The East German heads of government have called on the federal government to remove obstacles to the recruitment of foreign skilled workers. Securing skilled workers must be a top priority, said Saxony-Anhalt's Minister President Reiner Haseloff (CDU) after a meeting of East German heads of government in Berlin. In the view of the federal states, improvements should be made in areas such as visa procedures and the recognition of foreign professional qualifications.
The eastern German federal states are suffering particularly badly from the drop in the birth rate. For every two people who retire, there is currently only about one more. The eastern German states now want to work with the federal government to develop a skilled labor strategy entitled "Professions of the Future". Haseloff emphasized that immigration via the labour market is necessary, but not into the social systems.
