Germany: Merkel praises unions’ integration of refugees, condemns right-wing radicalism

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• published: 14 Jan 2016
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised trade unions for their integration of refugees into the German workplace during a joint presser with Chairman of the German Trade Union Confederation Reiner Hoffmann in Berlin, Thursday. Both hit out against the apparent growing wave of right-wing extremism in Germany, with Merkel also commenting on the government reaction to the New Year’s Eve events in Cologne, and the handling of the refugee crisis. SOT, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany (German): "I would like to thank the trade unions for what they have done, leading the way for integration of refugees and for offering training possibilities for refugees. And it's good that the unions are involved in the alliance for initial and further education." SOT, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany (German): "Firstly, I already see that people have a lot of questions regarding what occurred in Cologne. We have reacted in coordination with this. And I certainly believe that it is the role of a government to not always pose questions and to articulate their worries, but, rather, it is to find answers. And, in fact, one of the answers for which we're striving is one which is objectively fair. Namely, a European solution to the challenge posed by refugees, in the opinions of many people, takes a very long time. And it is the role of the German government, and also, of course, my own role to see how it is possible to make ground here really quickly." SOT, Reiner Hoffmann, Chairman of the German Trade Union Confederation (German): "There are a lot of people in Germany who have lived here for a long time who have severe problems. They must be considered, we must not allow for this tricky situation in which people come to Germany and to Europe in great need to be played out against the people who are also here and who also live in difficult conditions, have insecure employment, have a poor quality living spaces and who are long-term unemployed. We must not neglect them, rather we should tackle these issues together." SOT, Reiner Hoffmann, Chairman of the German Trade Union Confederation (German): "One thing that we should just not allow is for any form of right-populism or rightist radicalism to proliferate here." SOT, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany (German): "Yes, I would like to thank you for the support of the unions in the fight against every type of extremism. I would like to emphasise this. Thank you." Video ID: 20160114-039 Video on Demand: http://www.ruptly.tv Contact: cd@ruptly.tv Twitter: http://twitter.com/Ruptly Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ruptly LiveLeak: http://www.liveleak.com/c/Ruptly Vine: https://vine.co/Ruptly Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/Ruptly YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/RuptlyTV DailyMotion: http://www.dailymotion.com/ruptly