BERLIN (11 Feb 2023): Politicians from the German FDP (Free Democratic Party) have argued a case for making English the secondary language on an official level in administrative offices.
According to international media, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has argued that English should be made an official language at the administrative level. Scholz has argued that the “unwieldy bureaucratic German” is proving to be a “deterrent” for its much-needed skilled workers from abroad.
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According to reports, Chancellor Scholz who leads a three-party government of which the pro-business FDP is a junior coalition introduced its version of the “green card” called the “Chancenkarte” (translated as Opportunity Card), which was aimed at addressing Germany’s critical shortage of skilled labour. Speaking to the British daily The Guardian, Johannes Vogel said, “Skilled workers who want to come to Germany should be able to successfully apply for our new points-based ‘green card’ scheme from abroad even if they don’t yet speak fluent German”.
A member of the Bundestag’s committee for labour and social affairs, Vogel said that the green card system was designed in a way that would make it possible for applicants to qualify despite a lack of fluency in the German language. Speaking on the subject he said that offices, where such workers apply, should allow them forms in English, in cases where they are fluent in the English language.
It is worth mentioning that the German economy came to a standstill last year post-pandemic, with an annual average of nearly 844,000 job vacancies, and a “desperate” shortage in the pharmaceutical, engineering, and IT sectors. Then in January, earlier this year, the Federal Employment Agency (FEA) recorded approximately 764,326 vacancies in businesses across Germany.
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It is also worth mentioning that in November last year, Andrea Nahles who heads the agency suggested that Germany which is Europe’s largest economy would need to bring in almost 400,000 skilled workers from abroad to fill this gap. Likewise, Vogel said that Germany needs to “get better at competing for global talents”. Vogel stressed that their “economic future depends on it”.
According to media reports, the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce has echoed the FDP’s call to incorporate English as an official language. Peter Adrian, who heads the Association, while speaking on the subject to Münchner Merkur that with English being a world language, it “should suffice for anyone to achieve great things in many German businesses”. He added that it could serve as a “strong signal” for people connecting with German bureaucracy in a language other than German.
Earlier, a spokesperson for the Civil Servants’ Association (DBB) said: “When it comes to ordinances and laws, the official language in this country applies for reasons of legal certainty, and that is German”. It is worth mentioning that when the idea was first floated for the government to consider, back in December 2021, it was rejected. Likewise, a DBB official Ulrich Stock stated that the move could result in the creation of a “bureaucratic monster”.
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