15 June 2015: The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) published a report on remittances from migrant workers based in Europe, calling for measures to ensure that the money helps families in developing countries build a better future. Titled ‘Sending Money Home: European flows and markets,’ the report recommends measures to increase the financial resilience of remittance recipients, such as improving access to associated financial services, and lowering the transaction costs of financial transfers, which they estimate could free up around US$34 billion for development in rural areas.

Co-author Pedro De Vasconcelos, IFAD, said reducing transfer costs to 5% from the current rate of over 7% would implement an objective set by the Group of 20 (G20) in 2009, and would provide an additional US$2.5 billion in funds.

The report estimates that migrants in Europe sent US$109.4 billion in remittances in 2014, to over 150 million recipients. The report finds that migrant workers based in Russia, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain were responsible for 75% of remittances. The top five receiving countries were Nigeria, China, Morocco, India and Uzbekistan, while Ukraine, Poland and Romania were the countries in Europe receiving the largest amount of remittances. For Moldova, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, remittances made up more than 10% of their gross domestic product (GDP).

IFAD presented the report at the Global Forum on Remittances and Development, which took place at the Milan Expo in Italy, from 16-19 June 2015. The four-day Forum was organized by IFAD, the World Bank and the European Commission, and aimed to demonstrate the role of remittances in poverty alleviation and development, and their potential impact when linked to financial services such as savings, insurance and loans. It also encouraged national governments to adopt a regulatory framework promoting low-cost remittances, and examined the scaling up of successful models. Delegates to the Forum also took part in the first global observance of the International Day of Family Remittances. [Publication: Sending Money Home: European Flows and Markets] [IFAD Press Release on Report] [UN Press Release] [Global Forum on Remittances and Development Website] [IFAD Press Release on International Day of Family Remittances]