Navigating Overlapped Crises in Europe: Romanians’ Migration Projects and the Interplay of Emigration and Return (FLEE)

The COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion in Ukraine have exerted a profound influence on the migration intentions and emigration/return projects of Romanians. Against this backdrop, the FLEE project seeks to contribute to existing knowledge by constructing a comprehensive theoretical framework and employing a mixed-methods approach. The aim is to generate novel insights in the field by supplying empirical-based knowledge for analysing migration projects in light of individuals’ characteristics and their evaluations of the structural changes wrought by various societal crises. To achieve this objective, the project will establish an original database derived from a sociological survey conducted among Romanian citizens residing both within the country and abroad. In addition, qualitative data will be collected through semi-structured interviews with individuals considering emigration, returnees, and migrants residing abroad who postponed or cancelled their return projects.