Europe’s growth engine is sputtering. Can Germany’s economy be revived?

The world’s fourth-largest economy has got off to a bumpy start this year. A strike by Lufthansa ground crew on Wednesday was just the latest industrial action to cause travel chaos in recent weeks, after train drivers walked off the job in January over a wage dispute and f…[Read more]

German firm BASF to pull out of Xinjiang after Uyghur abuse claims

The German chemicals producer BASF has said it will withdraw from its two joint ventures in Xinjiang, after media reports about alleged human rights abuses relating to its partner company, which BASF’s CEO said crossed a red line.

In a statement on Friday, BASF said that while “…[Read more]

How to found a political party in Germany

Any adult citizen in Germany can vote, join a party, stand for election — or found their own party. No permission from the state is necessary, but founders must commit to basic democratic principles.

Foreigners can also establish a party in Germany. However, the majority of the party’s executive c…[Read more]

Will nuclear energy make a comeback in Germany?

One year ago, Germany took its three remaining nuclear power plants off the grid, consigning the technology to the history books.

Nuclear fission was once seen as the future. In the early 1960s, politicians and scientists in Germany thought that it would provide an endless supply of electricity,…[Read more]

Germany records a sharp rise in counterfeit bills

German authorities recorded a sharp increase in counterfeit cash in 2023, with around 56,600 banknotes theoretically worth almost €5.1 million withdrawn from circulation.

The figures, announced by the country’s central bank, the Bundesbank on Monday, represent a 28% increase in the number of n…[Read more]

German defense minister says the military is unfit for problems Europe faces

Germany’s defence minister has called for a “serious national debate” about the future of the country’s military, arguing that in its current state it is not fit to tackle the array of security policy challenges facing Europe.

Boris Pistorius, who has frequently called…[Read more]

Germany unearths pro-Russia disinformation campaign on X

Digital forensic experts in Germany have uncovered a vast, pro-Russia disinformation campaign against the government using tens of thousands of fake accounts on the social media platform X.

The German foreign ministry, which commissioned the study after suspecting it was being targeted by…[Read more]

Sudan: German foreign minister demands solution to the conflict

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called for greater “pressure” to be applied to both sides to find a negotiated solution to the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

Setting off on a multi-day trip to Djibouti, Kenya and South Sudan, Baerbock said in a statement that she wanted to…[Read more]

Germany’s train services halted in longest strike yet

Train drivers in Germany on Wednesday began their longest strike yet in an ongoing labor dispute with Deutsche Bahn (DB) that is set to impact thousands of passengers and could dent the economy with a loss of up to €1 billion ($1.1 billion).

On Monday, the German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) h…[Read more]

Germany cracks down on ‘pro-life’ protests

Family Minister Lisa Paus (Green Party) announced on January 24 a draft law to prevent demonstrators from approaching or harassing visitors within a 100-meter (320 ft) radius of abortion clinics and family planning centers. Posters or flyers aimed at intimidating women will also be banned. Anyone…[Read more]

The week Germany woke up to the far-right AfD

A grey Saturday at the end of November 2024. Thin rain drops into Lehnitz lake. Limousines drive into the parking lot of the luxury Landhotel Adlon. Who is coming?

Two dozen German politicians, businesspeople and wealthy, middle-class, men. Some of them are from the extremist party Alternative for…[Read more]

Gender pay gap in Germany: Women earn 18% less than men

Women in Germany earned 18% less on average than men in 2023, the country’s Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) said on Thursday. On an adjusted basis, the gap was 6%, it added.

The report showed that women, on average, earned €20.84 ($22.7) per hour last year, compared with €25.3 for men…[Read more]

German farmers’ anger overshadows agriculture fair

Chickens strut and cluck, piglets play under heat lamps, a huge bull is led by a nose ring into a box lined with fresh straw. At Berlin’s Green Week in, the world’s largest agricultural and food trade fair, farmers want to show their best side.

But at this year’s fair, the mood is not entirely…[Read more]

Germany’s parliament votes on easing dual citizenship

Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, was on Friday set to vote on easing the law on naturalization and widening access to dual citizenship.

The German government says the law should help make Germany more attractive to skilled workers internationally, helping to ease stifling…[Read more]

Germany seeks Cologne Cathedral attack suspect’s deportation

German police said Saturday that they are pressing forward with deportation proceedings for a young man accused of planning a New Year’s Eve terror attack on Cologne Cathedral.

The Dortmund District Court had granted a deportation warrant for the 25-year-old man on Friday, according…[Read more]

Germany’s last major department store chain files for insolvency protection for third time

Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is seeking a new owner, whose real estate group has made several insolvency filings.

Germany’s last remaining major department store chain has filed for insolvency protection, its third filing in less than four years, after its…[Read more]

What are the biggest challenges facing the German economy in 2024?

As we enter 2024, Europe’s largest economy is expected to continue to deal with the fallout of its recent economic crisis. Euronews Business highlights five key challenges for the German economy in 2024.

Germany is facing an uphill economic battle in 2024.

Its GDP growth is…[Read more]

Why are German farmers so angry?

Tractors rumbling down the streets of the capital and jamming highway interchanges — scenes that are more familiar in neighboring France. But Germany’s farmers have been flexing their muscles again over the last few weeks.

Protesters began taking to the streets in late December after the center-left government a…[Read more]

Germany resumes weapons deliveries to Saudi Arabia

It was Germany’s conservative-led government under Chancellor Angela Merkel that restricted German weapons exports to Saudi Arabia in October 2018. This was in response to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the war in…[Read more]