Germany's infrastructure push needs more than money
"For once, it was very quick, it took about a month," said the 65-year-old, who only gave his first name, adding that "we're not used to our projects going according to plan".
A crack first appeared a decade ago in a support structure of the concrete and steel bridge built in 1963 that forms part of the capital city's busy A100 ring road.
After the crack recently widened alarmingly, work to take down the bridge finally started in March, leaving piles of rubble below.
Thousands watching the demolition on an internet livestream were happy to see the start of a multi-million-euro renovation project but were upset it took so long.
The case is symptomatic of a problem facing the world's third-biggest economy: an enormous backlog of crumbling infrastructure that needs replacing at a cost of hundreds of billions.
Thousands of roads and bridges, many from the 1960s and 1970s, are reaching the end of their lifespans, and little has been done for years as governments have shied away from major spending.
Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to give Europe's top economy a facelift that is also set to include new railway tracks, school buildings and telecom lines.
Even before he took office, his coalition managed to have the previous parliament pass a gigantic 500-billion-euro ($563 billion) infrastructure fund dubbed a spending "bazooka".
Wake-up call
After years of fiscal restraint, Germans are crying out for action: an end to patchy mobile phone signals, late trains, slow internet and potholed roads.
A dramatic wake-up call came in September, when a 400-metre-long (1,300-foot-long) bridge collapsed in the eastern city of Dresden, with large sections crashing into the Elbe river.
Luckily it happened overnight, averting a potentially deadly disaster, but the incident made Germany's infrastructure malaise a major election campaign theme.
Germany's bridges need 100 billion euros' worth of repairs and upgrades, according to the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E).
Along German motorways and major roads, one third of bridges need to be reconstructed entirely, said the Brussels-based group.
The need is all the more pressing since the last government "embellished" progress, according to a report from the Federal Court of Audit, which found that just 40 percent of bridge renovations planned for 2024 were actually completed.
The new government's fund, intended to be spent over 12 years, should help -- but many local politicians aren't holding their breath.
"Money alone solves nothing," scoffed Steffen Scheller, mayor of the eastern town of Brandenburg an der Havel, an hour's drive from Berlin.
Scheller is hoping for 90 million euros from the fund but said there is another, major problem: "We have a shortage of qualified project managers and engineers."
Bureaucracy can also slow down the process, he said.
A new bridge was built in 2023 over a congested level crossing outside of the city, but has stood unused since. Before it can open, safety barriers must be built.
But the project was pushed back to 2026 after some companies complained that proper procedure had not been followed in the tender process.
'Fanciful projects'
"I've given up all hope of ever using the bridge," said motorist Fransiska, stuck in a traffic jam caused by the closure.
The 38-year-old hospital worker said her commute takes about an hour longer than it used to.
Most of the town's 70 bridges were built back in East Germany's communist days, using substandard steel. Several of them are now closed to heavy goods vehicles, causing problems as they reroute.
Brandenburgers are particularly distraught at the delay in rebuilding a bridge in the town centre that had been promised for 2022.
The delay means "local business really struggles with transport" while the town faces higher pollution, Scheller said.
Benedikt Heyl, author of the T&E report, said Merz had demonstrated "ambition" to tackle the problem.
But Heyl said the new transport minister, Patrick Schnieder, should do better than renovate the 4,000 bridges he has promised by 2030.
Merz should put "fanciful projects" for new motorways on pause, Heyl said, and work on the basics, such as making sure construction companies have long-term contracts that allow them to plan for the future.
First of all, he said, the central government must take a thorough stocktake of the scale of the problem.
"The data is often very poor," Heyl said. "Local authorities often know how bridges are doing. But nobody has an overview at the national level."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
NATO allies have agreed to significant increases in defence spending
The US administration has appointed Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich as both the next top US general in Europe as well as the SACEUR. The appointment by Trump will be especially welcomed following media reports in recent months that the US was considering relinquishing the role of SACUER which has always been appointed by a US president to NATO. "It's a very important decision and there is relief from NATO's point of view as it's a positive sign of American engagement and staffing," a US-based source familiar with the issue told Euronews. US Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower was NATO's first SACEUR in 1951, and the role has remained with the US ever since. 'Upon completion of national confirmation processes, Grynkewich will take up his appointment as the successor to General Christopher G. Cavoli, United States Army, at a change of command ceremony at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons, Belgium, expected in the summer of 2025,' a statement from NATO read. Meanwhile, NATO defence ministers agreed to a significant surge in defence capability targets for each country, as well as moving to spending 5% of GDP on defence. They've agreed that 3.5% of GDP would be used for 'core defence spending' - such as heavy weapons, tanks, air defence. Meanwhile 1.5% of GDP per year will be spent on defence- and security-related areas such as infrastructure, surveillance, and cyber. However, the full list of flexibility has not yet been negotiated. 'These targets describe exactly what capabilities Allies need to invest in over the coming years,' NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told journalists. The US has been pushing NATO allies to dramatically increase spending, and expects to see 'credible progress' immediately, according to US Ambassador to NATO Mathew Whitaker. 'The threats facing NATO are growing and our adversaries are certainly not waiting for us to re-arm or be ready for them to make the first move," 'We would prefer our Allies move out urgently on reaching the 5%,' he told journalists in a briefing on the margins of the meetings. Ambassador Whitaker also said the US is 'counting on Europe' to the lead in providing Ukraine with the 'resources necessary to reach a durable peace' on the continent. Mark Rutte reiterated NATO's recent warnings that Russia could strike NATO territory within the next couple of years. 'If we don't act now, the next three years, we are fine, but we have to start now, because otherwise, from three, four or five years from now, we are really under threat," he said, adding: "I really mean this. Then you have to get your Russian language course out, or go to New Zealand.' 'It's good to have continuity about the US in NATO, but with Ukraine it's a different story. I just don't think Trump really cares about Ukraine," the US-based source told Euronews. 'Trump just doesn't care about Europe – it doesn't make him richer or help him politically,' the source said. Referring to the forthcoming NATO summit taking place next month in The Hague, the source said the presence of Ukraine at the summit "will likely be scaled back", since the US will say, "they're not members' so they don't need to be there".
Euronews
4 hours ago
- Euronews
At least five killed in Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine
The European Union has roundly deplored the United States for sanctioning four judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), including one citizen from the bloc, Slovenia's Beti Hohler, further deepening the divide between transatlantic allies. The sanctions, which also target nationals from Benin, Uganda and Peru, were announced on Thursday by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the decision was based on the court's "baseless and politicised" investigations of war crimes allegedly committed by US forces in Afghanistan and Israel in the Gaza Strip. The second probe led to arrest warrants on Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Natayanhu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Judge Hohler ruled in favour of the orders. As a result of the measures, the four judges will be unable to access their property and assets on US soil and will be blocked from making transactions with American entities. The bans risk hindering the magistrates' ability to perform their day-to-day work. "We call on our allies to stand with us against this disgraceful attack," Rubio said. Rubio's call was met with the opposite reaction: emphatic support for the Hague-based tribunal and forceful rejection of the sanctions. "The ICC holds perpetrators of the world's gravest crimes to account & gives victims a voice. It must be free to act without pressure," said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. "We will always stand for global justice & the respect of international law." António Costa, the president of the European Council, voiced a similar message. "The EU strongly supports the International Criminal Court, a cornerstone of international justice," Costa wrote on social media. The ICC "does not stand against nations—it stands against impunity. We must protect its independence and integrity. The rule of law must prevail over the rule of power." High Representative Kaja Kallas stressed the ICC "must remain free from pressure and true to its principles." The Netherlands, which serves as the host country for the ICC, also expressed strong condemnation, stressing the tribunal's work must remain "as unhindered as possible". "The Netherlands disapproves of the new sanctions against officials of the International Criminal Court," said Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp. "Independent international courts and tribunals must be able to carry out their work without hindrance. We stand firmly behind the Court." Rejecting outside "pressure on judicial institutions", the Slovenian government said it would provide Judge Beti Hohler with "all necessary support in the performance of her mandate in the current situation". The country called on Brussels to immediately activate the so-called blocking statute, a decades-long regulation meant to protect EU individuals and companies from the extraterritorial application of sanctions by non-EU countries. The law was introduced in reaction to the sanctions that Washington introduced in 1996 against Cuba, Iran and Libya, which had ripple effects on European operators that engaged in legitimate trade with the three countries, particularly Cuba. The blocking statute came back to the fore in 2018, when the first Donald Trump administration withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, reintroduced sanctions that had been previously lifted and threatened to punish companies for doing business with Tehran, regardless of their geographic location or ownership. Although Brussels tried to mitigate the damaging impact of these secondary sanctions, many European companies voluntarily cut off relations with Iran out of fear of losing access to America's highly profitable, dollar-based market. A Commission spokesperson said the executive would "closely monitor the implications before we decide on any next steps", such as the activation of the blocking statute, which is the Commission's prerogative but depends on a qualified majority among member states. "We have to take one step at a time," the spokesperson said. In a statement, the ICC insisted it would "continue its work undeterred, in strict accordance with the Rome Statute and the principles of fairness and due process". "Targeting those working for accountability does nothing to help civilians trapped in conflict. It only emboldens those who believe they can act with impunity," it said. "These sanctions are not only directed at designated individuals, they also target all those who support the Court, including nationals and corporate entities of States Parties. They are aimed against innocent victims in all situations before the Court." The US, which is not a party to the 1998 Rome Statute, has long had tense relations with the ICC, viewing with suspicion its ability to conduct probes into nationals around the world. The arrest warrant against Netanyahu was met with bipartisan condemnation in Washington and prompted a renewed assault by the Trump administration. Earlier this year, Hungary openly defied the ICC by ignoring the warrant and inviting Netanyahu to Budapest. Hungary later announced its intention to withdraw from the Rome Statute, becoming the first member state to do so. This article has been updated with more reactions. Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukrainian cities overnight on Friday, killing at least five people and injuring more than 70. According to Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat, Kyiv forces intercepted 368 out of 407 drones and shot down 36 out of 45 missiles, including four out of six ballistic Iskander missiles launched by Russia. Ukraine's Air Forces activated the air raid alerts in all Ukrainian regions last night, warning people that multiple Russian bombers had taken off for the attack. Many people proceeded to bomb shelters with the warning. Ukraine's capital Kyiv was hit the hardest. The city Mayor Vitali Klitschko said search and rescue operations were under way at several locations. Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv overnight, where falling debris sparked fires across several districts as air defence systems attempted to intercept incoming targets, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration. 'Our air defence crews are doing everything possible. But we must protect one another — stay safe,' Tkachenko wrote on Telegram. Authorities reported damage in several districts, and rescue workers were responding at multiple locations. They urged residents to seek shelter. In Solomyanskyi district, a fire broke out on the 11th floor of a 16-story residential building. Emergency services evacuated three people from the apartment, and rescue operations were ongoing. Another fire broke out in a metal warehouse. Tkachenko said the metro tracks between two stations in Kyiv were damaged in the attack, but no fire or injuries occurred. In the northern Chernihiv region, a Shahed drone exploded near an apartment building, shattering windows and doors, according to regional military administration chief Dmytro Bryzhynskyi. He added that explosions from ballistic missiles were also recorded on the outskirts of the city. The nighttime attack came hours after US President Donald Trump said it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia 'fight for a while' before pulling them apart and pursuing peace, in comments that were a remarkable detour from Trump's often-stated appeals to stop the three-year war. Trump spoke as he met with Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who appealed to him as the 'key person in the world' who could halt the bloodshed by pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump this week spoke on the phone with Putin, who vowed to respond "very strongly" to Ukraine's daring drone attacks on Russian military airfields that had taken place on Sunday. In February 2024, 23-year-old pregnant mother Teodora Marcu was shot dead in front of her three-year old daughter and other children on a street in Romania by her ex-partner. The killer, 49-year-old Robert Lupu, had a documented history of abuse: Marcu had filed multiple complaints against him. She died on the sidewalk, alone and unheard, although she had 'screamed' about the problem in vain for months. Marcu's story is not an exception—it is a brutal reminder of a crisis that knows no borders. Across Europe, domestic violence continues to claim lives and ruin futures. Despite years of awareness campaigns, legislative efforts, and protest movements, recent data show that domestic violence remains stubbornly pervasive - and in some countries, it's getting worse and cases – much more brutal. In Germany, new figures released in June 2024 by the Federal Criminal Police Office mark a disturbing high: 256,276 people were victims of domestic violence last year, a 6.5% increase from 2022. Of those, 70.5% were women, and in cases of intimate partner violence, nearly four out of five victims were female. Most chillingly: 155 women were killed by their current or former partners in 2023. Despite Germany's strong legal frameworks, the data signal systemic failure. 'The rising numbers mean more women are stepping forward,' said a spokesperson from a Berlin-based crisis centre. 'But it also means we're not stopping the violence. We're only counting it.' In Greece, police data for 2023 show the number of domestic violence incidents remained nearly unchanged from 2022—but still double the figure recorded in 2020. Of the 9,886 women who contacted police, the vast majority were in relationships with their abuser. 59.6% of incidents occurred within romantic partnerships, 29.7% of perpetrators were spouses, and 13.8% were live-in partners. Greece also saw 12 femicides, most committed by a male family member. A digital 'panic button' app was rolled out in 2023 to help women discreetly alert police during violent episodes. In 2024, the app was expanded nationwide and opened to male victims. Whether police response times and follow-through match the urgency remains an open question. In Portugal, domestic violence is also on the rise, at least in terms of awareness. From 2021 to 2024, the number of victims seeking help from the Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV) jumped by 29.3%, totalling 43,110 cases. Experts attribute the increase to greater media coverage of violence—particularly war and conflict—and the lingering effects of pandemic lockdowns, which intensified domestic tensions and isolated victims. 'People are more aware of abuse now,' an APAV counsellor explained. 'But there's still a long way to go before they feel fully protected.' Spain presents a complex picture. In 2024, 34,684 women were registered as victims of domestic or gender-based violence—a 5.2% decrease from the previous year. Yet paradoxically, the number of convicted abusers surged to 39,056, the highest figure since 2015. Relationships between victims and abusers were varied: 39.9% were partners or ex-partners, 37.8% were (ex-)girlfriends, 21.4% were (ex-)spouses. Spain's specialized gender violence courts and longstanding advocacy movements may account for the increase in convictions. But activists warn that fewer reported cases do not necessarily mean less violence—just fewer women speaking up. In Bulgaria, domestic violence remains an underreported and poorly addressed issue. A 2023 case shocked the nation when an 18-year-old woman named Débora was stabbed with a razor blade by her ex-boyfriend. She survived, but ended up with 400 stitches and her long hair was shaved. The case triggered mass protests and renewed calls for legislative reform. Bulgaria's laws have long excluded protections for victims not living with their abuser, and twelve of the country's regions lack any crisis shelter. Activists point to the country's failure to ratify the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty designed to combat violence against women, as a root cause of systemic neglect. 'The laws are written for a version of abuse that barely reflects real life,' said one protester in Sofia. 'We are burying women every year while politicians debate definitions.' Despite differing legal frameworks and public responses, the through-line is clear: domestic violence in Europe remains a persistent, deadly epidemic. While awareness and reporting are improving in some nations, gaps in law enforcement, legal protections, and survivor support continue to put lives at risk. Debora from Bulgaria is 'lucky' because she's alive. But for two years now she has been forced to face her violator in court, as the case is not yet closed. He was even released for a while, before being rearrested. Teodora Marcu from Romania is dead. And while there are still protests, dozens of women and men are still being abused by their partners on a daily basis. Some prefer to remain silent, others shout about it, yet some continue to end up as victims.
LeMonde
15 hours ago
- LeMonde
'The silence on Gaza dramatically exposes a blind spot in our cultures of remembrance'
Once considered "world champions of mass crimes," Germans could, until October 7, 2023, pride themselves – as Holocaust historian Götz Aly put it – on being "world champions of commemoration." But as the war on Gaza continues, have they now become champions of willful blindness? Although Germany's culture of remembrance has remained – following Theodor W. Adorno's 1966 essay Education After Auschwitz – of shaping enlightened citizens as guardians of democracy and the principle of "never again," this commitment has been tested in the face of current events. It took several months for Chancellor Friedrich Merz to "discover reality" and make unexpectedly clear statements on Gaza, according to Der Tagesspiegel on May 27. However, these remarks have so far remained purely rhetorical, with no accompanying action. This disconnect between the idealized model of remembrance and current reality is not limited to Germany. In France, where the "duty of memory" has been a political and educational mantra since the 1980s, President Emmanuel Macron – himself shaped by Paul Ricœur (1913-2005) and his pursuit of a "just memory" – finally dared to criticize the "shameful" acts of Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government. Yet euphemisms still prevail, with crimes whose genocidal nature grow more evident each day being referred to merely as a "tragedy," and the task of determining their legal qualification as genocide postponed to historians "in due time," despite the wealth of documentation – even under Israeli blockade. Several Israeli Holocaust historians, such as Omer Bartov, Amos Goldberg, and Daniel Blatman, have already described the situation of Palestinians in Gaza as genocide. In the face of glaringly inadequate European reactions – with notable exceptions in Spain, Ireland, Norway, and Slovenia – we, as historians, question what memory policies can and cannot do, and what they have produced: a certain conformism, a tendency toward blindness and self-censorship, and political manipulation both domestically and internationally.
