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Germany sees drop in asylum applications after migration crackdown
Est. 2minGerman Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has hailed the drop in asylum applications as proof that the country’s tough measures are working, with figures for 2024 showing a 23% drop from the previous year.

Liberal FDP mulls leaving German government after crushing election defeat
Est. 3minGermany’s liberal FDP party is ready to quit the coalition government if it fails to agree to significant policy improvements, FDP leader and Finance Minister Christian Lindner suggested on Monday after a string of disastrous regional elections for his party.

Chancellor Scholz’s future questioned ahead of key election
Est. 3minRegional elections in Brandenburg on Sunday could see Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats lose an election in the German state for the first time, with some questioning whether Scholz should run for the country’s chancellorship again.

Germany urges countries to apply EU migration law as Athens takes issue to EUCO
Est. 4minThe migration discussion has opened again for good in Europe with Germany preparing to step up the number of asylum seekers that it is sending back to first-line countries while Greece is planning to raise the issue at a summit next month.

German coalition parties slam rightward shift in von der Leyen’s Commission proposal
Est. 3minEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's proposal for a new college of commissioners did not go down well with the governing coalition parties in her home country on Tuesday, despite them previously backing a second von der Leyen-led executive.

Germany’s Scholz offers support to neighbours affected by flooding
Est. 2minGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz has offered support to European partners through the EU's emergency mechanism in response to severe flooding in central and eastern Europe but said no requests for assistance had yet been registered.

German CDU calls for trial period for border rejections
Est. 3minConservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz (CDU-EPP) floated the idea of turning back refugees at the border whose first EU country of entry was not Germany for a three-month trial period - an idea that may sound familiar to the governing parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government.

Far-right AfD cheers Scholz’s call for peace summit with Russia
Est. 3minGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a peace conference with Russia on Sunday, a move the far-right AfD saw as a sign the government was bowing to its pressure.

Thuringia state elections: CDU to start coalition talks with the hard-left
Est. 2minGermany's centre-right CDU party has cleared the way for coalition talks with left-wing populist alliance BSW and the centre-left SPD in the state of Thuringia after regional elections narrowed the scope for a centrist formation.

Germany won’t provide Ukraine with fresh money
Est. 2minDue to budgetary constraints, Germany will not give Ukraine any fresh cash, as, according to the government, support should primarily be financed from interest on frozen Russian assets.

German ministers look to boycott Hungarian EU presidency
Est. 3minAfter several EU countries announced a boycott of the upcoming informal council meeting in Hungary, Germany seems ready to follow suit as not a single minister will travel to Budapest to attend the meeting.

Germany will not provide Ukraine with fighter jets
Est. 2minGermany will not provide fighter jets to Ukraine, the government made clear on Monday after Friedrich Merz, leader of the main opposition party, suggested as much.

German minister: Not lifting EU combustion engine ban would be ‘electoral fraud’
Est. 2minAs EU Socialists urge Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to stick to the 2035 ban on new petrol cars, German Transport Minister Volker Wissing warned that refusing to reverse the ban would be a "gigantic electoral fraud".

Germany to largely exclude Huawei from 5G network from 2029: media report
Est. 2minGermany plans to largely exclude Chinese components such as those from Huawei and ZTE from its 5G mobile network by 2029, with an interim step in 2026, according to a media report.

German senior ministers torpedo compulsory military service plans
Est. 3minGerman Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD/S&D) could be forced to water down a new conscription model to be introduced in 2025 after senior ministers from the junior coalition partner FDP said they would not support compulsory elements.

New German defence budget slammed as ‘too low’ by critics
Est. 3minExperts and politicians from across the spectrum have criticised the budget agreement reached by Germany's coalition parties, bemoaning the small increase in defence spending as insufficient to counter the threat from Russia.

Orbán-Babiš alliance opens ‘new opportunities’ for German far-right
Est. 4minWith a new far-right group, including Victor Orbán's Fidesz party, on the horizon, the German far-right AfD has hopes of breaking out of potential isolation in the European Parliament after being kicked out of their previous group, ID.

Germany’s Scholz worried about shifting public opinion on Ukraine support
Est. 3minThe rise of populists in the former East Germany in the European elections is linked to growing opposition to support for Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz admitted on Sunday, insisting there was no alternative to maintaining aid.

German far-right gives up on ID to form own parliamentary group
Est. 5minThe German far-right AfD has set its eyes on creating its own parliamentary group, abandoning plans to seek readmission into the Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament.

Germany’s Scholz expects second term of von der Leyen
Est. 3minGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz expects Ursula von der Leyen to be re-elected as President of the European Commission after emerging as a strong contender from the EU elections while reiterating his pre-conditions to nominate his fellow countrywoman.

Germany should not outsource asylum procedures, experts warn
Est. 3minAs the German government considers whether to process asylum applications abroad, experts involved in the process published their recommendations to the government on Thursday, calling into question whether the plan would go ahead.

Pressure mounts on German government to call snap elections like Macron
Est. 3minFollowing the crushing defeat of Germany's governing coalition parties in the EU elections, high-profile opposition figures are urging German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to call snap elections, as French President Emmanuel Macron did after his party was decimated by Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National.

German businesses warn against ‘Dexit’ amid fears of far-right gains
Est. 4minGermany's exit from the EU, labeled as "Dexit", would cost the country's economy €200 billion a year, business lobby INSM warned, as Germany's far-right AfD party, currently second in the polls ahead of this weekend's EU elections, maintains a strong anti-EU rhetoric.

German FM mulls participation in possible international protection force for Gaza
Est. 2minGerman Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is considering the possibility of her country participating in an international protection force for Gaza, as previously called for by the Arab League.