Tribute to emigrants, expats and European cross-border workers who make Europe

Millions of European men and women live in an EU country that is not their own. It’s thanks to them, explains The country, that the European project is holding up.

The end of year celebrations are behind us and the flow of life has resumed its usual course. Those who had gone on vacation to their home town or village have returned to their place of residence. Those who were able to rest went back to work. Goals and doubts, familiar companions at the beginning of the year, are already present in many minds. This is a general phenomenon but one that takes on a particular tone among some Europeans: the 13.3 million citizens of a European Union (EU) country who live in another Member State (according to Eurostat data 2020). They represent 3% of the population of Europe and are certainly one of the main forces in the construction of the European project, whether they have moved abroad for work or for love.

Many return to their country of origin for the holiday season. With their backpack or their suitcase, the hand shaking that of their child or their mobile phone, nothing distinguishes them from other travellers. But for them, the return can bring up a question that others never ask themselves, that they generally keep to themselves and that sometimes makes them lose their footing for a moment. What country do you feel you belong to? The one where you were born? Who welcomed you? Or is your country a lonely, sometimes bitter place, suspended between

[…]

Andrea Rizzi

Read the original article

Source

Founded in 1976, six months after Franco’s death, “Le Pays” is the most read newspaper in Spain. A centre-left daily, it belongs to the Spanish editorial group Prisa. At the end of 2013, elpais.com launched two new editions to

[…]

Read more

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.