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IMMIGRATION

Public officials in Germany should speak English, says FDP

In light of Germany's ongoing worker shortage, the liberal Free Democrats want to make English skills mandatory for people working in public offices like the jobcentre or Bürgeramt.

Published: 10 February 2023 17:01 CET
FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai
FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai speaks at a party event in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fabian Sommer

“We as the FDP want to establish English as a second administrative language in Germany,” FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai told the newspapers of the Bavarian media group.

“Those who speak English must not be allowed to struggle when dealing with German authorities.”

The liberal party, who govern alongside the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens in the traffic-light coalition, have long been advocates of compulsory English for public authorities.

Currently, German is the only official administrative language at places like the Bürgeramt or Foreigners’ Office, meaning speakers of other languages often have to hope for the best or bring along an interpreter.

READ ALSO: IN DEPTH: Are Germany’s immigration offices making international residents feel unwelcome?

But Djir-Sarai said Germany’s shortage of skilled workers meant the country needed to make allowances for people who weren’t native speakers of German.

“We are currently in a global competition for the brightest minds and the most industrious hands,” he said. 

In this context, he said, Germany must go one step further.

“Companies are expected to be open to English-speaking applicants, so you should also expect our authorities and administrations to be able to offer these people a complete service in English,” Djir-Sarai added.

Ten-point plan 

Back in 2022, the FDP called for the introduction of English as an additional administrative language as part of a ten-point programme to facilitate the immigration of skilled workers.

At the time, however, Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) conceded that the bilingual public authorities could not be implemented immediately.

But with new forecasts emerging that highlight the scale of Germany’s skills gap, the FDP is renewing its demand for English speakers to work for public authorities. 

READ ALSO: ‘Appointments in English’: How Germany wants to attract talent from abroad

The federal government expects that Germany will face a shortage of around 240,000 skilled workers by 2026 – though some forecasts are much more severe.

Recently, the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) predicted a shortage of more than seven million workers by 2035.

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GERMAN CITIZENSHIP

German conservatives vow to overturn dual citizenship if re-elected

Foreigners in Germany are waiting on tenterhooks for the introduction of the new dual nationality law on Thursday - but the centre-right CDU and CSU say they would overturn the reform if re-elected next year.

Published: 25 June 2024 12:06 CEST
German conservatives vow to overturn dual citizenship if re-elected

“The CDU and CSU will reverse this unsuccessful reform,” Alexander Throm (CDU), spokesperson on domestic policy for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, told DPA on Tuesday.

“Dual citizenship must remain the exception and be limited to countries that share our values.”

Throm also criticised the new citizenship law for reducing the amount of time foreigners need to live in the country before naturalising as Germans, describing the new residence requirements as “far too short”.

“After five or even three years, it is not yet possible to determine with certainty whether integration has been successful in the long term,” he stated.

“The recent caliphate demonstrations and the rampant Islamist extremism, often by people with German passports, must be a wake-up call for us all.”

READ ALSO: Which foreign residents are likely to become German after citizenship law change?

Despite vociferous opposition, the alliance between the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party (CSU) was powerless to stop the traffic-light coalition’s citizenship reform passing in both the Bundestag and Bundesrat earlier this year. 

The reform, which permits the holding of multiple passports, lowers residence requirements and removes language hurdles for certain groups, is set to come into force on June 27th. 

But with the CDU and CSU emerging as clear winners in the recent EU parliamentary elections and regularly landing on 30 percent or above in the polls, it’s possible that the party could be on course to re-enter government next year. 

In this situation, the centre-right parties have pledged to try and undo what senior CDU politicians have described as a “dangerous” reform.

“It is not unusual for successive governments to reverse decisions made by the previous government,” Andrea Lindholz, the head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group said in a recent response to a question. 

“We will maintain our position on this and will continue to strive for a corresponding change.”

READ ALSO: What are citizenship offices around Germany doing to prepare for the new law?

Whether the CDU and CSU can secure enough votes at both state and federal elections to change the law in the future remains to be seen.

The parties may also have to compromise on their plans with any future coalition partner, such as the Greens, Social Democrats (SPD) or Free Democrats (FDP), all of whom support liberal immigration laws and the holding of multiple nationalities. 

‘Citizenship devaluation law’

The CDU and CSU parties, which form a centre-right alliance nicknamed the Union, have long been opposed to dual nationality in Germany.

During their years of governing in a so-called grand coalition with the centre-right Social Democrats (SPD), the parties had regularly made reforms of citizenship one of their red lines, citing the danger of hostile nations influencing Germany from within. 

In a recent parliamentary speech back in January, Throm had slammed the bill as a “citizenship devaluation law” and accused the government of trying to generate a new electorate to win votes.

CDU politician Alexander Throm speaks in a debate in the German Bundestag

CDU politician Alexander Throm speaks in a debate in the German Bundestag. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

In comments aimed primarily at Germany’s large Turkish diaspora, the CDU politician claimed that people who had lived in Germany for decades but not taken German citizenship had already chosen their old country over Germany.

The majority of Turks in Germany are also supporters of the authoritarian president Recep Erdogan, he argued.

Responding to the claims, FDP migration expert Ann-Veruschka Jurisch said the opposition was fuelling resentments against migrants by claiming the government was “squandering German citizenship”.

In fact, she argued, the reform has tightened up requirements by ensuring that people who claim benefits and cannot support themselves are unable to become German citizens.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Germany’s citizenship law reform

In addition, the B1 language requirements have only been softened in a few exceptional cases, for example to honour the lifetime achievements of the guest worker generation who had few opportunities when they arrived, Jurisch said. 

If foreigners have committed crimes, the authorities will be able to investigate whether these involved racist or anti-Semitic motives before citizenship is granted, she added. 

With reporting by DPA

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