The Federal Recognition Act: the German Approach for (European) Labour Mobility

In 2010, the European Union declared the importance of labour mobility in its Europe 2020 strategy „to respond in a flexible way to the priorities and needs of labour markets“ (European Commission 2010: 17). The Federal Recognition Act was passed in 2012 to enable the recognition of foreign qualifications in Germany, taking a fundamental step to comply with the politically desired wish to increase labour mobility and to cope with domestic skill shortages. This paper aims to situate the Recognition Act in the intersection of Skill Formation and Migration asking how institutional conditions in Germany shape the implementation of the Recognition Act. By so doing, the paper assesses the existing boundaries to free movement for EU workers on the German labour market. Whilst the Recognition Act seeks to increase labour mobility within the EU, the political economy of skill formation in Germany can be expected to impede recognition processes. It has to be implemented into a strictly structured labour market with clear standards and a strong self-identity. The collectively organized skill formation system in Germany is shaped by the interests of different actors (social partners) and thus presents a highly contested political arena. By determining the field of skill formation, these actors define standards for the recognition of foreign degrees and thus categorize which degrees are equal to German standards and which are not. Based on a document analysis and expert interviews this paper assesses the implementation of EUs ideal of free movement into Germanys institutional context of skill formation. Hereby, it links research on (European) Migration policy and (national) Skill Formation.