Germany

Germany was mainly a country of emigration in the 19th and first half of the 20th century. Since the mid-1950s, however, Germany has become one of the most important European destinations for migrants. The recruitment of guest workers, the influx of (Spät-)Aussiedler (ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet states), as well as the reception of asylum-seekers have led to the growth of the immigrant population in the country.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, when the immigration of asylum-seekers and Aussiedler reached its peak, immigration and integration have become important and highly contested topics in domestic policy discussions. Important policy developments since then include:

• the "asylum compromise" of 1993, which amended the German constitution to allow for limitations on access to political asylum;
• a new Nationality Act, which came into effect in January 2000;
• the introduction in 2000 of a “Green Card” system aimed specifically at recruiting IT professionals;
• the protracted process of adopting the Immigration Act, which came into force in January 2005.

The issue of immigrant integration has also become highly topical in recent years. Two events exemplify this. First, the PISA study of 2001 brought to light the weaknesses of the German education system and, in particular, the difficulties experienced by pupils with an immigrant background. Second, the terrorist attacks of 11th September 2001 brought questions of security and the integration of Muslim immigrants into the foreground. In 2006, the cartoon dispute in Denmark, the failed suitcase-bomb attempts in Germany, the reactions to the Pope’s talk at the University of Regensburg and the temporary suspension of a Mozart opera in Berlin inspired and accompanied the debate as to whether and how the "naturalisation of Islam" was possible in the context of Germany’s liberal and democratic fundamental order.

In addition, immigration plays an important role in the debate about the consequences of demographic development. Here, the question arises as to how far immigration can counteract the consequences of an ageing population and the associated economic repercussions. Also forming part of this debate is how the potential of migrants already living in the country, and of the second generation who were born there, might be put to better use and promoted.