ABSTRACT
The 2004, 2007 and 2013 enlargements of the European Union (EU) resulted in an intensification of intra-EU migration flows and significant and unexpected changes in migration routes, making the European map of migrations much more diverse and volatile. This chapter paints a broad-brush picture of the nearly two decades of migrations from 11 Central and Eastern European EU countries, focusing on the directions of flows during the four sub-periods distinguished: (1) the period from the enlargement to the economic crisis, (2) the crisis years, (3) the post-crisis years and (4) the ongoing period from the Brexit referendum in 2016. Intra-EU migrations proved strongly selective, with the UK and Ireland attracting significantly larger proportions of young graduates. This chapter discusses this selectivity, what is known about migrants' strategies and how these are changing.
