Southern Europeans have been historically drawn to large economies in Northwestern Europe, such as the United Kingdom, as well as Germany and France. In the 21st-century, this has been accelerated by the European Union, and a lack of jobs in Mediterranean European nations, brought on by events such as the 2009 Euro crisis.
Education
Southern Europeans, who have resettled in the country since the advent of EUfreedom of movement, have been noted to be skilled, or tertiary educated, to a notable proportion. This has been sometimes contrasted with Eastern Europeans in the United Kingdom, who have been described as predominately seeking higher wages, compared with Southern Europeans migrants' desire for advanced career opportunities.
Employment
The United Kingdom has been described as an attractive destination for Southern European workers, including young and tertiary educated members of the group. In the 2010s, tens of thousands of the group settled in London for work. In a 2016 study, the UK was found to be the most attractive nation for the pan-ethnic group for work and settlement, ahead of France. 2019 research concurred that Southern European youths were disproportionately drawn to the economy of London since 2008. Such was the attraction of London's job market, the group were shown to accept poorer employment conditions, rather than return home.
History
Due to intra-European trade and commerce, the group have maintained a presence in Britain for over 750 years. In 1255, chronicler Matthew Paris had written that London was “overflowing” with Southern Europeans, referencing “Poitevins, Provençals, Italians and Spaniards.” According to research conducted by the Centre for European Policy Studies at Brighton Business School, "low-skilled" migration of Southern Europeans had been in decline until the early 1990s. From that time period through to 2010, this element of labour increased gradually, while highly skilled or educated members of the group arriving in the UK increased dramatically by 10-fold.
Euro crisis
Since EU integration and freedom of movement of workers, Southern Europeans began arriving in more significant numbers. After the Euro crisis in 2009, job prospects were severely affected in Southern Europe, forcing many young and educated Southern Europeans to seek better employment opportunites in other areas, particularly Northwestern Europe. At times, this resulted in educated members of the group working in occupations below their qualification or skill-level in the United Kingdom.
Brexit
The June 2016 Brexit referendum created some complications for Southern Europeans resident in the United Kingdom. With the result to leave the EU, the group faced residential and legal uncertainty and identity issues in the country. Drawing on Horizon Europe data, a 2019 study in Social Inclusion journal also examined perceptions of post-Brexit belonging among Southern Europeans, conducting 160 in-depth interviews with Italians and Spaniards in the United Kingdom :
Typically, more recent studies show that the sense of belonging of intra-EU mobile persons in the UK has been disrupted by the uncertainty surrounding the UK withdrawal procedure, and the feeling of exclusion from British society. Their possible attachment to the UK, developed in previous years, has been challenged.
Cultural influence
In art
Artist Frank Reynolds depicted Southern Europeans, in a 1920 drawing for Punch magazine, as swarthy and unusually small, in comparison with a tall, imposing English policeman.
Social and political issues
Integration
2017 research has suggested that the group detach themselves from the status, or self-categorisation, of being an immigrant. The phenomenon appeared to be specific to people from founding member states of the European Union. Academic interpretations have proposed that the group express or diminish their various national identities based upon perception of British outlooks on various South European ethnicities.
