Perspectives on labour mobility in the Nordic-Baltic region Mobility trends between the Baltic and Nordic states and different national policy approaches to the increased mobility in the macro-region.

Anna Berlina, Lisbeth Harbo and Rasmus Ole Rasmussen

NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 Perspectives on labour mobility in the Nordic-Baltic region Perspectives on labour mobility in the Nordic-Baltic region

Anna Berlina, Lisbeth Harbo and Rasmus Ole Rasmussen Perspectives on labour mobility in the Nordic-Baltic region

Nordregio Working Paper 2017:4

ISBN: 978-91-87295-50-8 ISSN: 1403-2511

© Nordregio 2017 and the authors

Nordregio P.O. Box 1658 SE-111 86 Stockholm, Sweden [email protected] www.nordregio.se www.norden.org

Editors: Anna Berlina, Lisbeth Harbo and Rasmus Ole Rasmussen Photocredits: Norden.org

Nordic co-operation Nordic co-operation is one of the world’s most extensive forms of regional collaboration, involving Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. Nordic co-operation has fi rm traditions in politics, the economy, and culture. It plays an important role in European and inter- national collaboration, and aims at creating a strong Nordic community in a strong Europe. Nordic co-operation seeks to safeguard Nordic and regional interests and principles in the global community. Common Nordic values help the region solidify its position as one of the world’s most innovative and competitive.

The Nordic Council is a forum for co-operation between the Nordic parliaments and governments. The Council consists of 87 parliamentarians from the Nordic countries. The Nordic Council takes policy initiatives and monitors Nordic co-operation. Founded in 1952.

The Nordic Council of Ministers is a forum of co-operation between the Nordic governments. The Nordic Council of Ministers implements Nordic co-operation. The prime ministers have the overall responsibility. Its activities are co-ordinated by the Nordic ministers for co-operation, the Nordic Committee for co-operation and portfolio ministers. Founded in 1971.

Nordregio conducts strategic research in the fi elds of planning and regional policy. Nordregio is active in research and dissemina- tion and provides policy relevant knowledge, particularly with a Nordic and European comparative perspective. Nordregio was established in 1997 by the Nordic Council of Ministers, and is built on over 40 years of collaboration.

Stockholm, Sweden, 2017 Table of Contents

Preface ...... 6 1. Introduction ...... 7 2. Patterns of mobility in the Nordic-Baltic region ...... 10 3. European Union policies on labour mobility ...... 21 4. National-level perspectives on labour mobility in the Baltic States ...... 22 5. Local-level perspectives on labour mobility ...... 26 6. Concluding remarks ...... 31 Preface

Th is publication is one outcome of a project on labour graphic Situation” implemented by the Nordic Council mobility between the Nordic-Baltic countries: “En- of Ministers’ Offi ces in the Baltic States in 2013. hanced Nordic-Baltic co-operation on challenges of Among other activities realized within the frame- labour mobility in the Nordic-Baltic region” that the work of this 2014-2016 initiative are the following con- Nordic Council of Ministers’ Offi ce in Lithuania led ferences: during 2014-2016 in co-operation with the the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Offi ces in Estonia and Latvia, • Family and Migration in the Baltic-Nordic Region: and Nordregio in Sweden. Challenges and Solutions, Vilnius, 21 November Th e overall objective of the project was to facilitate 2014 understanding and strengthen co-operation within the • Labour Migration in the Nordic-Baltic Region: Nordic-Baltic region on labour mobility and demo- Trends of Labour Migration - Ready for Changes? graphic development across Nordic and Baltic munici- Tallinn, 27 March 2015 palities and regions. Th e project is a follow-up of the initiative “Challeng- For a full overview of the project and related publica- es of Migration in the Nordic-Baltic Region: Impact on tions, please see Nordregio’s website: National Labour Markets, Welfare State and Demo- www.nordregio.se/BLAM

6 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 1. Introduction

Free movement of workers is among the fundamental in-migration at municipal level in the Nordic-Baltic principles of the European Union (EU). EU citizens region. have “the rights of movement and residence for work- At the same time, the requirements for new skills ers, the rights of entry and residence for family mem- and workers are increasing in the competitive global bers, and the right to work in another Member State economy. Labour mobility can therefore be one way of and be treated on an equal footing with nationals of alleviating specifi c labour shortages and mismatches that Member State” (European Parliament, 2016). in the EU by matching labour demand and supply, Since the eastward enlargement of the European Un- and thus can contribute to improved employment and ion in 2004, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined competitiveness in the Nordic-Baltic region. In this re- the EU, labour mobility and co-operation between the spect, labour mobility may also contribute to improve- Baltic States and the Nordic countries have been stead- ments in generic and occupational skills and increase ily increasing. While the level of cross-border labour adaptability and employability (European Commis- mobility in the Baltic-Nordic region does not consti- sion, 2014; Kahila et al., 2013). tute the largest fl ows of Baltic migrants to another EU While the main interest in this publication as well country—in sheer volume, the UK remains the main as in the project behind it has been on labour mobil- receiving country—the fl ows between the Baltic and ity—with labour mobility being understood as cross- the Nordic countries are interesting in two respects: border movement of workers within the Nordic-Baltic 1) due to geographical proximity, the Nordic countries region—this distinction of people moving for job as a group are signifi cant receiving countries of Baltic purposes solely is, both in statistics and policies, not labour migrants, and 2) due to historical political ties easily distinguished from those moving for other rea- and macro-regional co-operation activities between sons, such as family reunifi cation, opportunities to the Nordic and the Baltic countries, there is signifi cant study abroad, etc. Th ese categories are also fl uid, since interest in the labour fl ows within the region. Further- the prime reason for living away from one’s country more, the good availability of register data on the Nor- of birth may change over time or even overlap with dic countries makes it possible to diff erentiate between others from the outset. Another issue is that not all various groups of Baltic labour migrants in the Nordic countries, including their sub-national location, which movements between two Member States are registered. makes the study of Nordic-Baltic migration trends an People moving for a shorter time than the national re- interesting case in itself. quirements for registration in the population data bases Both Nordic and Baltic labour markets face com- are not included, nor are those working on a temporary mon challenges related to demographic change. Th e basis in another country. A previous Nordic study on megatrend of mobility from rural areas to urban areas labour migration to the Nordic countries from the new results in an ageing population, low birth rates and in- Member States during the period 2004-2011 estimates creasing labour demand in certain sectors and profes- that when including workers on temporary stay, the sions, such as health care, in the rural areas. Th is trend numbers should be almost doubled (Friberg & Eldring, is further accentuated when regions and municipalities 2013). Th erefore, the presented data on Baltic migrants experience international out-migration in addition to is to provide an overview of the trends of mobility in the internal migration from rural to urban areas: see the Nordic-Baltic region rather than exact fi gures on Map 1 for the current pattern of out-migration and the extent of labour mobility.

NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 7 Map 1 Net migration at municipal level in the Nordic-Baltic region.

Vulnerability indicated by net migration in 2016

Net migration Landsbyggð classification Höfuðborgarsvæði (Norden) > 0.62 0.44 - 0.62 0,27 - 0.44 -0.09 - 0.27 -0.27 - -0.09 -0.44 - -0.27 0 1 000 < -0.44

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For details on net migration as a vulnerability factor, please refer to www.nordregio.se/NB_DVA

8 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 Th e purpose of this publication is to tie together a Th e report is divided into fi ve parts. Chapter 2 provides number of the fi ndings from the activities in the pro- statistical overviews on migration trends in the Nor- ject “Enhanced Nordic-Baltic co-operation on chal- dic-Baltic region. EU policies addressing labour mobil- lenges of labour mobility in the Nordic-Baltic region” ity and national-level perspectives on labour mobility by: in the Baltic States are the focus of chapters 3 and 4 re- spectively. Chapter 5 discusses the local-level perspec- • Presenting recent statistical data showing the pro- tives on labour mobility in the Baltic States, supple- fi le of Baltic migrants in the Nordic countries and mented by an overview of how municipalities in the their spatial distribution; Nordic countries work on labour mobility. Chapter 6 • Providing an overview of the national policy per- presents some cross-cutting conclusions and lessons spectives and key concerns in the fi eld of labour learned. mobility in the Baltic States; • Investigating whether and how labour mobility is addressed in the policy-making fi eld and in prac- tice at the local or regional level in the Baltic States; • Exemplifying how Nordic municipalities work on labour mobility, including main themes of the measures and adaptive strategies.

NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 9 2. Patterns of mobility in the Nordic-Baltic region

Increased mobility in the Nordic-Baltic region has both migrant has been abroad (s)he is more likely to leave positive and negative implications for both the receiving again, just as these migration rates do not capture (re- and sending countries. For the Baltic countries in par- petitive) short-term movements: one very common type ticular, one major issue has been that the emigration rate of labour mobility. Another issue is that these emigra- during the previous decade has been signifi cantly high- tion and immigration rates from individual countries er than the (re)immigration rate; see Figure 1 below. Th e do not capture the migration that may happen between fi gure also shows that in the period around the fi nancial second and third countries abroad; e.g. a Lithuanian crisis of 2008, the out-migration fi gures rose, although moving from the UK to Norway when the UK was hit this shows less infl uence on the immigration rates. harder by recession than Norway. All these factors make Re-immigration is an obvious factor when consider- migrants’ mobility quite diffi cult to track, even on na- ing labour migration, since it can be expected that most tional levels. immigration to the Baltic States concerns Baltic na- In the context of Nordic-Baltic mobility trends, the tionals returning aft er a period abroad. However, stud- last decade has also seen an increase in the number of ies show that these patterns are not easily explained in Baltic migrants to the Nordic countries. Th is was trig- terms of a given person out-migrating one year and then gered by the enlargement of the EU in 2004 and has returning permanently the next. Rather, once a labour since been growing steadily: see Figure 2*.

Figure 1: Emigration and immigration fi gures for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

 
 
 
 
 
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10 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 Figure 2: Baltic migration to the Nordic countries 2000-2014












  
 

 

 































  

 

 

 






























  

 

 

 



















NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 11 Figure 3: Residents of Baltic origin across the Nordic countries 2016 (*Sweden 2015 fi gures)

 





 

 
 

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At the turn of the year 2015/2016, almost 150,000 grants in the Nordic countries has been on the rise, par- Balts were residing in the Nordic countries—a fi gure ticularly in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. that has more than doubled since 2010 when the Nordic Norway has attracted by far the largest fraction of countries had almost 69,000 residents of Baltic origin— migrants from Lithuania compared with other Nordic and about three-quarters of these are in the active la- countries, rising from less than 3,000 people in 2006 to bour force age between 20-64 years old. Estonians com- over 37,000 in 2016. Migration of Lithuanians to Swe- prised the biggest group, almost 64,000, of which the den and Denmark has also been steadily increasing, al- majority live in Finland (almost 75%, approx. 47,000), though at a slower pace, reaching more than 11,000 in closely followed by 61,500 Lithuanians, and then 24,000 both countries in 2015/2016. Latvians. Due to a recent sharp increase in Lithuanian In contrast to the infl ux of Estonians, Finland has men residing in Norway, slightly more than half of the been the least popular destination country among the 150,000 Balts are men (52%), while the gender balance Nordic countries for the Latvian and Lithuanian mi- among the residents of Baltic origin was the opposite in grants. Migrants from Latvia and Lithuania to Finland 2010. accounts for only a little more than 3,000 persons in However, there are noticeable diff erences between 2016. the Nordic countries. Finland has been the main receiv- An overview of this quite varied distribution of the ing country for the Estonian migrants for a long time, residents of Baltic origin across the Nordic countries including prior to the EU enlargement. Th e infl ows of can be illustrated by Figure 3, which depicts the fi gures Estonian migrants have been steadily rising since the for residents of Baltic origin in Denmark, Norway, Swe- early 2000s which can be explained by close geographic den and Finland. proximity, good accessibility and not least, linguistic Th e residents of Baltic origin are distributed through- ties. Other Nordic countries have relatively small popu- out the Nordic regions (see Map 2). However, while they lation of Estonian migrants, although there has been a are rather evenly spread out in the Danish and Norwe- steady increase since 2008, probably as a consequence of gian regions, the majority of the Balts in Sweden live the fi nancial crisis in Estonia. in the Stockholm region. In an even more pronounced Migration to the Nordic countries from Latvia was way, the Helsinki region in Finland is home to the vast low until 2008. Since 2008, the share of Latvian mi- majority of Estonians living in Finland.

PLEASE note that although we name the residents of Baltic origin “Latvians”, “Lithuanians” and “Estonians”, they may not be citizens of these countries. Due to the special circumstances regarding the status of non-citizens in Estonia and Latvia aft er the break-up of the Soviet Union, we have used the statistical category of “country of origin” rather than “citizenship”. By doing so, the fi gures could also include those who may have changed their citizen- ship since arrival in the Nordic countries.

12 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 Map 2: Sec ond-generation persons with parents of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian origin

Population born in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania

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NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 13 Gender of the Baltic migrants in the Nordic Considering the longevity of females in general, the countries larger number of females of Baltic origin in the Nordic One frequently cited explanation for migration is the countries could be attributed to this factor. However, initial labour migration of primarily Baltic males who when restricting the analysis to people in the active la- are then later joined by their families. Th is explanation bour age range (here, 20-64 years old), the gender trend is further supported by the expectation that EU labour is the same (see Figure 5). migrants are oft en found in the construction and agri- Due to a lack of data availability for age groups, a culture sector. Th is may hold true for the short-term similar analysis of Balts residing in Norway has not labour migrants, since employment in these sectors been possible. may oft en be of short-term duration (e.g. a specifi c con- Because of the longer migration history of Estoni- struction project; during the harvest season, etc.). ans to Finland, there could have been diff erences in However, when taking into consideration those staying the population structure there. However, females have in the Nordic countries long enough to be included in continuously outnumbered males, including in the ac- the national data registers, a gender analysis of the Bal- tive labour force age range (see Figure 6). tic residents in all countries shows that until rather re- cently, the highest number of residents of Baltic origin Age structure of the residents of Baltic origin in have been females. Th is trend has been in evidence the Nordic countries since the very low numbers that were recorded around Although the majority of the Baltic population residing 2000. Only recently has the number of Lithuanian in the Nordic countries is in the active labour force age males exceeded that of females in Denmark and Swe- between 20 and 64 years old, some trends can also be den, while the number of Lithuanian males exceeded seen when exploring the changes in the numbers of that of females in Norway as early as 2008. children of Baltic origin as well as the those of Baltic In Norway, the numbers of Estonian and Latvian people reaching retirement age. As the above fi gures males have exceeded the corresponding totals of fe- show, the group of residents of Baltic origin in the Nor- males; although with a less pronounced diff erence. In dic countries is growing rapidly, but this does not indi- Finland, there has been little change to the gender bal- cate how long the individual Baltic person settles in ance, with females being in the slight majority for all those countries. However, if the groups of Baltic chil- three groups of Baltic migrants both in 2010 and 2015. dren born in the Nordic countries as well as pensioners

Figure 4: Gendered division of the residents of Baltic origin in Denmark

  


 

 
 
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14 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 Figure 5: Ba ltic residents in the active labour age in Denmark

  


 

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NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 15 Figure 7: Increase in number of children of Baltic parents born in Norway (second generation) since 2010

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16 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 Map 3: Second-generation persons with parents of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian origin as a share of the total second generation-persons from these countries, average 2010-2016

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NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 17 grow, this provides an indication of the proportion of note because this aspect of Baltic children brought to, Balts having settled in the Nordic countries for the long and born in, the Nordic countries plays into the inter- term. complexity of mobility between sending and receiving Th e available data from the statistical offi ces in Fin- countries. Studies have shown (e.g. Mieriņa et al., 2015) land and Denmark make it possible to diff erentiate be- that the time of their children reaching school age is tween children of Baltic origin moving to the Nordic oft en an incentive for families living abroad to recon- countries and those born in the Nordic countries to sider the place where they settle, i.e. it may lead them to parents of Baltic origin (i.e. neither parent is born in a return to their country of origin. However, the opposite Nordic country), oft en termed the second generation. may also occur, in that once their child(ren) has/have Norway only lists the second-generation fi gures, and started school, returning to their country of origin may not the ages of those migrating to Norway (and Swe- be seen as harder. den does not list second-generation fi gures). While the Of the total number of children of Baltic parents fi gures of the Baltic immigrants’ ages can indicate how (brought to as well as born in the Nordic countries), the many children—and thereby families—are moving to number of Baltic children born in the Nordic countries the Nordic countries, the second-generation fi gures in- account for an increasing share in Denmark (up from dicate that the Baltic parents have settled in the Nordic one-third to almost half), while the proportion is quite countries long enough to start/continue their families stable in Finland (app. 40%). (see Figure 7). As can be seen from Map 3 below, the distribution of Considering the time that has elapsed since the 2004 second- generations Balts follows the distribution of EU expansion as well as the considerable increase in the Baltic nationals in general at the regional level. Th is the number of residents of Baltic origin, it is hardly supports the understanding that the Baltic immigrants surprising that the proportion of the second genera- are not only single individuals staying in the Nordic tion of these residents is also increasing in the Nordic countries for a limited period of time, but are increas- countries. However, in a future perspective, this fur- ingly (part of) families that may also have decided on ther anchoring of the Baltic labour migrants in the or even planned for more permanent moves. Nordic countries through their children is worthy of

Figure 8 : Residents of Baltic origin aged 65 years and above.

  


 


 
 

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18 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 Rise of the number of pensioners in almost all Also, an increased access to learning, information and Nordic countries migration networks have contributed to a more dy- Furthermore, when considering the life cycle perspec- namic migratory process (Nordic Council of Minis- tive, a number of the Nordic residents of Baltic origin ters, 2008). are reaching retirement age. Th is new phase of an indi- In the Baltic States policy context, cross-border vidual’s life cycle makes it possible for the labour mi- mobility has been mainly viewed from the perspec- grants to make new decisions regarding place of resi- tive of labour emigration. Out-migration, combined dence but again, the general trend is a rising number of with other demographic challenges, represents a sig- Nordic residents, indicating that a growing number of nifi cant threat to the labour markets and can lead to Baltic retirees stay in their Nordic country of residence. “brain drain” and overall negative economic and social Although the fi gures are rather small for Denmark, the impacts (see Map 1 on net migration). Th e impacts of number of retirees of Baltic origin is up almost 40%, these challenges are particularly felt at the regional and while in Finland, the fi gure has tripled since 2010. Only local levels outside the capital areas. In the long term, in Sweden has the fi gure of retirees of Baltic origin shortages in the supply of labour and skills are viewed dropped, a decrease of around 25%. However, this is as obstacles to continued economic development and testament to the fact that the relatively small popula- economic growth in the Baltic States (Nordic Council tion of Estonian origin in Sweden comprises a large of Ministers, 2008). group of Estonian Swedes who fl ed to Sweden during Th e positive impacts for the sending countries could the Second World War; something that also accounts be in the form of contacts, networks and business activ- for the rather low share of Estonians of working age in ities that an emigrant may establish between the send- Sweden (52%). Th is group of Estonian-born Swedes is ing and receiving country. Labour migration may also now reaching the end of their lives; a trend that has decrease unemployment in the sending country and continued since at least the turn of the millennium. contribute to the development through remittances. Workers may also move back to the country of origin Summing up: somewhat varied profi le of the having gained new skills and competencies. Moreover, Baltic group among the Nordic countries labour migration may have a positive contribution to While the Baltic residents in Finland consist primarily knowledge transfer and the creation of business and of Estonians, the pattern is similar to that of Norway, trade networks (IOM, 2004; Kahila et al., 2013). Denmark and Sweden in that the overall number of For the receiving countries, labour migration con- Balts has been growing, and drastically so, since around tributes to maintaining labour force growth and tack- 2010. In Norway, the dominant country of origin is ling demographic challenges by increasing the size of Lithuania and the proportion of males is increasing. the country’s working-age population. Th is contrib- Th e number of residents of Lithuanian origin is also utes to lowering the dependency ratio and reducing growing in Denmark but at a much slower pace, just as pressure on public fi nances. Labour migration con- that of Latvians is on the rise in both countries. Over- veys other important economic benefi ts; for instance all, the number of Balts in Sweden is also growing; through increased output gains (GDP growth) (Ho & however, detailed analysis shows that there is an over- Shirono, 2015). At the regional level, labour mobility representation of older residents of Baltic origin; pri- contributes to strengthening regional competitiveness marily those from Estonia because of the large diaspora and overcoming challenges related to domestic labour of Estonian Swedes who fl ed during the Second World and competency shortages (Friberg & Eldring, 2013). War. Th e advantages of the migrants from the Baltic countries are also related to their—on average—higher 2.1 Drivers and impacts of labour educational level and better professional skills than some other international migrants (Kahila et al., 2013). mobility In many cases, the labour migrants from the Baltic Potentially better salary levels in the Nordic countries countries work on short-term contracts as temporary and the labour market situation are among the most labour and are involved in cyclical migration. In the important factors infl uencing mobility decisions. Th is short term, this type of migration helps make labour applies to low-skilled jobs in particular, for which the supply in the host country more fl exible (Ho & Shiro- wage diff erences in the Nordic countries are particu- no, 2015). In the long run, labour mobility may have a larly favourable (Nordic Council of Ministers, 2008). negative impact on the disadvantaged groups on the la- At the same time, soft factors such as family ties, life- bour market of the receiving country, e.g. through the style and cultural factors also play an important role. possibility of increased inequality, precarious working

NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 19 conditions and labour standards as a result of segmen- ity include better employment possibilities, improved tation, pressure on the housing market, social integra- economic well-being and avoiding unemployment. Th e tion, etc. Also, there is a potential challenge related to a negative consequences of cross-border labour mobility surplus supply of migrant workers with similar compe- can be associated with loss of social networks, family tencies to those of the domestic labour force. disruption, as well as “down-skilling”, i.e. accepting At the individual level, the benefi ts of labour mobil- jobs below one’s qualifi cations level (Kahila et al., 2013).

20 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 3. European Union policies on labour mobility

Th e European Union policies are central in determin- With representations in each EU Member State, EU- ing the framework for cross-border labour mobility in RES implements the labour market policy goals of the the Member States. Th e Europe 2020 Strategy calls for EU by facilitating the removal of legal and practical facilitating and promoting intra-EU labour mobility obstacles to the free movement of workers and provid- (European Commission, 2010). Th e EU encourages ing job-matching services for people with an interest in cross-border labour mobility through, among other working abroad or entering a country’s labour market things, removing legal obstacles, facilitating co-opera- (European Commission, 2014). tion between public employment services and the rec- Among other examples of intra-EU co-operation ognition of professional qualifi cations. Promoting em- on labour mobility is a Central Baltic Job Ferry pro- ployment and supporting labour mobility are among ject funded by the Central Baltic INTERREG IVA the specifi c objectives of the European Social Fund programme. Among the outcomes of the project was measures, and to some extent fall within the scope of the development of a platform for labour mobility in the European Regional Development Fund (European the Central Baltic region (Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Commission, 2014). Sweden) in 2013, which includes information on job Cross-border labour mobility within the EU is pro- descriptions, contract regulations and requirements moted in the context of the EURES (European Em- for foreigners, as well as links to information points ployment Service) network that facilitates the develop- and job databases (Central Baltic Programme, 2013). ment of a more integrated European labour market.

NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 21 4. National-level perspectives on labour mobility in the Baltic States

Migration has become an important topic in the Baltic specifi c focus areas of the ministries in the fi eld of mi- States over the past decade. Th e Baltic States have de- gration are described below. veloped policies and regulations addressing labour mo- bility by considering the challenges and interests of Attracting highly skilled labour and international their respective countries. Several high-level con- students ferences on migration issues have been held in the Bal- Until recently, national policies and programmes such tic States since 2014, which also shows the importance as “Increasing qualifi ed labour off er 2007-2013”, have of the topic on the political agenda. mainly focused on developing active labour market Despite the similarities in challenges that the Baltic measures and on facilitating the involvement of the lo- States are facing, the focus of migration policies is quite cal labour force in work life, whereas attracting foreign diff erent among the three Baltic States. A more detailed labour is a rather new phenomenon. As a result of overview of the current national policy perspectives is amendments in the Aliens Act in 2008 and 2013, it has presented in this section. become easier to recruit highly skilled foreign workers, Th e chapter is based on the input collected from and regulations regarding the arrival of international the roundtable discussions with the national authori- students have been simplifi ed (EMN, 2010, 2013). In or- ties and representatives from the associations of local der to increase the competitiveness of Estonia’s econo- and regional governments, researchers and experts my in attracting a highly skilled labour force and inter- working on migration issues in the Baltic States, which national students, objectives are outlined in the were held during spring and summer 2015. Th e inter- Government Action Programme 2011-2015, in the views were supplemented by the desk-top review of the competitiveness plan “Estonia 2020” and in the Entre- adopted national policies and strategies on the topic of preneurship Growth Strategy 2014-2020. However, migration in the Baltic States. there is currently no comprehensive policy document which includes measures to attract highly qualifi ed na- 4.1 Estonia tionals (EMN, 2013). Th e immigration policies of Esto- nia, as well as in the other Baltic States, are in general In the fi eld of labour mobility, the main political focus opposed to the infl ow of low-skilled foreign workers. in Estonia has been on facilitating the arrival, tempo- Regarding the participation of foreign students in rary stay and settlement of a highly skilled labour force the Estonian labour market, only a small proportion (both from EU and third-country nationals), branding of them choose to study the professions that are in de- of the country and fostering return migration. mand in Estonia. Th e majority study the subjects that are also popular among the local population and it Responsible authorities therefore becomes more diffi cult for foreign students to Migration issues in Estonia fall under the responsibili- fi nd a job in Estonia. ties of several ministries and public departments. Among these are the Ministry of the Interior, the Min- Monitoring migration potential istry of Social Aff airs and the Ministry of Foreign Af- Th e Employment Department at the Ministry of Social fairs. Th e Ministry of the Interior has the primary re- Aff airs of Estonia is focusing on out-migration and on sponsibility for developing the migration and asylum monitoring migration potential. Every third year, the policy in Estonia. Th e main responsibilities of the Min- ministry conducts a survey on Estonia’s working-age istry of Foreign Aff airs are visa policies and relations population migration potential. Th e latest survey, from with third countries, while the Ministry of Social Af- 2013, showed that despite a signifi cant number of peo- fairs works with the asylum policy (EMN, 2012). More ple leaving Estonia to work in other EU Member States,

22 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 the positive eff ects of out-migration have also been felt on the basis of the EU blue card played a minor role since 2004 in the form of large remittance fl ows to Es- in this. Since the implementation, about 40 blue cards tonia. Th e survey also showed that there are more re- were issued to foreign workers and to about 80 top spe- turning migrants among the ethnic Estonians, while cialists. Th e EU blue card is a residence permit for em- non-Estonians are more likely to stay abroad for a long- ployment, which is granted to an alien for residence in er period and are less likely to return. an EU Member State and for employment in a position or job that requires high-level qualifi cations. Communication and branding Th e roundtable participants also emphasized that An important focus at the Ministry of the Interior of although attracting foreign labour is high on the po- Estonia is on communication and the branding of Es- litical agenda, companies in Estonia—98% of which tonia as a place to work and study. Th e ministry is de- are SMEs—do not show willingness and openness to veloping a welcoming and adaptation programme for hiring foreign labour due to practical challenges, such both EU and non-EU immigrants who enter and settle as writing contracts, changing the offi cial working in Estonia. It is also working on developing the profi les language, etc. Moreover, there is a lack of integration of migrants and on specifi c prognoses regarding the la- support programmes and readiness to deal with the bour demand in Estonia. It has been emphasized at the integration of foreign workers and their families in Es- roundtable in Estonia that there is a need for more re- tonian society as a whole is low. search and analysis on the profi le of migrants in future. Several other initiatives have been introduced to promote work opportunities in Estonia. Enterprise 4.2 Latvia Estonia is a state-owned institution for promoting and In Latvia, emigration has primarily been seen as a loss actively supporting business in Estonia and branding of human capital, in the context of a rapidly-ageing so- the country abroad. It runs a portal, www.workinesto- ciety. Several policy documents have been developed, nia.com, which contains ongoing information about focusing on fostering return migration and helping the job off ers for specialists who have a poor knowledge of returning migrants to successfully integrate back into Estonian. Th e portal is also directed at providing job- society, and on strengthening ties and developing co- related information to foreign students. Th e European operation with the diaspora (Mieriņa, 2015). EURES job mediation offi ce is also working on brand- ing Estonia as a place to work (Ministry of Economic Responsible authorities Aff airs and Communications, 2014). Th e key state administration institutions of Latvia that are responsible for a certain range of issues related to Attracting qualifi ed returning migrants the area of migration are the Ministry of Interior, the When it comes to return migration, a large project was Ministry of Foreign Aff airs, the Ministry of Welfare, launched by the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of Fi- Industry from 2009 to 2012, “Bring Talents Back nance. Th e Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Lat- Home” fi nanced by the European Social Fund. Th e via is the lead institution in Latvia for migration and purpose of the project was to attract qualifi ed and asylum. It runs the Offi ce of Citizenship and Migration skilled Estonians studying or working abroad to return Aff airs, which is responsible for the development and home by fostering direct contact with Estonian compa- implementation of state migration policy. Th e Ministry nies. Th e project’s website was used as a job market tool of Foreign Aff airs works with the external dimension and aimed at connecting Estonians abroad with possi- of migration and asylum, such as relations with third ble employers in Estonia (OECD, 2012). countries (EMN, 2016). Th e migration issues related to An increasing proportion of returning migrants has economic migration lie within the responsibility of the been observed in recent years in Estonia, which calls Ministry of Welfare (EMN, 2011). for introducing supportive integration measures. It has been brought up by the participants of the roundtable in Estonia that facilitating the integration of returning Reducing emigration and attracting returning migrants is currently given signifi cantly less attention migrants than in neighbouring Latvia and Lithuania, and it is In the National Development Plan of Latvia (NAP) 2014- something that is necessary to look into in the nearest 2020, one of the mid-term goals is “to reduce emigration future. and foster return migration of Latvian nationals abroad.” Estonia has not yet been very successful in attract- Preserving the national identity of Latvian diaspora ing and retaining highly skilled labour. Employment members is outlined among the tasks in the plan.

NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 23 Contact with and support to diaspora Encouraging domestic migration to demograph- Several ministries in Latvia are dealing with diaspora ically vulnerable regions issues. Th e Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Among other measures in place in the fi eld of labour Latvia has developed a Plan of remigration support ac- migration in Latvia is a regional migration programme tivities for 2013-2016, which aims at encouraging Lat- which was introduced by the Public Employment Ser- vian nationals residing abroad to come back. Th e sup- vice. Th e programme aims at encouraging internal mi- port activities are designed to provide support to gration to demographically vulnerable regions in Lat- Latvian nationals and their families to reintegrate into via by off ering fi nancial assistance (e.g. by paying for society aft er a long absence and to strengthen their transport and the rent for accommodation during the bonds with Latvia. Th e activities envisage support for fi rst months aft er starting the new job). the Latvian diaspora in learning the Latvian language and the country’s cultural traditions, support for entre- A large-scale survey on migration preneurs, etc. About EUR 3.4 million has been allocat- A large-scale survey “Th e Emigrant Communities of ed for the implementation of the plan. Th e plan pri- Latvia: National Identity, Transnational Relations and marily targets highly qualifi ed migrants and the Diaspora Policies” was carried out in Latvia in 2014 younger population. within the ESF-funded project “Th e emigrant commu- Support to the Latvian diaspora has been high on nities of Latvia” (www.migracija.lv). Th e main purpose the agenda of several ministries in recent years. A di- of the survey was to obtain comprehensive information aspora working group was established in 2013 under on emigrants’ profi les and identify the main intentions the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs. An Ac- for return migration to Latvia (Hazans, 2015). Th e sur- tion plan for co-operation with the Latvian diaspora vey covered more than 14,000 ethnic Latvians and Lat- in 2015-2017 was developed, which includes more than vian nationals from 118 countries. 50 diff erent activities aiming at strengthening Latvian Th e survey results showed that the character of mi- identity and maintaining links with Latvia, spreading gration is changing. While in 2006, many migrants the Latvian language and culture in the world, pro- were considering coming back to Latvia aft er one or moting civic and political involvement of the diaspora several years of working abroad, the data from recent members, as well as providing support for those who years show that an increasing number of people emi- wish to return. Th e Ministry of Culture, the Ministry grate with the whole family and only about 20% of emi- of Education and Science and the Latvian Language grants are considering coming back to Latvia in the Agency support the language schools abroad with ma- coming years. Moreover, despite an increase in return terial in Latvian. Society Integration Foundation is a migration, emigration rates are still higher than before public agency which fi nancially supports and promotes the crisis. A new tendency that can be observed today is integration into society. It fi nances, for instance, sum- an increased return of Latvian nationals aft er reaching mer camps for diaspora children and provides support retirement age and those receiving a foreign pension. to diaspora organizations (SIF, 2015). Aft er completing the large-scale survey, knowledge Th e Ministry of Foreign Aff airs also supports the and data on the situation of returning migrants are Latvian diaspora by providing fi nancial assistance still missing. Th e survey showed that about 40% of re- to the diaspora media, summer camps and language turning migrants re-emigrate from Latvia again. An schools, including distance-learning language pro- additional survey targeting the returning migrants is grammes, as well as fi nancing diff erent projects in planned in future to overcome the knowledge gap. co-operation with the embassies abroad in the fi eld of sports and culture. Th e Ministry of Foreign Aff airs has also supported the economic and innovation fo- 4.3 Lithuania rum, which targeted Latvian entrepreneurs abroad and Th ere is an ongoing public discussion on the migration aimed at bringing back their know-how and capital to policy priorities in Lithuania. According to the round- Latvia. table participants, there are three diff erent views on the In the 2013, the amendments to the Latvian Citizen- migration policy in Lithuania today. According to the ship Act regarding dual citizenship entered into force; fi rst opinion, the government should have a proactive they are, intended to keep and extend ties between the approach and focus on fostering the return migration Latvian State and its citizens around the globe. Th ese of Lithuanian nationals. Another opinion is that Lithu- amendments allow those Latvian nationals who live ania should primarily focus on economic development, abroad and who have acquired the citizenship of an- which will eventually stimulate the return migration. other country to keep both citizenships (Roudik, 2013). According to the third trend, the emphasis should be on

24 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 encouraging better connectedness among Lithuanians destination (e.g. education) further, for the benefi t of the abroad, so that they become self-sustaining communi- country of origin. ties and would become patrons of business development When it comes to the profi le of immigrants to Lithu- for Lithuanians living in Lithuania by sharing knowl- ania, the guidelines prioritize immigrants of Lithuanian edge and competencies. origin, EU citizens and highly qualifi ed foreigners. It is stated that the workforce in specifi c categories that are Responsible authorities lacking in Lithuania can be attracted from the third Th e responsibilities for working on migration issues in countries. Lithuania are divided between several ministries. Th e Th e International Organization for Migration Mis- Ministry of Interior is responsible for establishing mi- sion in Lithuania, in co-operation with the Ministry gration policy and the Ministry of Social Security and of the Interior, established a Migration Information Labour deals with immigration to Lithuania and the la- Centre (http://renkuosilietuva.lt/) targeting returning bour policy. Th e Ministry of Foreign Aff airs focuses on Lithuanian nationals. Th e centre provides informational maintaining contact with emigrant Lithuanians and assistance to persons who have returned or are con- how to bring them back. Th e Ministry of Education and sidering returning. Information and other services to Science is responsible for the education of foreigners of third-country nationals are provided by other migrants’ Lithuanian origin and emigrants in the Lithuanian lan- centres in Lithuania which are EU funded. guage, and the Ministry of Economy is responsible for the analysis of labour market demand and the establish- Low infl ow of foreign labour today ment of economic policy. To date, foreign labour migration to Lithuania has been fairly low, which can be partly attributed to unfavoura- Maintaining contact with the diaspora ble hiring terms for Lithuanian employers regarding re- Return migration was more actively promoted before cruitment from third countries, and complicated and the fi nancial crisis. Some active measures and pro- time-consuming procedures associated with the issuing grammes were introduced in 2007-2008, which were of work permits and temporary residence. Also, no ad- highly costly but relatively ineffi cient. Since the crisis, vantageous conditions have been applied to the immi- gration of foreign employees with professions that are the government has been putting more eff orts into lacking in the Lithuanian labour market. Recently, em- maintaining social, cultural and economic links with ployment policy has become more liberal and it has be- Lithuanian emigrants, including the second-generation come easier to obtain and extend a work permit. In 2014, migrants. work permits on a temporary basis (for 1-2 years) for Maintaining the network and strengthening contact third-country nationals were issued specifi cally in sec- with the diaspora is high on the agenda of the Lithu- tors of national interest (e.g. long-distance drivers, ship- anian migration policy. Th e Global Lithuanian Leaders builders). About half of the work permits were issued to platform was established to foster ties with Lithuanians Ukrainian nationals. Due to labour market needs, the abroad. Th e platform connects international elite pro- majority of migrant workers in Lithuania are male. fessionals (not only Lithuanians) who strengthen the Family reunifi cation and labour migration are two Lithuanian economy through international trade, in- main channels of migration to Lithuania. Student mi- vestments or other global ventures (http://www.lithu- gration is currently minor in Lithuania but is increasing, anianleaders.org). According to the stakeholders at the especially from EU countries. Th ere were about 5,000 roundtable meeting, the Global Lithuanian Leaders foreign students in Lithuania in 2013-2015, of which platform only targets about 5-10% of the diaspora, since 1,700 came from non-EU countries. the largest share of Lithuanians abroad are blue collar workers (working-class persons). Integration of third-country nationals Lithuania has been working on integration issues since Improving the socio-economic situation 2014. Following the adoption of the Lithuanian migra- In 2014, the Lithuanian migration policy guidelines tion policy guidelines, the Social Security and Labour were approved, whose primary objectives are reducing Ministry created a multi-stakeholder working group the extent of emigration by improving the overall socio- and an Action Plan on the Integration of Foreigners. economic situation in Lithuania and increasing circular Before that, there have been several single projects on migration by maintaining contact with the diaspora. It integration of foreigners. Today, Lithuania has a plan is stated in the guidelines that the objective is to strive for integration, and a strategy for integration focusing for migration processes to become circular, with the on third-country nationals (mainly from Russia, emigrants using the benefi ts obtained in the countries of Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova) is under development.

NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 25 5. Local-level perspectives on labour mobility

Th is chapter investigates how labour mobility and mi- as an overall shortage of entrepreneurs and enterprises. gration are dealt with at the local level in the Nordic- When it came to workers immigrating to the mu- Baltic region. It considers whether and how local au- nicipality, most responding municipalities were con- thorities work on labour migration issues in the Baltic cerned about the integration of EU and international and Nordic countries. What are the specifi c themes labour migrants in Estonian society and by challenges and key issues that municipalities considered impor- related to the provision of municipal social services. tant in addressing labour migration issues, and what It was mentioned that a major challenge for the re- are their major concerns related to both out-migration gions outside the capital area at present was related and labour immigration? to the limited opportunities for attracting people and Th e chapter is based on the survey results conducted entrepreneurs. Th e municipalities cannot off er any among the municipalities in the Baltic States. Th e sur- specifi c bonuses and rewards to individuals, such as vey was distributed with help from the Association of municipal housing. Th ere is no municipal housing in Estonian Cities, the Latvian Association of Local and Estonia and about 95% of residential housing is pri- Regional Governments, the Nordic Council of Min- vately owned. isters’ Offi ce in Latvia and the Association of Local Th e municipalities do not have any particular ben- Authorities in Lithuania. Th e analysis is based on 12 efi ts to off er the entrepreneurs either. Among the limit- answers received from the municipalities in Estonia, 28 ing factors is the current tax system in Estonia, which from Latvia and 20 from Lithuania. Due to a low re- includes the fact that there is no traditional corporate sponse rate, the fi ndings can be viewed as observations income tax, no real estate tax, and land tax is the same or simply lessons learned. across the whole country. Th ere are thus no tangible in- When it comes to the Nordic countries, the over- centives for the enterprises to be established elsewhere view of labour mobility work and overall priorities in than the capital region. Tax exemptions imposed by the the Nordic municipalities is based on previous research local governments could be a way to facilitate and pro- and several phone interviews with experts working on mote moving to another county and to support busi- migration issues. Th e fi ndings as such are not repre- ness development in other regions. sentative of all possible approaches in Nordic countries, but they provide examples of various ways of working Box 1. on labour mobility issues at the local level. Maale Elama is a countrywide initiative aiming to at- tract people to work and settle in the rural areas, and has been introduced by the local authorities across the 5.1 Estonia whole country. The project idea was inspired by a Finn- ish example. The project aims at increasing awareness Six out of 12 responding municipalities answered that and branding life in the rural areas and making it easier labour migration was an important issue in their mu- for people and businesses to move to the rural areas. nicipality, most of them located in central-northern and southern Estonia. Th e lack of skilled labour was the major concern Th e sceptical attitude of the local population to- identifi ed by the respondents related to out-migration wards foreigners in general was also an important con- of the labour force from the municipality, followed by cern, primarily related to memories of the Soviet past. decreasing tax revenues, overall labour shortages and It was mentioned that there was no willingness and children left behind. Th e municipal authorities also in- readiness in society to attract and integrate new immi- dicated that there is a shortage of workers who could grant populations, regardless of their country of origin. fi ll local government job vacancies in the region, as well None of the responding municipalities work on

26 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 migration issues directly at present, but half of them Box 2. would be interested in starting to work on these issues. Daugavpils municipality, in partnership with the as- Although the municipalities are directly aff ected by the sociation “Daugavpils businesswomen’s club OLIVIA” consequences of out-migration, migration issues are has been involved in several projects targeting potential not a municipal responsibility in Estonia. Moreover, returning migrants over the past fi ve years. The initia- there is no clear mandate from the state and a lack of tives included joint summer camps for Latvian migrants strategy at the national level. Among other barriers to and Latvian migrant children, as well as other initia- working on migration issues today is a lack of fi nanc- tives aiming to facilitate return migration. The “Extra- curricular activities programme: summer camps for ing, as well as knowledge and competencies. It has also Latvian diaspora and their kids” was among the most been mentioned that in the absence of legal and eco- successful initiatives, which was fi nanced by the Society nomic opportunities, it is pointless to in work on la- Integration Foundation in Latvia and the state budget bour migration issues. Th ere is an ongoing campaign programmes 2002-2014. During 2012-2015, the munici- in Estonia encouraging people to move to and to work pality participated in four projects in the framework of in the rural areas (see Box 1). this programme. Valka municipality. Despite its small size, Valga-Valka Regarding the profi le of labour migrants, the mu- town is split in half. The northern side, “Valga”, belongs nicipalities would be more interested in attracting to Estonia and “Valka”, on the southern side, belongs to workers for long-term employment rather than tempo- Latvia. Valga-Valka has been involved in several cross- rary work. Th ey are primarily interested in attracting border co-operation projects in different fi elds, including local labour coming from other regions in Estonia, fol- employment and labour migration. In 2014 a “Livonian lowed by Estonian nationals living abroad. Attracting labour market Valga-Valka” was organized in Valga and in 2015 in Valka. The event was funded by the Estonian labour from third countries is of no interest among the and Latvian Employment Agencies. In 2015, the event responding municipalities at the moment. attracted approximately 400 participants and 28 employ- Improving the supply of public services to attract ers were presented. Valka District Council, in collabora- inhabitants and encouraging the participation of the tion with the Valga Town Council, organizes a Valga- elderly in the labour market were identifi ed as the most Valka sports day for entrepreneurs. Besides sports, the participants become acquainted with entrepreneurs interesting topics for the municipalities to work on in from the neighbouring town and have an opportunity to future. Th e municipalities would also be fairly interest- establish contacts and co-operation. ed in improving the housing supply in order to retain and attract inhabitants and in working on assessments ties were similar to those in Estonia. Latvian munici- and prognoses of labour market needs. Moreover, the palities identifi ed challenges related to the provision of reasoning behind why labour migration issues should municipal social services and the integration of labour be addressed at the local level was something that one migrants in Latvian society as the most important of the municipalities would like to learn about. Work- concerns. Other respondents brought up the lack of a ing with diaspora organizations and the integration of housing fund and a lack of labour in the fi eld of con- labour migrants are currently aspects that are consid- struction and health care. ered of very low importance among Estonian munici- Two municipalities responded that they had been palities. working on migration issues and that the projects had been successful (see Box 2). About half of the respond- 5.2 Latvia ents would be interested in starting to work on labour Seventy-fi ve percent of the responding municipalities migration issues. However, a lack of a clear strategy at in Latvia considered labour migration to be an impor- the national level, followed by a lack of staff capacity tant issue in their municipality. Decreasing tax reve- and of fi nancing were among the main drawbacks. A nues was by far the largest concern related to out-mi- lack of interest was mentioned by only two municipali- gration of the labour force from the municipality. Like ties. the Estonian municipalities, more than half of the re- Regarding the profi le of labour migrants, the mu- spondents also identifi ed a lack of highly skilled work- nicipalities would be primarily interested in attracting ers as the major concern. Other important topics were Latvians living abroad and the local population from children left behind, as well as an increase in the low- other regions in Latvia. Th ere is an interest in attract- income population, “ageing” of the companies and a ing highly skilled employees for long-term employ- lack of new entrepreneurial activity. ment. Similar to Estonia, attracting a labour force from When it came to immigration of workers to the third countries was of no interest among the respond- municipality, the concerns of the Latvian municipali- ing municipalities at the moment.

NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 27 Th e majority of respondents (85%) were interested in 2004, particularly from Poland and the Baltic States. sharing knowledge and learning from the experiences Labour mobility across the borders is a precondition of other Baltic and Nordic municipalities on how they for economic growth in the Nordic countries. Besides work on these issues. Talent retention in the munici- economic growth, labour from Poland and the Baltic pality, improving the housing supply and the supply of States has contributed to slower increases in prices, other public services to attract inhabitants were identi- costs and interest rates than what otherwise would fi ed as the most interesting topics for the municipalities have been expected during times of economic growth to work on and learn more about. Working with di- and scarcity of labour in the Nordic countries (Nordic aspora organizations abroad and providing knowledge Council of Ministers, 2008). Th e Baltic labour migrants and practical help to labour migrants were also selected take jobs predominantly in occupations with a high de- by some of the respondents. Th e local authorities indi- mand for labour, e.g. construction, service sectors and cated a need and interest in assessment and prognoses the heath-care sector. of labour market needs in Latvia. Migration and integration issues are handled by lo- cal government in the Nordic countries. Th e local and 5.3 Lithuania regional levels are responsible for formulating policies and carrying out practical work on labour migration Seventy-fi ve percent of the responding municipalities in Lithuania considered labour migration to be an im- issues that are relevant to the local context. Th e mu- portant issue in their municipality. As in the case of nicipalities in the Nordic countries work extensively Estonia and Latvia, the lack of a skilled labour force and systematically on labour mobility issues, either as was currently a major challenge. Th e issue of children short-term projects or long-term initiatives. Th e main left behind was also seen as a serious problem related to or secondary objectives are to increase the infl ux of la- emigration from Lithuania: more than in the case of bour migrants and recruit new residents, both domes- Estonian and Latvian municipalities. Th e municipali- tic and international. A labour force from within the ties were also concerned about decreasing tax revenues, EU has not been addressed as a specifi c target group of and the negative infl uence on the business sector due to the activities so far. Th e focus of the initiatives and the a lack of labour force and of work places. extent of the activities diff er across the regions and mu- When it came to immigration of labour, the scep- nicipalities, predominantly infl uenced by the urgency tical attitude of the local population towards foreign of the demographic challenges and needs for labour in employees was seen as a major challenge. Among the the area. main reasons why the municipalities were not working Th e initiatives are oft en run by municipal employees on these issues at present was the lack of a clear strategy as part of their regular jobs and are mainly fi nanced at the national level, followed by a lack of fi nancing. through municipal budgets under the European Struc- Regarding the profi le of labour migrants, the mu- tural and Investment Funds, in close co-operation with nicipalities are interested in attracting highly skilled the Public Employment Service and other public-sec- migrants; preferably Lithuanians living abroad. At- tor actors. Co-operation with other local and regional tracting labour from EU countries or third countries actors, including businesses, civil society organizations was of no interest among the responding municipali- and educational institutions has been central. ties for the time being. Labour mobility has also been increasingly discussed Th e majority of respondents (90%) were interested in in connection with the demographic challenges, and sharing knowledge and learning from the experiences the labour shortage in several occupations and sectors. of other Baltic and Nordic municipalities on how they In Sweden, the regional authorities were commissioned work on these issues. Talent retention in the munici- pality, encouraging the participation of the elderly in to develop regional competency platforms by the gov- the labour market and assessment and prognoses of la- ernment in 2010 in order to address these challenges. bour market needs were identifi ed as the most interest- Th e regions are responsible for developing strategies ing topics for the municipalities to work on and learn on how to replace the expertise and competencies that more about. are about to disappear from the labour market due to retirement and demographic change, by adapting the education to work-life demands, for instance. Th e prac- 5.4 Nordic countries tical implementation of the strategies is carried out in Labour migration to the Nordic countries from the EU co-operation with the regional and local development grew in light of the eastward enlargement of the EU in actors, educational institutions, unions and businesses

28 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 Types of activities implemented strategies in co-operation with the private sector, and As noted above, there is a broad spectrum of measures trainee programmes off ered to young people tailored implemented by the Nordic municipalities with an ob- to the companies’ needs in the region. Th e measures jective to attract and retain the labour force. Th e ma- also include creating the possibilities for distance work, jority of the initiatives can be classifi ed according to entrepreneurship and studying in order to decrease four diff erent themes and objectives: out-migration of the working-age population (Hörn- ström et al., 2012). • outreach measures and promotional campaigns Measures aiming to facilitate the integration of im- aiming to “recruit” new residents; migrants in the society and to speed up their access to • integration of newly-arrived immigrants in the the labour market are a high priority among the Nordic labour market and in society; municipalities. Th e most common measures are lan- • cross-cutting measures aiming to increase the guage courses combined with practical vocational edu- attractiveness of the municipalities; cation, and target both EU and international migrants. • measures to reduce out-migration: e.g. providing In some cases, the activities target migrants with spe- incentives for young people to stay. cifi c ethnic background. Frøya municipality in coastal Norway, for instance, has been carrying out integration When it comes to the fi rst theme, place-promotion projects specifi cally targeting Baltic migrants who rep- campaigns creating a positive image of the area are resent a large share of newcomers. among the most popular measures used, particularly Other types of initiatives are tied to increasing the by the rural and demographically vulnerable munici- attractiveness of the municipalities as places to live and palities, to attract new residents. Th e study “Immigra- work, and improving the basic prerequisites for liv- tion at any cost?” showed that the main “selling points” ing, including housing and child care. Th ese include used by the Norwegian municipalities for promoting more holistic and overarching measures and policies themselves are related to a good environment for bring- such as creating new workplaces and job opportuni- ing up children, good quality of life (tranquillity and ties, and thus providing the prerequisites for external peace) and pristine nature (Grimsrud & Aure, 2012). investments in the region through raising the market’s Th is is also true for place-promotion campaigns in the awareness of the county’s advantages and opportuni- majority of municipalities in other Nordic countries. ties (Hörnström et al., 2012). Other informational measures supporting decision- making for newcomers, such as websites, brochures Lessons learned from Nordic municipalities and databases containing information about job op- Some lessons can be drawn from the extensive experi- portunities, education, housing and leisure activities, ence of Nordic municipalities and regions as a result of as well as appointing professional municipal hosts or their work on labour mobility issues. ambassadors are quite widespread in the Nordic con- Among the lessons learned in the Nordic countries text. In Sweden, it is common for the municipalities to is the fact that work on migration issues alone does not host online portals, so called “relocation services” that bring tangible results, and should be driven together provide this type of information. with other community development initiatives in the Providing incentives for young people to stay has fi eld of housing supply, labour market development not been a common objective of the activities as such, and business development, etc. Th e initiatives that are but has rather been indirectly addressed as part of the built on co-operation between the public-sector actors initiatives. It has been facilitated through several pro- (municipal and regional authorities, the Migration jects aiming at exchange of experience between sen- Board, the Public Employment Service), private sec- ior workers from the public administration and more tor actors, educational institutions and civil society are junior employees, developing competencies that match more likely to be successful. By working together, the actors have better opportunities to act in the market, to Box 3. infl uence diff erent stakeholders, to improve effi ciency JobbGPS brings together companies, regional actors, and to reduce costs. Among the most successful mea- educational institutions and job seekers in Gnosjö sures are those that are initiated by the business sector Region, Southern Sweden, and thereby facilitates the or implemented in co-operation with the business sec- recruitment of both domestic and international labour. tor, rather than those driven by the public sector alone JobbGPS organizes annual job fairs and matchmaking events for international students and employers in the (e.g. Samarkand2015, JobbMatchen, JobbGPS). Gnosjö Region. Read more at: http://www.jobbgps.se Th e study “Immigration at any cost?” showed that local connections and job opportunities are the main

NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 29 reasons for migration to rural areas, and not the idyllic Box 4. rural lifestyle which has been the main selling point of Samarkand2015 is a regional development company the place-promotion campaigns in many municipali- founded in 2002 in the Ludvika and Smedjebacken ties. Place-promotion campaigns proved to be rather municipalities in the Dalarna region of Sweden. Its ineffi cient schemes to attract both domestic and inter- mission is to fi nd, attract and retain skilled workers, national labour migrants. It has been pointed out that as well as to develop the competencies needed in the municipalities should try to identify other impor- the region. Other important goals besides creating tant qualities they have to off er besides pristine nature, an attractive labour market are to develop educa- tional opportunities, public services and a good living and they should focus on a specifi c target group (Grim- environment. srud & Aure, 2013). Samarkand2015 brings together about 20 member Based on the analysis of successful and less success- companies from the private, public and educational ful measures introduced by the Norwegian municipali- sectors, and is owned by the municipalities, Land- ties over the years, the following recommendations for stinget Dalarna and ABB in Ludvika and Ovako in local eff orts aiming to attract labour migrants were de- Smedjebacken. Samarkand2015 offers help to companies in the rived (Distriktssenteret, 2013; Grimsrud & Aure, 2013): region in recruiting people with special competencies or other key personnel. The service is especially tai- • Perform demand analysis: what skills and com- lored to international recruitments. Samarkand2015 petencies does the municipality need today and also runs a social network, Hej! Ludvika & Smedje- in future? Clarify the challenges and select spe- backen, for newcomers. cifi c target group; Among concrete examples of their work is the “relocation service”, which aims to provide practical • Focus on newcomers rather than returning mi- assistance to family members of the employee when grants; it comes to moving to a new place, including assis- • Create meeting places. Th ese measures may in- tance in fi nding employment for them. volve arranging or attending career fairs, events or seminars in order to have a direct, face-to- face contact with the target audience; • Appoint local ambassadors /municipal hosts to provide customized information, advice and help to the newcomers.

30 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 6. Concluding remarks

Differences in national level perspectives on la- Consequently, the Baltic States have so far mainly bour mobility among the Baltic States introduced countrywide initiatives, mainly initiated Th ere are signifi cant diff erences in the political focus by the ministries, such as country branding as a place among the Baltic States in the fi eld of migration. Th e to work and study (e.g. Estonia), developing profi les of focus in Estonia has been on attracting a highly skilled migrants and specifi c prognoses regarding labour de- labour force (both from the EU and third-country na- mand at the national level, and outreach measures tar- tionals) and international students, communication geting the diaspora, etc. At the local level in the Baltic measures and branding of Estonia internationally as a States, several projects have been driven by the NGOs, place to work and study, and to some extent on foster- such as the “Live in the rural areas” (Maale Elama) ing return migration of highly skilled migrants. An- campaign in Estonia (see Box 1), or as co-operation other focus area is the monitoring of migration poten- between the municipal authorities and the associations tial. (see Box 2). However, these initiatives are individual or Th e main focus in Latvia has been on fostering re- local projects and not widespread yet, which is clearly turn migration and helping the returning migrants to related to the lack of mandate and capacity at the local successfully reintegrate into society, as well as strength- level in the Baltic States to work on these issues. Th e ening ties and developing social and economic co-op- lack of a clear strategy at the national level has been eration with the diaspora. Outreach to the diaspora has identifi ed in the survey as an additional key barrier for been high on the agenda in recent years. working on migration issues at the local level in the Like Latvia, Lithuania has been putting eff orts into Baltic States. maintaining social, cultural and economic links with Th e impacts of the demographic change and the the diaspora members. Direct measures to encour- shrinking of the working-age population are felt the age return migration have also been promoted, but most at the local level in the Nordic-Baltic region, par- to a lesser extent aft er the fi nancial crisis because the ticularly in the remote and rural areas. At the same process is costly and relatively ineffi cient. Th e focus to- time, not all municipalities are aff ected equally, and day is on overarching and long-term measures related their challenges and opportunities may diff er depend- to improving the overall socio-economic situation in ing on specifi c place-based characteristics, such as the country, which in turn might attract returning mi- dominance of a single industry, closeness to the bor- grants and reduce out-migration. Maintaining contact der, available fi nancial and human resources, etc. Th e with the diaspora is seen as a way to increase circular responses to cope with the demographic and labour- migration. Children left behind is a factor that is seen related challenges may therefore vary across the mu- as a serious problem related to emigration from Lithu- nicipalities. Th us, it might be benefi cial to increase the ania and is high on the political agenda. involvement of the local and regional actors in the mi- gration policy in the Baltic States and encourage the Centralized versus decentralized approach to local level to develop their own agendas. labour mobility Baltic and Nordic municipalities share similar chal- What kind of labour migrants would the munici- lenges when it comes to demographic changes, such as palities like to attract? a declining working-age population and ageing, and a Th e lack of skilled labour and overall labour shortages shortage of labour and competencies. Th e approaches were highlighted among the main challenges by the to work on labour mobility are diff erent, however. majority of municipalities in the Baltic States partici- While in the Nordic countries migration issues are a pating in the survey. Th e Lithuanian respondents also municipal task, migration policy in the Baltic States is specifi ed children left behind as a key concern. Th e Bal- formulated by the central governments, with a limited tic municipalities are therefore primarily interested in involvement of the local governments in the process. attracting highly skilled workers for long-term work

NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 31 and residence, whereas less skilled workers for tempo- and facilitate learning from both good and bad prac- rary work are of the least interest. When it comes to the tices. country of origin of labour migrants, the survey About three-quarters of the Baltic municipalities showed that the vast majority of the Baltic municipali- participating in the survey indicated their interest in ties are interested in attracting domestic labour mi- sharing knowledge and learning from the experiences grants and returning migrants. Th ere is a lack of inter- of other Baltic and Nordic municipalities in the fi eld of est among the Baltic municipalities in attracting labour migration. Th e most interesting topics for the third-country migrants at the moment. Baltic municipalities were means of facilitating talent Th e study by Distriktssenteret (2013) looked at retention in the municipalities, improving housing place-promotion campaigns developed by the Norwe- supply and provision of other public services to attract gian municipalities. It showed that in most cases, the inhabitants, and encouraging the participation of the main target groups of these measures are domestic elderly in the labour market. migrants, particularly families with children, followed by Nordic and European lifestyle migrants. Th ose over More co-operation on labour mobility in the Nor- 45, single and labour immigrants are less interesting, dic-Baltic region which shows that there is a clear hierarchy of migrants Although barriers to labour mobility have been gradu- (Grimsrud & Aure, 2013). In this respect, there are ally reduced as part of creating the single market and clear similarities among the Nordic and Baltic munici- also as a way to achieve the EU 2020 goals of smart, palities when it comes to the most preferred profi les of sustainable and inclusive growth, labour market co- labour migrants. operation between Nordic and Baltic countries could In contrast to the Baltic States, the Nordic coun- tries in general are not aiming to reach out to diaspora be further enhanced. Among the fi ndings of “Central members and their networks explicitly, neither do they Baltic Job Ferry” was that Nordic countries are primar- aim to re-attract returning migrants. ily looking for possibilities to expand labour market co-operation with other Nordic states, while co-opera- Learning from experiences and both good and tion with the Baltic countries is of low priority “bad” practices of the Nordic countries (Barslund et al., 2015; Kahila et al., 2013). Opportuni- Much is to be learned from the experience and local ties associated with cross-border labour mobility could projects in the Nordic countries in the fi eld of labour be further utilized for the benefi t of both Baltic and migration. Th e strength of most of the projects lies in a Nordic countries. A common cross-border labour mar- bottom-up approach and co-operation with the busi- ket would help reduce labour shortages and qualifi ca- ness sector and other local and regional stakeholders. It tion mismatches, thus reducing unemployment (Euro- is important to evaluate the success of these projects pean Commission, 2015).

32 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 References

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NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 33 Data sources Interviews Anne Läns, Association of Estonian Cities (18/09/2015) Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, www.csb.gov.lv Jan Rudfors, “All Sweden shall live” movement, and a Statistics Denmark, www.dst.dk member of the Monitoring Committee of the Social Fund Statistics Estonia, www.stat.ee (12/05/2016)

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34 NORDREGIO WORKING PAPER 2017:4 ISSN: 1403-2511 ISBN: 978-91-87295-47-8

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