ANSAmed

(By Chiara De Felice) (ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, APRIL 28 - The incomes received by immigrants and then sent to their countries of origin are a resource on which the governments in Mediterranean are becoming increasingly dependant: according to a recent survey by the European Investment Bank (EIB), the remittances of foreign workers have increased the volume of foreign investments and development aid received from international organisations. The survey, funded by the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP), sheds light on the funds transferred from Europe to eight south Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey), a turnover that represents between 2% and 20% of the gross domestic product of the Mediterranean countries. The "official" amount of transfers made immigrants to the eight of the ten Mediterranean countries partners of the EU stands at 7.1 billion euro a year, a figure to which unofficial transfers of around 7.0 billion or 8.0 billion euro are added, according to EIB experts. This volume exceeds by far foreign investments in the South Mediterranean ($6.4 billion a year) and development aid ($4.3 billion a year). The countries which benefit most from the money of their emigrants are Morocco, which in 2003 received 2.9 billion euro, followed by Algeria (1.35 billion euro), Turkey (1.3 billion euro), Tunisia (950 million euro) and Egypt (544 million euro). Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, said that most of the remittances made by immigrants living in the EU go to Africa, Morocco in particular. According to data by Eurostat which drew a map of the remittances flows in 2004, the most consistent money flow to African countries comes from France (59.6% of the French remittances go the South Mediterranean), followed by Belgium (35.9%), the Netherlands (31.2%) and Italy (30.6%). However, EIB warned, remittances often fall prey to speculation, such as that on the part of money transfer companies which are the main channel through which the foreign workers' pays travel. That is why the bank has proposed the creation of an Internet site to help immigrants choose the most economical method of transferring their funds, a solution which would also favour the competition between companies such as Western Union or Money Transfer which send money throughout the world charging high commissions. The survey also includes a series of recommendations to the banks on both coasts of the Mediterranean to help immigrants manage their funds (creating ad hoc financial instruments such as investment funds) and teach them how to use the systems already operative in European countries such as bank transfers. (ANSAmed).