European Mobility and Spatial Belongings : Greek and Latvian migrants in Sweden

Abstract: Nation-states and national identities are a product of European history and have been the most salient framework of spatial identification since the nineteenth century. In the past decades, however, the EU has attempted to foster a supplementary European sense of identity, embodied in the notion of European citizenship. Moreover, the European continent encompasses various macro-regions that have been presented as having certain historical significance and that play a role in identity politics. Two prominent examples are the Baltic and the Mediterranean regions.This study reconstructs through interviews the overlapping identifications of Latvian and Greek migrants, respectively – migrants who have moved to Sweden in different time periods after the Second World War up to the present. The interviews focus on issues related to integration, feelings of belonging and spatial identification with the countries of origin (Latvia, Greece) and residence (Sweden) in order to understand the significance of the nation in the current European context. Another aim is to examine how the idea of a common European identity, as an aggregate based on national and regional affiliation, works in practice. Furthermore, the interviews executed in this study give an account of how migrants position themselves in relation to the Baltic Sea region and the Mediterranean as well as to alternative macro regional spaces. The study of immigrants’ narratives about their social and everyday life, and their personal experience of coping with public authorities seeks to improve our understanding of the current phenomenon of internal European migration, which is still an under-researched field.The analysis shows that the nation, both that of origin and of residence, remains the most significant space of identification for the interviewed EU-migrants. It is obvious that the EU has not brought forth a European identity parallel to the national one. However, elements of European identification and belonging exist in the responses of the migrants, revolving around their benefitting from free mobility inside the EU. This study shows also that there barely is any particular identification with the Baltic and Mediterranean regions among the examined migrants. However, other macro regional identifications appeared, such as the Baltic States for Latvian and the Balkan for Greek interviewees.