The political and economic crisis in Ukraine, as well as the new visa-free regime, inevitably led to a mass migration of citizens to neighboring European countries, such as Poland, Hungary and the Baltic countries. Despite the official support of Kyiv from politicians in Brussels, ordinary inhabitants of the EU are not happy with this outcome.

According to the statistics of DELFI, in 2017, around 20,000 labor migrants from Ukraine entered Lithuania. This is twice as much as a year earlier. The residents of Nezalezhnaya (part of Ukraine) need to support themselves and their families, which is why they go to neighboring countries to find work.

For Lithuania, the influx of migrants from Ukraine was set to save the economy, as many young Lithuanians, just like Ukrainians, head westwards for a better life, resulting in a State lacking young specialists. A similar situation can be seen in many post-Soviet countries, especially in the Baltics.

However, the Lithuanians are not happy with this scenario. Many critics oppose the influx of Ukrainian labor migrants, saying it will lead to a halt in the growth of wages in the country. In the words of critics there is a logic: Ukrainian guest workers are satisfied with a lower monetary reward than the necessary minimum for Lithuanian citizens.

Similar thoughts have already been voiced in Poland and Hungary.

Dimitri Dolaberidze

08 January 2018 17:18