Language will bring integration

Merkel and Sarkozy talked to children and threatened Iran

Yesterday in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and members of her cabinet received guests from Paris. Together with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a large delegation of ministers arrived and took part in a joint meeting of the governments of the two countries. The main topic of discussion was the problems of integrating foreigners into public life, common to most European countries.

On the eve of the German-French meeting, three cars were burned in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg; in total, since the beginning of the year, attackers have destroyed 96 cars in the German capital. Over 150 thousand Turks live in Berlin, a significant part of them live in Kreuzberg. Kurds also settle there, which makes the neighborhood explosive. In schools in “multicultural” areas (Kreuzberg, Wedding, Neukölln), the proportion of foreign children reaches 90%, many of them have poor command of the German language.

Before the joint meeting, Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy visited the Romain Rolland Gymnasium, where they outlined the positions of their governments at a meeting with children. A guest from France called for illegal immigration to be taken under control, since it is the main obstacle to integration: “Our countries are open, they are not fortresses. But anyone who wants to enter must respect the culture he wants to make his own.” The Federal Chancellor noted that “language is the key,” and those who speak it “have equal chances in life.” Merkel called on foreigners to force their children to “at least occasionally read a German book.” The fact is that immigrants from former colonies who immigrated to France speak French, while in Germany, immigrants from Turkey know little German or do not speak it at all.

The main international topic of the meeting was the Iranian nuclear program. Last week, Sarkozy and Merkel traveled separately to the United States, where they met with President George W. Bush. The owner of the White House is seeking to gain support from the Europeans for his policy of pressure on Tehran. It seems that he has achieved success in this field.

According to the German chancellor, Berlin and Paris have a “common position” and believe that “if Iran does not change its behavior, the UN should consider further sanctions.” “We want Russia and China to be among those members of the world community who make it clear to Iran that we will not back down in the face of its nuclear program,” Merkel stressed. “We can take different paths, but on a large political field we are on the same wavelength: no nuclear weapons for Iran,” Sarkozy confirmed. “The door remains open, but sanctions are getting tougher,” the president said, adding that France and Germany “believe in the usefulness of sanctions” against Tehran.

Yuri Shpakov, Berlin