Comparison of Mediterranean and Ukrainian Migration Impacts on V4 Countries

Today’s Europe still resonates with the migration crisis connected with the arrival of migrants from Africa and Asia. Despite its massive impact on Central Europe, the significant migratory flow from Ukraine avoids considerable media attention. This article compares the effect of the Mediterranean migration and Ukrainian migration on V4 countries before the Covid-19 pandemic. There is an significant disproportion in the volumes of the compared migratory flows favouring the Ukrainian migration. However, Mediterranean migration became a substantial issue in elections in particular V4 countries. Our analysis focuses on the causes of different perceptions of both migratory flows and their impacts on recipient countries at the social and foreign policy levels. According to our research, different perceptions of the flows by the people and politicians are connected to the level of immigrants’ cultural and linguistic proximity and their potential integration. As the current situation suggests, the stabilisation of the political situation in Ukraine will take a more extended period, and the subsequent social and economic renewal will take another period. We assume the migratory flows from Ukraine will continue in the following years. Similarly, the Mediterranean migratory flows are likely to continue, probably with the shifts in their intensity, depending on their home countries’ situation and the Schengen regulatory measures. All of the above-mentioned issues put pressure on recipient countries to create a long-term immigration strategy that would enable them to manage the migration flow-related problems without societal destabilisation. The submitted interdisciplinary article uses the theoretical basis of migration studies (immigration policies, push and pull factors) and international relations (neorealism). The methodology of the text is anchored in the analysis of the relevant literature and statistical sources. The title of the article suggests the use of the comparison method.