Category Archives: Germany

Fear and anger rise in Germany over handling of budget crisis

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Der Spiegel accuses Scholz of ‘leading country into chaos’ as MPs scramble to plug €60bn shortfall

The German government is struggling to find a way out of a billion euro budget crisis that risks stifling its vision for environmental and industrial transformation and plunging the country into years of economic stagnation.

More immediately, the consequences of a ruling by the country’s highest court – which stunned economists and policy-makers by deeming that the government’s 2024 budget broke fiscal rules enshrined in the constitution – risks toppling the already embattled two year coalition under Olaf Scholz.

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Central banks ‘risk tipping UK and other developed countries into recession’

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Stance on inflation poses threat to ‘soft landing’ forecast for global economy, says OECD

Continued tough action by central banks to tackle stubborn inflation risks tipping Britain and other developed countries into recession next year, the west’s leading economic thinktank has warned.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the chances of policymakers getting it wrong were “pretty high” and posed a threat to its central “soft landing” forecast for the global economy.

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Free speech groups criticise German ban on Russian journalists’ book

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Russian businessman claims book defamed him, while authors say aim is to destroy their reputation

A Russian businessman has successfully taken legal action to ban a book in Germany about the Kremlin and its spy agencies, in a case that freedom of speech groups have described as an alarming attack on public interest reporting.

Two London-based Russian journalists, Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, say they interviewed the businessman, Alexey Kozlov, for their 2019 book The Compatriots because of his family’s historical connections to Soviet intelligence. He has now won a court injunction against the book’s publisher.

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WW2 bomber crew’s remains identified 80 years after plane shot down over Netherlands

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Burials can go ahead of men who never returned from bombing mission over Germany in 1943

Eighty years after they were shot down by the Germans over Dutch waters, British airmen Arthur Smart, Raymond Moore and Charles Sprack can be laid to rest after the Dutch defence ministry confirmed their remains had been identified.

Two silver-plated cigarette cases were found with the initials of the 27-year-old flight engineer Smart and 21-year-old wireless operator Moore.

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Geert Wilders’ victory confirms upward trajectory of far right in Europe

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Dutch general election results show how populist and far-right parties are advancing into political mainstream

Geert Wilders’ shock victory in the Dutch general election confirms the upward trajectory of Europe’s populist and far-right parties, which – with the occasional setback – are continuing their steady march into the mainstream.

There is no guarantee that Wilders, whose anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) won 37 seats in Wednesday’s ballot – more than twice its 2021 total – will be able to form a government with a majority in the Netherlands’ 150-seat parliament.

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Israel-Hamas war opens up German debate over meaning of ‘Never again’

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Intellectuals clash over country’s traditional commitment to defence of Israel amid bloodshed in Gaza

The phrase “Never again” has been the central tenet of Germany’s political identity since the horrors of the Nazi-led Holocaust of Europe’s Jewish population. But the war between Israel and Hamas has opened up a fiercely fought debate about the phrase’s true meaning,dividing opinion among followers of the dominant German intellectual tradition.

A letter published in the Guardian pits several prominent German and international figures influenced by the Frankfurt School of neo-Marxist “critical theory” against its most prominent living member, Jürgen Habermas. They argue that “Never again” must also mean staying alert to the possibility that what is unfolding in Gaza could amount to genocide.

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Argentinian ex-officer who was charged over 23 murders dies in Berlin

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Luis Kyburg was alleged commander of Argentinian navy unit believed responsible for deaths of at least 150 people

An Argentinian former military officer has died of natural causes in Berlin just weeks before he was charged over the murder of 23 members of leftwing groups during the country’s military dictatorship.

The 75-year-old ex-navy officer was suspected in the abduction, disappearance, torture and murder of 23 young people in 1976 and 1977, Berlin prosecutors said.

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German publisher halts sale of top author’s books after leak reveals he received €600,000 from Putin ally

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Broadcaster NDR launches investigation after Hubert Seipel admits receiving support for work on two books on Russian leader

A German publisher has announced a stop to the sale of books authored by a leading journalist and Russia expert after an investigation showed he had received at least €600,000 (£522,000) in undisclosed offshore payments from companies linked to an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin.

Hubert Seipel, an award-winning film-maker and author, admitted receiving support for his work on two books charting the Russian leader’s rise to power and offering portrayals described as sympathetic to him.

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Tensions high as Germany prepares to mark Kristallnacht

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Eighty-five years after the ‘brutal prelude’ to Nazi crimes, the emphasis falls on contemplating its influence on the present day

It has long been the most delicate day in the German calendar, 9 November. It brings a balancing act of remembrance for the state-sanctioned murderous devastation of the Nazi pogroms across the country in 1938, and, 51 years later, the overnight collapse of the most famous barrier in the world, the Berlin Wall.

Both had international repercussions which are still felt today. The former dominates the nation’s collective memory.

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More than half of black people surveyed in Germany report racism

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Other findings include nearly 20% of black people suffering repeated harassment, and targeting of Muslims and Asians

More than half of black people living in Germany have experienced racism, with nearly 20% saying they have been subjected to repeated threats or harassment, a first-time survey of more than 21,000 people across the country has revealed.

The findings, published this week by the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), also showed that about 13% of Muslims and 12% of Asians experienced threats or harassment at least several times a year.

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German chancellor Olaf Scholz agrees ‘historic’ stricter migration policy

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Move comes hours after Italy unveils plan to build asylum reception centres in Albania for those arriving by sea

Stricter measures to deal with a large number of migrants arriving in Germany have been agreed by the chancellor Olaf Scholz and state leaders, as NGOs criticised Italy’s plans to create centres in Albania to accommodate asylum seekers.

After a marathon session of talks in Berlin which went on into the early hours of Tuesday, Scholz said the measures would help speed up asylum procedures, restrict social benefits for migrants, and provide more federal funding for local communities.

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EU asks for more information on Meloni’s move to send asylum seekers to Albania after ‘practically zero notice’ of deal – as it happened

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EU wants to discuss implications of deal after Italy announces new migration policy

Swedish ministers sent a letter today to EU institutions calling for strengthening security cooperation and implementing an effective migration returns policy.

Gunnar Strömmer, Sweden’s minister for justice, together with minister for migration Maria Malmer Stenergard, said “it is of utmost importance for the over-arching future security of the EU zone that the EU reaches an agreement on the EU pact on migration and asylum.”.

This entails both making more effective work within our own countries and in relation to our cooperation with third countries. More can be done realistically within the legal framework we have today. More discussions on cooperation on returns are necessary.

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‘Hostage situation’ that closed Hamburg airport ends with suspect arrested

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Eighteen-hour ordeal concludes with man detained and child uninjured, say police

A hostage situation at Hamburg airport has concluded with the suspect and his daughter exiting a car, police have said, ending an 18-hour ordeal that had closed northern Germany’s busiest airport.

The suspect was arrested without resistance and the child appeared not to be injured, the police said on the social media platform X.

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Germany proposes giving EU candidate countries observer status at summits

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Roadmap for expansion suggests integrating countries such as Ukraine into sections of EU before negotiations are complete

Germany has proposed a detailed and innovative roadmap to expand the EU that would give candidate countries such as Ukraine early benefits including observer status at leaders’ summits in Brussels before full membership.

The proposals by the foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, amount to an offer of integrating candidate countries into sections of the EU long before technical negotiations for membership, which can drag on for years, are completed.

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Eurozone economy shrinks by 0.1%, putting it at brink of recession

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Ireland and Austria post biggest declines, while Germany contracts by 0.1% and France grows by 0.1%

The eurozone is teetering on the brink of a winter recession after the latest official figures showed its economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter of 2023.

In a worse than forecast performance, the 20-nation single currency zone has now failed to grow in three of the past four quarters, leaving its economy only 0.1% higher than it was a year earlier.

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Antisemitism is deeply ingrained in European society, says EU official

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Remarks by rights chief come as civil society groups warn of a rise in antisemitism amid Israel-Hamas war

Antisemitism is a “deeply ingrained racism in European society” that poses an existential threat to the continent’s Jewish community and the fundamental aims of the European Union, an EU official has warned.

Michael O’Flaherty, the director of the bloc’s agency for fundamental rights, said it was worrying that only a third of the general population considered antisemitism a big problem, when there was no doubt “dramatic moments in our societies trigger antisemitic responses”.

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‘Pervasive and relentless’ racism on the rise in Europe, survey finds

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Poll of 6,752 people of African descent in 13 countries finds almost half have experienced discrimination

Racism is “pervasive and relentless” and on the rise in Europe, with nearly half of black people in member states surveyed by the EU reporting discrimination, from the verbal abuse of their children to being blocked by landlords from renting homes.

In every walk of life, from schools to the job market, housing and health, a survey by the EU’s rights agency of people of African descent found high levels of discrimination, with some of the worst results recorded in Austria and Germany, where far-right parties have been on the rise.

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German firebrand politician quits far-left Die Linke to set up her own party

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Sahra Wagenknecht joined by nine other MPs in migration-sceptical party which will court unhappy voters on left and right

A leading German radical-left politician who has questioned the green transition and blamed the west for Russia’s war on Ukraine has left her party to set up a new one, in a move likely to cost the far right votes and further fragment the nation’s politics.

Sahra Wagenknecht, the charismatic former co-leader of the far-left Die Linke, said on Monday that the new association – named after herself – would court unhappy voters on the left and right, starting with next June’s European parliament elections.

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‘A lot of pain’: Europe’s Jews fear rising antisemitism after Hamas attack

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Protection of Jewish sites increased in towns and cities across continent after outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas

In the usually bustling “Little Jerusalem” area of Sarcelles, north of Paris, the popular falafel and grill restaurant was eerily quiet. “People are not going out,” said Jérémy, the 33-year-old restaurant owner. Lunchtime and evening crowds are common in one of the largest Jewish communities on the Paris outskirts. But many thought it wiser to stay at home, fearing a growing number of antisemitic incidents in France and across Europe since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October and the ensuing bombardment of Gaza.

In France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish community, police recorded more than 320 physical acts of antisemitism, and made more than 180 arrests, in the first 10 days of the war.

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Malaysia pulls out of Frankfurt book fair, blaming organisation’s pro-Israel stance

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Representatives of the south-east Asian country stated that the event, the world’s largest, has allied itself with Israel in its war with Hamas, after an award due to be presented to a Palestinian writer was cancelled

Malaysia’s education ministry has pulled out of the Frankfurt book fair, citing the organisation’s pro-Israel stance in the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel.

In a statement published on Monday, the Malaysian ministry said that it “will not compromise with Israel’s violence in Palestine, which clearly violates international laws and human rights”. This came after an awards ceremony celebrating Palestinian author Adania Shibli that was due to be held at the world’s largest book fair was called off.

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