The FINANCIAL — In 2015, flows of money sent by residents of the European Union (EU) to a non-EU country, referred to as personal transfers, amounted to €31.3 billion, compared with €29.9 bn in 2014.
As inflows to the EU totalled slightly less than €11.0 bn in 2015, this resulted in a negative balance (-€20.4 bn) for the EU with the rest of the world. The majority of personal transfers consist of flows of money sent by migrants to their country of origin.
Largest surplus in personal transfers in Poland, largest deficit in France
Among Member States for which data are published, the outflows of personal transfers in 2015 were highest from France (€10.0 bn), followed by the United Kingdom (€7.7 bn), Italy (€6.4 bn) and Spain (€6.2 bn – see country note). In contrast, the highest inflows were recorded in Portugal (€3.3 bn – see country note) and Poland (€3.2 bn), ahead of the United Kingdom (€2.7 bn), Romania and Italy (both around €2.2 bn). As a result, the largest surpluses in personal transfers were registered in 2015 in Poland (+€3.0 bn), Portugal (+€2.8 bn) and Romania (+€1.7 bn), while France (-€9.5 bn) recorded by far the largest deficit, followed by the United Kingdom (-€5.0 bn), Italy (-€4.2 bn) and Germany (-€3.5 bn).
Highest proportion of intra-EU outflows in Slovakia, of extra-EU outflows in Slovenia
In 2015, the highest shares of inflows from other EU Member States among total inflows were recorded in Luxembourg (99%), Slovakia (98%), Hungary (95%) and Poland (89%). On the contrary, extra-EU inflows accounted for about three-quarters of total inflows in France (74%), and for about two-thirds in Belgium (67%) and Italy (66%).
Slovakia (93%), Luxembourg (92%) and Ireland (79%) were the Member States that recorded the highest proportion of intra-EU outflows in total outflows. For extra-EU outflows, the largest shares were observed in Slovenia (86%), Portugal (83%), Greece (79%), France (74%) and Italy (73%).
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