Friday

29th Sep 2023

EU's migrants more at risk from coronavirus

  • Stockholm: Sweden has among the highest rate of foreign-born residents in EU (Photo: Arild)

Europe's migrant population - including EU nationals seeking to better themselves in the richer north and west - are more at risk of catching coronavirus or suffering poverty due to the pandemic, a new study says.

Migrants are twice as likely as natives to catch the virus because many of them work in frontline sectors, such as healthcare, the hospitality industry, retail, delivery, and household services, according to a study by the Paris-based club of wealthy nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

They live in more crowded homes and neighbourhoods, the study noted.

And they had "a disproportionate incidence of death even in countries with universal access to treatment for Covid-19", Stefano Scarpetta, an OECD official in charge of labour and employment, said.

Migrants made up 24 percent of doctors and 16 percent of nurses in the 36 OECD countries, which include most EU member states, as well as some far-flung nations, such as Mexico, Japan, and the US.

Many worked on temporary contracts and were the first ones who were being fired in the pandemic-related downturn, especially in southern Europe, Ireland, and Sweden.

They also faced a heightened danger of racism and xenophobia as jobs became scarce, the OECD warned.

The risk came despite the fact migration had, overall, slumped by 46 percent in the first six months of 2020 due to corona-linked travel bans.

And the slow-down also meant households in southern and eastern EU states, as well as ones in the EU neighbourhood, faced a drop in remittances.

Looking around the OECD's EU members, Austria and Sweden had the highest rates of foreign-born residents in their populations - on 19 percent.

Austria's foreigners mostly came from other EU states and the Western Balkans, while Sweden's came from Afghanistan and Syria.

Belgium (17 percent), Germany (16 percent), Spain (14 percent), France (13 percent) and the Netherlands (13 percent) also had high rates.

Most of their foreign residents were from easterly and southern EU states or from Algeria, Morocco, Turkey, and Latin American countries.

Ireland (17 percent), a financial services centre, was an anomaly, with high numbers of American and Chinese residents.

Luxembourg, another financial centre, was even more unusual, with a 46 percent foreign-born rate.

Meanwhile, the two EU states with the most xenophobic and Islamophobic governments - Hungary and Poland - had among the lowest rates, with 6 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Many of their migrants came from fellow Christian country Ukraine.

EU money can be used to offshore migrants on boats

The European Commission says member states can use EU funds to pay for food, medical supplies, and personnel on vessels hosting migrants offshore - provided that all legal conditions are met.

EU waters down Covid-19 traffic-light travel zones concept

EU countries are set to adopt a 'traffic-light' colour-coding system for coronavirus-affected areas. But member states will have the possibility to set their own strategies, on negative Covid-19 tests or different quarantine periods, for orange and red zones.

Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'

Poland in 2020 imposed a near-total ban on abortion, triggering mass protests — and today the demands for access to safe abortion continue. On International Safe Abortion Day, dozens gathered in Brussels calling for solidarity among member states.

Opinion

Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling

Vasco Alves Cordeiro, president of the European Committee of the Regions, is advocating a revamp of the EU's regional policy so that it better supports all regions in addressing major challenges such as the green and digital transitions.

Opinion

How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?

The EU Commission's new magic formula for avoiding scrutiny is simple. You declare the documents in question to be "short-lived correspondence for a preliminary exchange of views" and thus exempt them from being logged in the official inventory.

Latest News

  1. EU women promised new dawn under anti-violence pact
  2. Three steps EU can take to halt Azerbaijan's mafia-style bullying
  3. Punish Belarus too for aiding Putin's Ukraine war
  4. Added-value for Russia diamond ban, as G7 and EU prepare sanctions
  5. EU states to agree on asylum crisis bill, say EU officials
  6. Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'
  7. Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling
  8. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us