Spahn told Blick that the European Union should introduce legislation that would prevent member states from taking away other countries’ doctors and other professionals.
Spahn – one of the defining figures of the Christian Democratic Union – said the phenomenon has an undesirable domino effect.
“There is a shortage of these professionals in Germany. And then Polish doctors come to work in our country, who in turn create a shortage in Poland,” Spahn said.
“We should think about maybe creating new regulations on attracting away people in certain professions within the EU, without fundamentally questioning the freedom of movement within Europe,” he said.
He also said that there are alreaday such agreements within the World Health Organization that could serve as a blueprint for new legislation.
According to data of the German Medical Association (Bundesärztekammer), in 2017 alone 1,965 doctors left Germany, 641 of which moved to Switzerland. Data from the Swiss Medical Association show that some 6,000 doctors or 17.7 percent of the country total have a German passport.
Asked whether Germany might charge Switzerland for educating doctors who then work there, Spahn said “No, that is not my plan.”
