“There are some good developments,” said the Chancellor in her weekly podcast on Saturday, “but we also have some problems.”

Merkel called on businesses in particular to create equal opportunities for immigrants in Germany after seeing with her own eyes how many young people were not given training places “because of their names.”

At the same time, Chancellor Merkel defended her decision not to support the introduction of dual citizenship for German immigrants from Turkish backgrounds, who currently must choose between Turkish or German citizenship by the age of 23.

“You don’t have to discard diversity when you decide on a citizenship,” said Merkel.

AFP/The Local/jlb