TURKEY'S NORTHERNMOST PROVINCE:

Germany may open up labour market (Bertrand Benoit in Berlin and Sarah Laitner in Brussels, June 4 2007, Financial Times)

Germany may make it easier for foreigners to get work permits amid an exodus of academics, mounting staff shortages and pressure from Brussels to open up its labour market.

Demographic trends and an expected rise in the need for qualified workers “could make fresh, targeted measures to open up the labour market necessary”, the interior ministry said in a letter to parliament obtained by the FT. [...]

Figures published on Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office showed more Germans left the country last year than returned – the second net loss in a row. They left in larger numbers than at any time since 1991.

Although this was offset by a net inflow of foreigners, the number of migrants continued a downward trend. Because of low birth rates, the statistical office expects a population fall from 82m today to 69m-74m by 2050.

“This is not a short-term development,” Ms Laurischk told the FT. “Something deeper is happening, which we must address quickly.”

Morgenthau won.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 8, 2007 4:32 PM