German economic minister highlights growth potential of immigration law

Germany's new immigration law will make the upturn in Europe's largest economy more sustainable and increase its growth potential, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Tuesday.

"With today's agreement, we have made it possible for the economic upswing to continue without an abrupt end, to increase and exploit our growth potential, and to strengthen our competitiveness as well as growth and prosperity," Altmaier said during a news conference in Berlin.

"With this, we can stimulate additional economic growth by several tenths of a per cent. This is quite a lot," he added.