
Survey: Young Germans oppose reintroducing military service, back EU
BERLIN (dpa)Young people in Germany increasingly oppose military service, a study revealed on Thursday, amid calls for the measure to be reintroduced to strengthen the country's armed forces.A YouGov study carried out for the TUI Foundation found that 55% of 16 to 26-year-old German residents reject a general military service programme, while 38% were in favour.Results from the survey two years ago had 42% of young people in Germany supporting the policy, with 47% against it.The German government has pledged to reinforce its military, the Bundeswehr, to meet the threat from Moscow in the wake of the Ukrainian crisis.The coalition between Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union, the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union and the centre-left Social Democrats has agreed to increase recruitment via a voluntary military service programme.But pressure is rising on Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to agree to a compulsory draft.
Young Germans support the EUA large majority of young Germans favour remaining in the European Union, the survey found. At 80%, support was higher than in any other European country surveyed. In the United Kingdom, which withdrew from the bloc following the 2016 Brexit referendum, some 73% of 16 to 26-year-olds would like to rejoin the EU.The study found rising levels of polarisation among young people in Germany, with 43% describing themselves as left of centre and 14% as right-wing, up from 32% and 8% respectively in 2021.Migration was seen as the most important political problem in the EU for 45% of young Germans, ahead of climate change and environmental protection, and foreign policy and defence, both on 39%.
A total of 6,703 young people from seven European countries participated in the survey between April and May.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Gulf Today
10 hours ago
- Gulf Today
France has become less attractive to foreign investors
Yoruk Bahceli and Leigh Thomas, Reuters France is missing out on the investor optimism that has defined Europe's markets this year, hamstrung by its strained public finances and political volatility that threatens to paralyse policy until at least 2027. Global investors and French executives cite the risk that budget negotiations could trigger another government collapse in the autumn, while pessimism among French households is dragging on consumer spending and economic growth. Centrist Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has faced eight no-confidence motions in parliament since taking office in December and his minority government is now struggling to find 40 billion euros ($47 billion) in spending cuts for the 2026 budget. The contrast with neighbouring Germany, whose new government is preparing to loosen historically tight purse strings and pump billions into the economy through defence and infrastructure spending, could hardly be starker. "While all the other highly indebted European countries — Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy — have taken advantage of years of inflation to reduce their public debt ratio, France — whose deficit is now the highest in the euro zone — is increasingly diverging," said Pierre Moscovici, head of the Cour des Comptes public audit office and a former finance minister. To narrow the budget gap, Bayrou will have to convince opposition parties to stomach spending cuts only slightly smaller than those proposed in the 2025 budget that brought down his predecessor. Germany's historic embrace of looser fiscal policy and the impact of President Donald Trump's sometimes erratic policymaking on confidence in US assets have given a boost to European financial markets and other investments this year. A key beneficiary has been Italy, which has seen the risk premium paid on its 10-year debt compared to that of safe-haven Germany drop towards where it traded in 2010, before the euro zone debt crisis escalated. But the 10-year risk premium paid by French debt over German is still at 70 basis points, well above levels of around 50 bps seen before French President Emmanuel Macron called a shock snap election last summer. The French-Italian yield gap is meanwhile near all-time lows, even though Italy has a bigger debt pile. Candriam's chief investment officer Nicolas Forest said he favoured German, Italian and Spanish bonds and was underweight France, a situation he called "completely unusual". French stocks are missing out, too. The blue-chip CAC 40 index trades below where it was before the election was called and is lagging Europe's STOXX 600 aggregate. The Paris index has returned just 5% this year, four times less than Germany's DAX. Simon Blundell, co-head of fundamental European fixed income at BlackRock, the world's biggest investor, said he had no big positions in French debt and favoured Italian bonds, encouraged by political stability in Rome and declining volatility. Even if France's government survives the autumn, investors expect the budget squeeze to underwhelm as a fix for fiscal strains and so fail to increase the appeal of French assets. "Any compromise political parties find will be really temporary in terms of measures, and not great for debt reduction and deficit improvement," said Candriam's Forest. And even presidential and parliamentary elections in 2027 may not fully dispel the political uncertainty, if no party emerges dominant. To prod opposition parties to back Bayrou's budget, Public Finances Minister Amélie de Montchalin has suggested France could turn to an IMF bailout if it does not decisively grip its finances. Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard said such doomy talk only caused the French to save more, jeopardising a consumer spending recovery that he said was more fragile than in the supermarket giant's other European markets. "If we have 5 percentage points more savings than other European countries, it's because we have an extraordinarily high level of political and fiscal uncertainty," Bompard told an economics conference in Aix-en-Provence on Friday. With consumers hesitant to spend, French business activity has consistently lagged European peers this year, even though the private sector is less exposed to US trade tensions than Germany or Italy's more export-focused economies. Brushing aside any prospect of IMF intervention to prop up France's public finances, the Fund's French chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas insisted Paris could no longer put off getting its fiscal house in order. "France is not exempt from the laws of gravity, so we're going to have to adapt," Gourinchas said in Aix-en-Provence. "We can't fly, we're going to have to plan our landing and make spending cuts."


Arabian Post
13 hours ago
- Arabian Post
US Ivy League University Hit With Russian Blacklisting
Moscow has formally placed Yale University on its 'undesirable organisations' list, citing the institution's alleged role in orchestrating anti-Russian activities and training opposition figures. Russian authorities accuse Yale's Jackson School of Global Affairs, particularly its International Leadership Center, of educating individuals who later joined the Anti‑Corruption Foundation founded by the late Alexei Navalny, using their acquired skills to fuel protest movements. The Prosecutor General's Office claims this threatens Russia's territorial integrity, supports an international blockade, and destabilises its socio‑economic and political systems. The designation prohibits Yale from any activities within Russia. Under federal law, association with a blacklisted group carries prison penalties—up to four years for Russian collaborators and six years for organisational leaders. Individuals linked to Yale face criminal charges; the measure forms part of a broader Kremlin strategy against foreign entities deemed threatening. ADVERTISEMENT This move adds Yale to a growing roster of Western organisations singled out since the 2015 'undesirable organisations' law. Prior additions include Amnesty International, Bard College, the British Council, and most recently Razom, a Ukrainian aid group. The law enables authorities to shut down foreign NGOs and media, often seen as a response to perceived threats to state sovereignty. Kremlin critics say the blacklist is politically motivated, aimed at curbing academic exchange and dissent. Yale's international stature and involvement in global affairs likely amplified its visibility during heightened Kremlin-West tensions over Ukraine. Moscow has previously targeted American academics such as Larry Samuelson and Jeffrey Sonnenfeld—both barred after vocally criticising the Russian government and advocating for redirected use of frozen Russian assets. Professor Sonnenfeld welcomed the ban as a 'badge of honour,' asserting that national interests aligned with academic freedom. The Russian Prosecutor General also accused Yale of aiding in justifying the seizure of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine's military—a claim echoed by Xinhua news. Critics argue the blacklist damages intellectual cooperation and undermines global debate. Diplomatic observers note the move could isolate Russian scholars and block access to Western-minded discourse. Past blacklisted organisations include the National Democratic Institute, Open Society Foundations, and German Marshall Fund. Yale has not issued an official statement. Moscow officials emphasised that the action is legal and rooted in national security concerns, accusing the university of eroding Russia's constitutional foundations. Analysts suggest the designation is both a symbolic rebuke and a signal of Russian inflexibility toward institutional criticism. The intensification of the Kremlin's crackdown follows sustained geopolitical strain. Western nations have responded with further sanctions, freezing Russian assets abroad and limiting academic collaboration. The Kremlin's narrative frames foreign academic institutions as instruments of Western influence, legitimising domestic censorship. Experts highlight the broader implications. The country's academic environment faces growing isolation as more foreign universities are blacklisted. Graduate students, researchers, and educators involved with affected institutions risk surveillance, interrogation, and criminal charges. The chilling effect extends to independent thought and scholarly freedom. International academic bodies are reportedly reviewing the impact. Some warn Russian professionals risk professional ostracism if tied to forbidden organisations. The long-term prospect is a narrowing of Russian engagement with global research networks. European and North American universities have yet to comment officially. Some scholarly consortia may warn members about collaborative risks in Russia. For Yale, the designation represents a striking escalation in Russia's confrontation with Western academia.


Khaleej Times
16 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
New German chancellor set for first China visit later this year
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to make his first visit to China towards the end of this year with a delegation of top business executives, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. The visit from the head of Europe's biggest economy and one of China's largest trading partners would be symbolically important in underpinning relations between the two, amid friction with the United States over trade tariffs. Chinese companies hope to invest more in Germany and Merz's visit could be used to repair relations after earlier tensions with Berlin, a source told Reuters. The trip, which could come as soon as October, is yet to be finalised and details could change. A spokesperson for the German chancellery declined to comment. "Currently, the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Germany is developing well. Since the formation of the new German government, the two sides have maintained frequent and close interactions," China's foreign ministry said in response to Reuters questions. "China is willing to engage in close high-level exchanges with Germany, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and promote the sustained, healthy and stable development of China-Germany relations." Merz's planned trip follows a visit to Berlin earlier this month by China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, on a European tour seeking to lay the groundwork for a summit between European Union and Chinese leaders later this month. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the two foreign ministers had discussed Russia's attack on Ukraine, Taiwan and the crisis in the Middle East. China and Germany are closely interwoven, not least by German carmakers' dependence on China, the world's biggest auto market, in making and buying their cars. Relations faltered under the previous German government, where then Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock repeatedly criticised Beijing, describing President Xi Jinping as a "dictator", and China as a rival. Points of friction remain. Germany summoned the Chinese ambassador to the foreign ministry on Tuesday after saying China's military had laser targeted a German aircraft in the Red Sea. So far, Merz has also taken a tough public line on China, while avoiding a full-blown standoff. Earlier this year, he underscored worries about China's closeness to Russia while pledging to reduce Germany's reliance on the world's second largest economy. Xi, meantime, called on Merz to deepen cooperation and jointly promote economic globalisation.