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Transnational families are a stark reality in Moldova and Ukraine. In Moldova, around 21 per cent of children (150,000) have at least one parent living abroad, while approximately 5 per cent of children (35,000) have both parents abroad, according to the latest available data. In Ukraine, 200,000 children are left behind by at least one parent, which concerns up to 25 per cent of all children in certain regions as per the latest research. 

In this article, we speak to Viorela Telegdi-Csetri and Aron Telegdi-Csetri, researchers at Babes-Bolyai University in Romania, about their work on transnational families and children left behind. Viorela and Aron are, respectively, the Project and Research Managers of the project entitled ‘Children Left Behind by Labour Migration: Supporting Moldovan and Ukrainian Transnational Families in the EU’ funded by the European Union and contracted by the MPF. Viorela and Aron have had extensive careers researching and publishing widely on transnational families and children left behind. The following is a transcript of the MPF’s conversation with the Telegdi-Csetris.

Complementary pathways to protection have been gaining increasing interest from policymakers and civil society as a way to enhance international responses to rising, and in many cases long-lasting, displacement. Complementary pathways to protection provide alternative routes for refugees to access protection, alongside the three traditional durable solutions (repatriation, local integration, and resettlement). Despite their considerable promise, complementary pathways remain small in scale.

In a new Migration Partnership Facility project, funded by DG HOME, ICMPD will examine how the potential of complementary pathways can be further tapped, for the benefit of refugees and EU labour markets alike. Under this project, ICMPD will support the EU and its Member States in understanding the intricacies of complementary pathways, map current initiatives, gauge interest in new and expanded programmes, and identify good practices.

Over the past several decades, there has been a significant and sizable flow of economic migrants from Eastern Europe to the European Union, seeking better employment opportunities and higher living standards. Many of these migrants are parents who have left their children behind, giving rise to the formation of ‘transnational families’ defined as familial groups wherein members live partially or fully in separation but foster a sense of familyhood, interdependence and collective welfare across borders. The main motive for parental migration has been to increase family income by sending remittances back home.

Transnational families are a stark reality in Moldova and Ukraine. In Moldova, around 21 per cent of children (150,000) have at least one parent living abroad, while approximately 5 per cent of children (35,000) have both parents abroad, according to the latest available data. In Ukraine, 200,000 children are left behind by at least one parent, which concerns up to 25 per cent of all children in certain regions as per the latest research. In 2021, the ‘Children Left Behind by Labour Migration: Supporting Moldovan and Ukrainian Transnational Families in the EU (CASTLE) project was launched to explore the situation of transnational families and children staying behind.

CASTLE is conducting research to explore implications for policy and practice in the area of labour migration and mobility in Moldova, Ukraine and EU destination countries. The project is funded by the European Union through the Migration Partnership Facility (MPF) of ICMPD and is implemented by Babes-Bolyai University in collaboration with Terre des Hommes Romania, Terre des Hommes Moldova, Terre des Hommes Ukraine, the Ukrainian Institute for Social Research after Oleksander Yaremenko and the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova.

The Training Institute on Migration Capacity Partnership for the Mediterranean, held its first Governing Board meeting on the 7th of April, 2022. Chaired by Malta, the event took place online with the presence of representatives from ICMPD, donor and partner countries, observers, and EU agencies.

The Governing Board consisting of Austria, Denmark, the EU (Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs), ICMPD, Jordan, Libya, and Malta was joined by its technical partners, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) and Frontex, as well as prospective future members from Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lebanon, Switzerland, and Tunisia. Representing Malta as Chair, Mr. Neville Aquilina, the Director-General for Global Issues (International Development & Economic Affairs), from the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs of Malta, opened the event and remarked that the Training Institute ‘takes a new look at an old issue, redefining migration partnerships under the concept of Capacity Partnership – working together to achieve improved results for all.’

HUELVA, SPAIN- ‘Women as Financially Independent Rural Actors’ (WAFIRA), a project funded by the European Union through the Migration Partnership Facility (MPF) was successfully launched in Huelva, Spain on 28 March 2022. 

WAFIRA is implemented by the Secretary of State for Migration (SEM) of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration of Spain in conjunction with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and in collaboration with the Spanish Agri-Food Cooperatives- Andalusia, Spain and the Moroccan Employment Agency–ANAPEC.

WAFIRA (which means abundance in Arabic) seeks to enhance the decades-long GECCO scheme fostered by the Spanish government, enabling circularity between Morocco and Spain to cover seasonal demands in Spain’s agricultural sector. Specifically, the project aims to address the critical policy gap relating to the lack of a comprehensive framework for the reintegration of Moroccan women engaging in seasonal agricultural work harvesting strawberries each year in Huelva, Spain, under GECCO.

On January 25th, the MPF held the LMPN’s Kick-off Meeting. This very first meeting successfully gathered 89 labour mobility practitioners from international organisations, EU institutions, national ministries, recruitment agencies, private sector, think tanks, development agencies, and non-governmental organisations.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – January 14, 2022 – The EU-funded Migration Partnership Facility (MPF) launched today a new Call for Proposals. The Call for Proposals is intended as a flexible mechanism to support the implementation of the external dimension of EU migration policy and to strengthen dialogue and cooperation on migration and mobility between Member States and priority partner countries outside the EU.

With a total envelope of 15.2 M EUR from AMIF and ISF-Borders and Visa funds, MPF grant funding under this Call will cover projects that:

  • Support the EU’s migration priorities with partner countries
  • Align to the new EU Talent Partnerships (e.g. labour migration projects)The Call will be open to applications from EU Member States public bodies, EU Member State-based organisations, and international organisations and has no specific deadline (i.e., it is a rolling call, with project implementation possible until May 2025).

If you have a question about the MPF granting programme and the current Call for Proposals, you may find an answer in our FAQ section here.

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