Spanish emigration in the EU: patterns, implications and challenges for the future

Abstract

The issue of South-North migration within the EU has not only caught the attention of numerous researchers, it has also become a subject of concern in public opinion. This paper analyses the development of migration from Spain to the northern countries of the EU and focuses on its main characteristics and, above all, on the great selectivity of the flow. Following this line, it addresses the mechanisms that lie at the origin of this selectivity and their possible social and political implications. Finally, it reflects on possible future South-North mobility scenarios within the EU; an issue of great interest given the climate of institutional instability and uncertainty produced by the United Kingdom’s imminent departure from the EU.

Keywords

• European Union
• Spain
• Economic crisis
• Brain drain
• Migration selection mechanisms