Global Journal of Human Social Science, F: Political Science, Volume 23 Issue 6

Table 1: Size of remittances into Moldova Year Flux of remittances to Moldova Share in the GDP (%) 2000 178.600.000 13.8 2005 920.310.000 30.8 2006 1.181.720.000 34.6 2007 1.498.230.000 34.0 2008 1.897.300.000 31.2 2009 1.182.020.000 24.9 2010 1.244.140.000 25.1 2015 1.227.370.000 19.9 2018 1.266.840.000 16.05 2019 1.222.890.000 16.05 2020 1.486.740.000 15.8 2021 1.611.000.000 15.5 2022 1.745.000.000 15.4 Source: National Bank of Moldova Database . https://www.bnm.md/bdi; The World Bank Data. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.TRF.PWKR.DT.GD.ZS?end=2021&locations=MD& start=1995& view=chart According to the data of the National Bank of Moldova, in the second quarter of 2020 the largest share of transfers from European Union countries came from Italy – 31.6%, followed by transfers from Germany (24.0%), France (12.5%), Ireland (5.4%), Romania (3.7%), Czechia (3.4%), Spain (3.1%), Belgium (2.8%), Portugal (2.5%), Poland (2.2%), Greece (1.0%) and Cyprus (0.9%) (Money transfers from abroad, 2020) which confirms the geography of Moldovan labor migration to EU countries. In poor countries, Moldova being one of them, the majority of remittances from abroad are mainly used for consumption. On the one hand, this leads to the improvement of households’ living standards, but on the other, this is obtained not through economic activity, but through an influx of financial resources from abroad (Giuliano, Ruiz-Arranz, 2009). The importance of remittances for Moldovan households is confirmed by the data of empirical studies. According to the results of the 2022-2023 survey, more than 70% of Moldovan labor migrants (often or occasionally) transfer money to Moldova. Every third migrant transfers money to Moldova often (30.3%), 42.6% of the respondents transfer money on occasion. 27.1% of the respondents do not transfer money at all. This shows that the process of family reunification is taking place, migrants are bringing to the destination countries not only their children, but also their own parents, and after this no longer have anyone left in Moldova. However, the migration to the European Union and the financial wellbeing of Moldovan migrants were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the research of the International Organization for Migration, conducted in April-May, 2020 shows, one of the direct consequences of COVID-19 was the cessation of professional activity or the loss of employment, which was indicated by 47% of the respondents. This inevitably lead to a sharp decline of income, and 80% of the respondents that had previously conducted remittances to Moldova started transferring less, whereas 41% stopped transferring money altogether (Mosneaga, 2021, p. 163). At the same time, in May, 2020, the National Bank of Moldova registered an explosion in the number of remittances, the total sum of which was of more than 120 million dollars. In January and February of 2021 the volume of remittances from labor migrants was of 219 million Dollars, which was an absolute record for Moldova (Record volume, 2023). International experience shows that an important field for investment of resources received from migrants’ monetary transfers is the opening of a business and entrepreneurship in the county of the migrant’s origin. Working abroad the labor migrants obtain entrepreneurial skills that can be employed at home. However, the unpleasant investment and business climate that formed in Moldova does not contribute to the opening of businesses or to investment in projects by migrants or their family members. According to the research, only a small number of monetary transfers is used to finance entrepreneurial or investment activities, herewith migrants manifest a more active entrepreneurial spirit than their family members, to whom they transfer money. (Ghencea et. Al, 2004, p.64-65) In the realization of entrepreneurial activity, migrants and members of their households are facing objective and subjective difficulties. Among the objective difficulties we can list the difficult socio-economic situation in Moldova. Among the subjective ones we can list: corruption, ineffective management, limited access © 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue VI Version I 42 Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 ( ) F The Transformation of Moldovan Migrant Communities into the Moldovan Diaspora in the European Union: The Main Directions and Mechanisms