On 7 June, Germany’s Bundestag approved seven bills on immigration and integration, including a bill on the immigration of skilled workers ("Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz"). The law will come into force on 1 January 2020 and has been long awaited by employers in Germany; it seeks to facilitate the entry into Germany of skilled workers from third countries, so as to help firms overcome the shortage of skilled labour. The bill’s adoption comes after a compromise between Germany’s conservative and social democratic parties. On the same day, a majority of deputies in Berlin adopted another bill, among others, on the so-called ‘orderly return’ of refugees ("Geordnete-Rückkehr-Gesetz"), which brings in more stringent rules on the expulsion of unsuccessful asylum applicants.
The raft of measures adopted allow for a “strict separation between legal and illegal immigration”, according to the CDU’s chief negotiator Thorsten Frei. Meanwhile Eva Högl, vice chair of the social democratic parliamentary group, described the law on economic migration as “a crucial step in the immigration policy” of Germany. “We are saying to people all over the world: start an apprenticeship here, take a job or look for a position,” the SPD deputy adds, underlining that Germany needs at lea
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