Central and Eastern European Migration Review

This paper describes and tries to explain return intentions of Polish, Romanian and Bulgarian labour migrants in the Netherlands. Previous research has often emphasised the temporary or ‘liquid’ char-acter of Central and Eastern European labour migration. We find that a substantial number of labour migrants intend to stay in the Netherlands for many years, and sometimes forever. Data from a survey of Central and Eastern European (CEE) labour migrants (Poles, Romanians, Bulgarians) in the Neth-erlands (N = 654), is used to test three hypotheses about return intentions. Economic success or fail-ure is not found to be related to the return intentions of migrants. Apparently, some migrants return after being successful in migration, whereas others return after having failed. Migrants with strong links with Dutch society have less strong return intentions, whereas migrants with strong transnation-al ties intend to return sooner.

While Polish migration to the UK has attracted much academic attention, there has been less discus-sion about the consequences of Polish migrants’ encounters with difference in socially diverse UK contexts. In particular, relatively little has been written about how Polish migrants describe or refer to ‘visible’ difference in terms of ethnicity, nationality, religion, class and gender. This reflects a broader tendency in migration studies to frequently overlook the production and transnational transfer of mi-grant language. In this article, I explore how Polish post-2004 migrants to the northern English city of Leeds produce ‘the language of difference’ and how this migrant language is passed on to non-migrants in Poland. I distinguish two types of language of difference – the language of stigma and the language of respect. I note that migrants construct both speech normativities through engaging with rhetoric exist-ing in the Polish and/or the UK context as well as through developing ‘migrant slang’ of difference. I further argue that the language of stigma and the language of respect are transferred to Poland via the agency of migrants. The article draws upon a broader study of Polish migrants’ values and atti-tudes towards difference and the circulation of ideas between these migrants and their family members and friends in Poland. It contributes to emerging debates on Polish migrants’ encounters with differ-ence and social remittances between the UK and Poland.

Neighbouring as a type of social interchange and multi-dimensional social phenomenon is of funda-mental importance in the social sciences and problems associated with intercultural and interethnic neighbouring are currently on the increase. Contemporary migration processes and ethnic diversity in Poland are relatively new issues that are reflected in the experiences of both migrants and representa-tives of the host society. The aim of this article is to analyse intercultural neighbourly contacts be-tween Poles and migrants in Warsaw in the context of Erving Goffman’s sociology of interaction. These contacts and the social processes they involve are of great importance when it comes to mi-grants’ integration in their new place of residence. The article considers how glances, gestures and behaviours are interpreted, leading to the formation of specific opinions and attitudes between mi-grants and Poles. Both ‘unfocused’ and ‘focused’ interactions are analysed, with an emphasis on ex-pectations and definitions of tactful behaviour in intercultural neighbourly encounters and the concept of ‘polite indifference.’ Conclusions are based on semi-structured interviews conducted with Poles and migrants from Vietnam, Turkey and African countries living in Warsaw, Poland.

The last decade has witnessed the development of a growing phenomenon, the expulsion of European Union (EU) citizens from a host Member State. While the EU encourages its citizens to use their fun-damental right of freedom of movement, citizens moving to other Member States continue to encounter legal obstacles, in some cases leading to expulsion. Recently, there has even been strong political pressure in some Member States to reconsider the benefits of the principle of free movement, which has been built progressively since the foundation of the European Community. This restrictive ap-proach has arisen against the background of the global economic crisis, which occurred just after the enlargement of the EU to economically poorer countries of Central and Eastern Europe, leading to more nationalistic and protectionist measures, which have legal consequences for EU citizens on the move. This article analyses the legal grounds for expulsion under EU law and the safeguards that pro-tect EU citizens residing in host Member States. Examples of expulsions from Member States in recent years are noted, and possible ways of overcoming current issues are proposed.

The present paper examines how, at a time of post EU-enlargement migration, female Polish migrants in the UK act within, despite and against the social structure of gender regimes in the origin and host societies and how female migrant agents are actively mediating structures in a quest to fulfil their as-pirations. Biographical narrative interviews conducted with female Polish migrant workers in the UK and semi-structured expert interviews provide the empirical data for the analysis of how employment trajectories in migration can challenge or reinforce gender roles, and of the role of female migrants’ agency. The paper shows how some women are limited in their opportunities by gender roles and fa-milial obligations, while others are able to progress professionally either by entering a typical ‘mi-grant’ sector, by undertaking UK education, or by starting their own businesses, challenging the gendered expectations they face. The paper thus contributes to the discussion on female migrants as disadvantaged migrant workers or as active agents of change.

The aim of the paper is to describe the main patterns and challenges of Ukrainian migration to Greece with reference to the consequences of the recent economic and social crisis in the host country on the migrants’ lives. Specifically, the paper discusses the impact of the legal framework related to migra-tion in four different periods. Historically, Greece was one of the first destinations attracting Ukraini-an migrants, but the migration flows have strongly decreased during the last years and a tendency for return migration has emerged. Among the key features is the fact that the migrant’s experience is deeply influenced and shaped by Greece’s policy response to migration. The paper will therefore spe-cifically examine the impact of the legislative measures on the mobility of the migrants.