Europäisierte Chancengleichheit? Einstellungen zur Öffnung des deutschen Arbeitsmarkts für EU-Ausländer

Abstract

The European Union has replaced the idea of nationally bounded equality by an idea in which all citizens of Europe are regarded as equals, who can therefore move, and work in any EU member state. The article gives an analysis of the extent to which citizens of Germany support the idea of open access to the German labor market for all Europeans. The empirical basis for the analysis is a representative survey conducted in Germany in 2006. The descriptive findings show that the majority accepts the idea that European foreigners should have equal access to the German labor market, although the support rate varies with the country of origin and the level of qualification of a foreign employee. As the high support rate on the aggregate level might conceal cleavages between supporters and opponents, we have tested whether social structural characteristics and the respondent’s interest have an impact on his attitudes towards a Europeanized labor market. The results show that this is only slightly the case. Hence, one can expect that the opening up of the borders of the national labor market will not lead to political conflicts.