United Nations Radio

The International Organization for Migration says the Black Sea region is at the crossroads of several smuggling and trafficking routes towards the European Union.

In a new series published on Tuesday, IOM provides insight into migration flows to, through and from the Black Sea Region, a vast track of land connecting nations in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.

The report identifies slow demarcation of borders, the lack of resources and increasing migration flows over the years, as making managing migration and borders a major challenge in the region.

IOM spokesperson, Jemini Pandya says poverty and lack of opportunities are the major push factors for migration:

"Labour migration flows occur obviously from poorer to richer countries of the region and beyond the borders of the Black Sea in Europe to the United States as well. Limited opportunities for legal migration continue to fuel irregular migration with the Black Sea region being at the crossroads of several smuggling and trafficking routes towards the EU such as the Eastern Mediterranean, the Central and Eastern European and the Balkan routes."

Jemini Pandya says the IOM report also looks at remittances which play a crucial role in the economies of the 12 countries.

She says in a country like Moldova, for example, remittances sent home amounted to more than 36 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2007.

Diane Bailey, United Nations.
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