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More Greeks, Spanish moving to Germany

Published: 15 Nov 12 16:58 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20121115-46197.html

Immigration to Germany rose by 15 percent in the first half of the year, thanks to an influx of people from European countries hit hard by the eurozone crisis, official figures showed on Thursday.

Germany registered about 500,000 new arrivals between January and June, while 318,000 people left, preliminary figures from the federal statistics office Destatis showed.

Most - about 306,000 - of the immigrants came from other European Union member states marking a 24-percent increase of newcomers from the bloc.

"The most interesting aspect during the first half of 2012 is the sharp rise in immigration from EU countries particularly affected by the financial crisis," Destatis said in a statement.

The number of people migrating to Germany from Greece was up by 78 percent, with 6,900 more arriving than during the same period last year. The increase was 53 percent for both Spain and Portugal.

However, most of the people arriving came from central Europe, with Poland, which although an EU member, does not belong to the eurozone, in the top spot with 89,000 people.

As the number of new arrivals to Germany increases, adult education centres and Goethe Institute facilities across the country have been faced with a flood of well-educated people from southern and eastern Europe seeking to learn German.

Many analysts feel the trend is a positive development, particularly in light of the demographic challenges facing Germany.

The German economy, which has fared relatively well during three years of crisis in Europe, recorded a 20-percent jump in immigration in 2011 compared to the year before, leading its population to grow for the first time in eight years despite a low birthrate.

Steffen Kröhnert, a social scientist at the Berlin Institute for Population and Development, said the number of people living in Germany actually fell by about 800,000 people between 2002 and 2010. He also pointed to the lack of qualified young Germans entering the workforce, against the backdrop of an ageing population.

"Immigrants fill these gaps," he said, adding that many sectors are in need of people to take on apprenticeships. "Young people from Spain and Greece can be specifically recruited for that."

Gunilla Fincke, who has served as the chairwoman of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR), said workers from crisis-hit European countries had taken advantage of the open labour market to find work in countries with better economic conditions.

"Everyone benefits from it: Germany can help reduce the shortage of skilled personnel in certain sectors, and EU citizens find work and take the pressure off the labour market in their homeland," she said.

Other experts said there was little reason to fear that German workers would be displaced by new arrivals from Greece and elsewhere. "We are well equipped to absorb these workers," said Herbert Brücker from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg.

Germany, Europe's top economy, fully opened up its labour market to other EU members in 2011.

AFP/DPA/The Local/arp

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

17:45 November 15, 2012 by smart2012
guys, can u tell us the statistic of Germans going to live in Switzerland.. :-)
17:59 November 15, 2012 by TheCrownPrince
Time for welcome ceremonies at the borders, especially the Greeks should be greeted with hot coffee and eggs.
18:27 November 15, 2012 by IchBinKönig
'The Euro is still a brilliant notion.' HAHAHAHA

Isn't it time for you Germans to tell the American's what they don't realize? Obama is what again? Can we please end up just like you?? You're so Smart! Do you call yourselves Smart a lot? Good luck with the brilliant notion.
19:42 November 15, 2012 by Eastard
In the USA we have the majority voting for Socialism.. This will last as long as the money stays and they know how to get it.. Freedom allows one to make bad decisions as well as good decisions... Obama was a horrible decision voted on and elected by those on the receipt... Change is coming..
20:02 November 15, 2012 by raandy
The increased flow of immigrants from Greece and Spain is the old adage ,if you can't beat em join em"
20:12 November 15, 2012 by Englishted
Force austerity on others to increase the population? first new idea from the C.D.U. however as E.U. members they are entitled to claim benefits from the German state so how will we ever cut our spending?
21:30 November 15, 2012 by smart2012
Spanish, greeks, this is propaganda. Come here only if a big company wants u here, otherwise do not bother to come. Poverty in Germany is 25%, u ll get a temporary job paid 1000 euro a month. And when u will be 50 u will be unemployed and u will have to do 400 euro jobs. And when u retire u will gain 700 euros s month. Plus the land here is bad. Stay where u r, wait a bit, then u will be happier. and to add, companies are starting to struggle here. Reco: go to Switzerland (head quarters or major enterprises are going there) or china, brazil, Russia. There economy is booming. In Europe we are talking poor to poor
22:15 November 15, 2012 by chris berlin
smart2012: do you know how petit little tiny switzerland is and why it is rich? It is THE country living on the costs of others, having no ressources but tax money from rich Greek, Spanish, German, Frennch... guys indirectly pushing austerity in the rest of the EU.

And Switzerland is so xenophobic and Swiss German is extremly hard to learn, Switzerland is a hard place to become part of society. Germany has more multi-cutlural cities with more options... In Berlin you find infrastracture for Spanish, Greek and Italian people... it is free and many people make it after a while, others not... More and more service sectors are created withing the communities (form hair dressers to schools to yoga to trade)

smart2012 you love to generalize and simplify! Of course Germany is not a paradise but it is also not a poor country. I have so many chances here which I did not find in other European countries. And even if I would lose my job there is a quite good social security net.................

smart2012: Do you live in Germany, if yes, why the hell??? If it is everywhere so much better, why don't you go there? If everything is so bad, do you like to suffer? enjoy :)
22:31 November 15, 2012 by smart2012
I did not comment on Swiss morality, I just said that today business wise u have more chances in Switzerland than in Germany.

I came here as a huge American company has asked me to come here. But u wonder, last year they closed a big department here to move to UK and Switzerland. I am safe as I am responsible for the east European business (Russia and new markets, ie growing), but many colleagues were fired and after 1.5 years they still do not have a job (actually one found a job in turkey - turkey growing). That is why I said, in Europe at the moment we r talking poor to poor. And if u want to enjoy better life, go to Singapore ;)
23:10 November 15, 2012 by chris berlin
... chances do not only come from markets and business! I prefer a tolerant, creative and supportive environment. Yes, one needs a job to pay the rent, for food and social life, but that's it. My life here in Berlin is great as the life of my international friends. We all have good jobs, lots of free time and enjoy life. We are not rich but have a very decent life, quality of life is great and we are happy, that is what counts. ... people also come here because of these reasons and it spreads via word of mouth within the communities. Of course not everyone makes it but many find a way.

For me Singapore is a nightmare and I opt for Austria instead of tax haven switzerland.

What I see as a problem, most in the US, increasing in Europe, is the gap between rich and poor, and this gap should be closed instead of being widened. There is growing richness and poverty at the same time in Germany as in the rest of the Western world.
00:15 November 16, 2012 by Onlythetruth
Most of the new arrivals are from other European Union member states. At least they aren't trying to implement Sharia law.
04:32 November 16, 2012 by rfwilson
@ Onlythetruth

.....YET!
11:33 November 16, 2012 by hankeat
@ smart2012

@ chris berlin

Singapore is really a nightmare. I lived there 7 years. I can describe the live there as rat race in bird cage.
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