90 (0.10%) 507.72 (0.17%)

2011 153.90 (0.05%) 270.87 (0.10%) 424.77 (0.15%)

Hellenic Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans (HPERB)  HPERB was conceived by the Greek Ministry of Economics in 1999.  Provides bilateral aid to Balkan countries as part of an overall

programme aiming to ensure the political, economic, and social stability of Southeastern Europe  Goal to be achieved by funding the creation, maintenance or

modernisation of infrastructure and public administration in Balkan countries undergoing economic transition and also facilitate Greek direct investment in these countries.  The countries included in the programme are Albania, Bosnia‐

Herzegovina, Bulgaria, FYROM, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Kosovo.

Bilateral Official Development Assistance 2011

by Geographical Area and Selected Countries, in millions $US Geographical Area Total Europe Albania Serbia Total Africa Egypt Niger Total America Total Asia West Bank and Gaza Syria Jordan Armenia Georgia (Afghanistan) (Pakistan) Total Oceania Aid not included above Grand Total

Total 75.67 51.97 13.31 18.38 8.40 1.45 1.82 19.42 5.35 2.76 1.96 1.92 1.66 0.77 0.21 0.00 38.61 153.90

Top Ten Receiving Countries of Bilateral Official Greek Development Aid, 2011, in millions $US Albania Serbia Egypt West Bank and Gaza Ukraine Turkey Syria Jordan Armenia Moldova

51.97 13.31 8.40 5.35 3.68 3.28 2.76 1.96 1.92 1.70

Areas of Bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Albania, 2011, in $US

Educational facilities and training Imputed cost of tertiary‐level students High level technical and administrative assistance Medical education and training Road transportation Multisectoral education and training (scholarships) Total

542,728 41,291,852 3,886 88,920 8,645,820 1,396.697 51,969,905

Main Programmes/ Projects implemented with ODA to Albania 2011  Support of primary and secondary schools in Albania  Provision of scholarships for studies in Greek tertiary schools (AEI and TEI)  Imputed cost of foreign nationals studying in Greek tertiary schools (AEI and TEI)  Education in organization of programme monitoring radiation levels  Placement and training for acquisition of medical specialty in Greek hospitals by doctors who are foreign nationals  Reconstruction and upgrading of existing road connecting Greek‐Albanian border (Sagiada) with Albanian cities of Konispoli and Ag. Saranda. Total length is 40.6 kilometers.

3. Development Assistance and Coordination with Migration Policy: Evaluation Greece’s development assistance programme was peer‐reviewed by the OECD in November 2011.

Conclusions of the review about Greek ODA:  Should focus more on results and quality,  Needs better co‐ordination among ministries,  Should provide aid to fewer countries, fewer sectors, fewer actors, and larger projects.

Connections between Greek development assistance and migration policy as reported by Hellenic Aid (state agency)  bilateral agreements concluded with Albania in 1984 and Egypt in 1997 for

seasonal and temporary migration, which promote cooperation in issuance of residence permits for temporary labour in agric. and fishing

 “Kallikratis” programme for local government adopted in 2010, provides for

“one stop” offices to cover migrant needs in capitals of all prefectures.

 adoption in 2010 of a three‐year national action plan for reform of the asylum

system and migration management, including creation of a new asylum service and a first reception service.

 incorporation of an EU directive concerning readmission of undocumented

migrants to third countries.

 change in procedures for the provision of asylum  collaboration between the police and justice system, public information

campaigns, relations with international org’s and with countries of origin and transit which resulted in an increase in prosecutions and convictions.

Other Connections?  Albania is the major sending country of migrants to Greece, as well as the

major recipient of Greek assistance.  Greece has engaged with Albania on migration issues, as seen in the agreement for temporary migration, but only minimally: channels for non‐temporary legal migration remain exceptionally narrow (as for third country nationals more generally)  Most of the spending on ODA to Albania actually concerns Albanian nationals present in Greece and mainly education and training.  Impact of this spending on Albanian development is unclear, but the successful integration of Albanian citizens in the Greek educational system and labour market can have important benefits for Albania: ‐in the form of remittances, although current recession and high unemployment have no doubt decreased the value of remittances sent from Greece to Albania. ‐transfer of valuable knowledge and skills back home to Albania, as well as facilitation of networking which can benefit entrepreneurial activity.

Other Connections?  Minimal development assistance provided to countries that in the last years have been driving unauthorized migrant flows into Greece, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.  No effective coordination of development goals and migration policy.

4. Conclusion: Potential avenues of collaboration with source countries Migration policy initiatives Greece could take to enhance development in its source countries:  cooperative efforts to develop areas of the source country that are sending

large numbers of migrants.

 improving anti‐ smuggling and anti‐trafficking efforts  combating the exploitation of migrants by organized crime and by employers  the co‐management of migration flows with source countries, and the

opening of channels for legal migration.

 work together to create system for official recognition of skills and

qualifications of migrants in Greece which were acquired in the country of origin, the utilization of which in Greece will prevent “brain waste” and “skill depreciation”, thereby increasing the value of remittances to source countries, as well as contributing to the development of Greece.

Need to look forward  With the current economic recession and high levels of unemployment, it’s

difficult today for Greece to envision and adopt the last two measures, namely 1) co‐management of flows and opening channels for legal migration 2) cooperation to create a system of official recognition of credentials so the skills and qualifications of migrants in Greece can be utilised.  Nonetheless, the geography of migration is changing and Greece should

prepare itself for future realities: 1) demand for migrant labour in developed countries will increase due to population ageing and competition to attract them will intensify 2) many countries that have sent large numbers of migrants in the recent past now have high growth rates that mean attractive opportunities and prospects at home, resulting in the shrinking of the supply of migrants.  As noted recently by the OECD, developed countries currently in recession

that design forward‐looking migration policies will be in an advantageous position to capture the benefits of migration for the development of their own countries upon exiting the recession.

Right now in Greece it’s difficult to think about our future beyond the recession, but that’s what we should be doing.

Thanks for your attention and participation!