AGENCY AGAINST HALVING QUOTA FOR WORKERS FROM THE BALKANS

BERLIN, OCTOBER 16 /SRNA/ – Germany's Federal Employment Agency has warned the authorities against halving the maximum number of workers from non-EU Balkan countries, stating that such a move would only worsen the problem of an acute shortage of skilled labour.

According to a statement from the Agency, more than half a million people from the region are currently employed in Germany in various jobs.

Vanessa Ahuja, a member of the Agency's executive board, said that the current annual quota of 50,000 workers from the region who are allowed to work in Germany must not be reduced.

“Halving the quota would weaken a successful immigration model, worsen the shortage of skilled workers, and make it more difficult for companies to find new employees,” Ahuja stressed.

She emphasised that, if the government's special investment programme and its "turbo" construction plan are to work, companies must be able to find suitable workers.

The "turbo programme," also known as Bauturbo, is a German legislative initiative designed to accelerate housing construction and ease the housing shortage by temporarily bypassing certain zoning regulations and shortening the permitting process until 2030.

The government intends to halve the quota for workers from the Western Balkans starting at the beginning of the year.

This would mean that only 25,000 people from the region would be able to obtain employment in Germany each year.

Germany's DPA news agency reports that the current quota is already insufficient to meet demand from last year.

The regulation was introduced in 2016 for citizens of BiH, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania. It allows them to obtain German work visas under simplified conditions.