20,000 work permitts to West Balkans citizens

In a recent interview with the "Spiegel" news magazine, Germany's Social Democrat labor minister, Andrea Nahles said it was skewed to be talking to countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina about the possibility of EU membership, yet simultaneously only allow citizens from such countries to enter the country using asylum legislation. "It is the wrong approach and puts pressure on the asylum process," she told the publication in September.

She used her argument to support a proposal to grant 20,000 work permits to people from the West Balkans - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania - every year for a total of five years.

Given that there are currently 600,000 jobs available in Germany, Wido Geis, migration expert from the Cologne Institute for Economic Research said it would be a "win-win." The minister's plans would particularly be aimed at those with mid-level qualifications, who often fail to find jobs at home because of the poor economic situation. "They should be given the chance to find work in Germany."

He rejects the idea that the move would lead to a brain drain in the West Balkans, adding that it would also be good for countries in the region because some of the workers would "not stay in Germany permanently, but would return home.“

Macedonian economics professor, Marija Zarezankova-Potevska sees a further benefit. The scheme, she says, would take the pressure off the labor markets in the West Balkans, where unemployment is currently high. But unlike Geis, she doesn't think workers granted permission to stay in Germany would be likely to return, and therefore also calls for "long-term solutions in their countries of origin."

A realistic alternative

Zarezankova-Potevska also believes the labor minister's proposal is designed to reduce the number of asylum seekers from the region, and that it would, therefore, be an acceptable solution for those already in Germany.

Wido Geis agrees that one of the reasons for Nahles' initiative is the high number of asylum seekers from the region whose applications stand no chance of being granted. He says the new plans would offer a "realistic alternative."

In the first half of 2015, Germany received more asylum applications from the West Balkans than from Syria. That balance has shifted in more recent months, but the stream of hopefuls from countries such as Albania and Kosovo continues unabated. Many are looking for a way out of poverty, and many are Roma, who have no professional qualifications.

Under Nahles' proposal, which would also include accepting people who want to train in Germany, they would have the opportunity to find work here. "It would be a chance to break the circle of immigration and deportation," she said in her interview.

Integral part of Europe

Geis says there is another reason for Nahles to make such an offer to the West Balkans. "These countries are an integral part of Europe," he said. And although they are not yet in the EU, they should "increasingly be brought into the European community and the common European economic zone."

As such, he advocates making it easier for people from the region to access Germany's education system and labor market. "Granting an annual 20,000 work permits to West Balkans' citizens who have no particular level of qualification, is a first important step towards European integration."

Safet Gerxhaliu, director of the Industrial Chamber of Kosovo, also believes the initiative would be positive for the West Balkans. "It would send a message that we belong to Europe.“ What's more, he continued, the prospect of finding work in Germany offers many young Kosovars a glimmer of hope.

Labor market expert, Erol Mujanović, says the same is true for young people in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and that it is „far better for them to look for work in Germany than to be unemployed at home.“ He welcomes the idea of 20,000 work permits and says the past decades have proved guest workers from the Balkans to be hard-working and capable of integration in Germany.

Nonetheless, Andrea Nahles is aware that the move could create fear among the German population, where 240,000 young people are out of work, and a million more count as long-term unemployed. "We can’t forget them,“ she said.