FDP wants second administrative language for Germany – officials wave it away
Created: 06/07/2022 05:59
By: Franziska Schwarz
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) during the Federal Cabinet meeting in the Chancellery.
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
Being able to communicate in English in a German authority - basically?
Protest comes from the civil service.
Berlin – English as the second administrative language in German offices?
Authorities fear a "considerable increase in bureaucracy" and therefore reject a corresponding initiative by the FDP.
"When it comes to regulations and laws, the official language applies in this country for reasons of legal certainty, and that is German," said Britta Ibald, spokeswoman for the civil servants' association dbb, the
RND
newspapers.
When recruiting staff in the public sector, intercultural competence and, where necessary, multilingualism are already being used, said the spokeswoman.
"But the dbb welcomes it in principle when the governing parties recognize the need to finally invest more in the training and further education of employees and the digitization of administration - keywords such as translation aids and programs."
Shortage of skilled workers: FDP sees “very big hurdle”
The FDP proposal is part of a ten-point program to facilitate the immigration of skilled workers that the party executive committee passed on Monday (July 4).
A lack of knowledge of German is "a very big hurdle" when recruiting urgently needed specialists, said Education Minister and Liberal Presidium member Bettina Stark-Watzinger.
The FDP puts the need for immigration into the German labor market at more than 400,000 people per year, and the trend is rising.
Their position paper includes, among other things:
Fewer hurdles in the recognition of foreign educational and professional qualifications
Extend the European Blue Card to non-academic professions
A "chance card" for a Canadian-style scoring system
English as official language?
"Counterproductive" for the association of cities
The Association of Towns and Municipalities also rejected the initiative.
General manager Gerd Landsberg described it to the
RND
as "counterproductive".
Implementation would take years and lead to additional bureaucracy.
The project “would not bring us any closer to the goal of establishing a better culture of welcome and arrival”.
However, English as the second official language certainly aroused interest.
The
Berliner Zeitung
commented : "Not only the war in Ukraine, but also the digital transformation and the fight against climate change and the pandemic should force us to rethink" - but also qualified as a precaution: "Now it is to be hoped that the implementation in the offices does not last decades. "
(dpa / AFP / frs)
