From the ranks of the FDP comes the demand to introduce English as a second official language. The party wants to make it easier for foreign skilled workers to immigrate. The Liberals received a clear rejection of their demand from the German civil servants' association.
The civil servants' association dbb has rejected a proposal by the FDP to establish English as the second administrative language in public authorities in the future. "When it comes to regulations and laws, the official language applies in this country for reasons of legal certainty, and that is German," said dbb spokeswoman Britta Ibald to the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (RND). Communicating in English in the future would lead to more work than it would make things easier.
"For example, the requirements for the necessary foreign language skills vary greatly depending on the discipline and region, so that the blanket introduction of English as the second 'official language' does not seem very effective in terms of the additional effort required," Ibald continued. "Rather, there is a risk that a considerable increase in bureaucracy will be created here."
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."
The FDP had proposed introducing English as an additional administrative language in German authorities. The proposal is part of a ten-point program to facilitate the immigration of skilled workers, which the FDP Presidium approved on Monday in Berlin. Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger, who drafted the paper together with party Vice President Johannes Vogel, said that a lack of knowledge of German was "a very big hurdle" when recruiting urgently needed specialists from abroad. "The point here is that we introduce English as a second language in administration so that those who come to us can also find access." Stark-Watzinger admitted that the desired bilingualism of the authorities could not be implemented immediately. It's about "making the first start".
