Germany updates: Bundestag a 'prime' target for hackers – DW – 07/20/2025

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Bundestag President Julia Klöckner says Germany's lower house of parliament is consistently under attack by hackers.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner says Germany's lower house of parliament is under constant cyberattack.
On Sunday, she called for beefed up cyber defenses as well as expanded rights for parliamentary police when screening visitors.
In other news, Germany's Red Cross warns that the population is lacking in people with skills to deal with major emergencies.A female brown bear, known as JJ4 or Gaia, that killed a jogger in Italy in 2023 has been relocated to a wildlife sanctuary in Germany.
The move follows legal battles and protests, after the bear — originally set to be euthanized — became the center of a debate over human-wildlife conflict.
Read more about the story here.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, speaking with German press agency DPA, called for increased defensive capabilities at the country's parliament, saying it is under constant attack.
"We are recording numerous hacker attacks… the Bundestag is a prime target," said Klöckner, whose position as president of the body is similar to that of the speaker in many other countries.
"We will have to boost our capacity to resist against cyberattacks," she said in remarks to be published Sunday.
"If the German Bundestag were to be shutdown during the reading of a bill or a vote, for example, and deadlines could not be met… that would be a triumph for hackers," said Klöckner. "Defending ourselves against this has to do with the stabilization and resilience of our democracy," not only the protection of the parliament.
The last overhaul of the system was prompted by a May 2015 cyberattack in which the computers of numerous parliamentarians — and even Chancellor Angela Merkel — were infected with spyware.
Five years later, Merkel announced that an investigation had turned up "hard evidence" of Russian involvement.
Russia was also accused of being behind a 2023 cyberattack on the email accounts of then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD). It remains unknown who was behind a 2024 cyberattack on the headquarters of Klöckner's own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.
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Klöckner has also called for a new parliamentary police law to better protect the Bundestag and politicians against potential physical attacks — specifically when it comes to ID checks among visitors to the popular institution.
Currently, says Klöckner, domestic security services cannot share information about an individual visitor's criminal records or threat potential with Bundestag police, a situation she blasted as "absurd."
Germany's Bundestag is the most-visited parliament in the world according to Klöckner, with more than 2 million citizens attending sessions each year.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has warned the United States against escalating the tariff war with the European Union (EU).
"This would lead to everything becoming more expensive for consumers in the USA," he told the newspaper. "The European Union is not defenseless."
Wadephul insisted that EU member states were standing together and that he didn't fear an end to the resistance.
"Indeed, there are states which are demanding more stringency and toughness than Germany thinks is right," he said.
Wadephul reiterated the German government's belief that "the complete dismantling of all tariffs" is the preferred approach, and that "we can reach a positive agreement with the USA through negotiation."
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He said that Chancellor Friedrich Merz is heavily involved in the discussions, saying: "Germans can count on the fact that there is a chancellor standing up for our interests and European interests in Washington."
After the new German government resumed deportations to Afghanistan this week, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has floated a similar approach for Syria – despite the current unrest in the war-torn country.
"It's possible that, in future, Syrians who have committed criminal offenses [could be] deported," he told the newspaper. "I think that's possible in principle – provided the country develops in [the right] direction."
Southern Syria has been rocked by violence again this week, with the new Islamist-led regime in Damascus struggling to prevent clashes between Druze and Bedouin factions in Sweida and powerless to stop Israeli intervention. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed.
"We are watching Syria with concern," said Wadephul, calling on the interim government under Ahmed al-Sharaa to ensure that all sections of the population and all religious groups can co-exist.
"No-one should have to fear for life and limb," he said. "But as it stands, we are of the opinion that we have to give this interim government a chance."
Germany spectacularly reached the semi-final of the Women's Euro 2025 on Saturday night, beating France 6-5 on penalties despite having been reduced to ten players for the majority of the evening.
Kathrin Hendrich was sent off in the 13th minute for tugging on an opponent's hair in the penalty area, after which Grace Geyoro gave France the lead from the penalty spot. But Sjoeke Nüsken headed Germany level just nine minutes later.
What followed was 100 minutes of defensive attrition from Germany to somehow reach extra-time and then penalties, where goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was the heroine.
Germany will face Spain in the semifinal on Wednesday. The other semifinal sees defending champions England play Italy.
Read DW's full match report here.
German police on Saturday shot dead a man who had fired shots at passersby and neighboring buildings in the small town of Leonberg, just west of the city of Stuttgart in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.
Local police and state prosecutors said the 44-year-old German man had indiscriminately fired shots from the second floor of his house, fortunately injuring nobody.
When armed police entered his apartment, he reportedly threatened officers with his weapon and was subsequently shot.
Police secured the weapon which turned out to be a non-lethal gas pistol. Whether or not this was the weapon used to fire the shots from the house was not immediately clear.
The state criminal police office (LKA) is also investigating the police's use of firearms in the operation.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Saturday honored the Central Council of Jews in Germany for its role in society on the 75th anniversary of its founding.
"Jewish life is a part of us," wrote Merz on the messaging platform X, adding that the organization reminds everyone in the country of something "that should be obvious: Germany must be a safe space for Jews."
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also honored the day, saying that he was "deeply thankful" that the organization's first leaders had determined to "rebuild Jewish life in Germany in the aftermath of the Shoah ."
Steinmeier said that beyond not letting Germany forget the crimes of its Nazi past and fighting antisemitism, the Central Council of Jews in Germany served as "an important driving force behind the democratic development of German society after 1945."
The institution, which functions as Germany's main political, societal and religious representative for Jews in the country, was founded on July 19, 1950, in Frankfurt — just five years after the end of World War II and the industrial-scale murder of more than six million European Jews at the hands of Germany's Nazi dictatorship.
Today the council comprises some 105 communities and associations, and 100.000 individual members.To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
A majority of Germans have opposed banning the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), according to a new poll.
The survey by the Allensbach Institute, published Saturday by , found that 52% of respondents reject a ban on the party, while 27% support it. In eastern Germany, two-thirds of those surveyed said they were against such a move.
According to the researchers, one key reason is that many Germans know AfD supporters personally. In the West, 67% said they had AfD sympathizers in their social circles; in the East, that figure rose to 88%. While 54% of respondents described the AfD as far-right, only 5% viewed their acquaintances who back the party in the same way.
Another factor behind the opposition to a ban is mistrust toward the parties advocating it. Many respondents suspect those parties are mainly trying to eliminate a political rival that has grown too strong.
The idea of a ban is divisive within Germany's governing coalition. The center-left Social Democratic Party voted unanimously at its June 29 party congress to prepare proceedings and called for a federal-state working group. The center-right Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union has pushed back, citing steep legal hurdles and urging a focus on political argument.
Two parties have been banned in (West) Germany, an openly neo-Nazi party in 1952 and the Communist Party (KPD) in 1956.
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Around half of eligible voters in Germany have said they agree with the federal government's view that Russia poses a danger to the country, according to a new YouGov poll for Germany's DPA news agency.
The survey found that 13% see a very serious military threat from Moscow, while 36% consider it a significant one. By contrast, 30% say Russia poses only a minor threat, and 14% see no threat at all.
The divide is sharp along political party lines. Among supporters of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, center-left Social Democrats, and the Greens, 58–62% view Russia as a major or very serious threat.
About one-third of these party groups see little or no danger.
The picture flips among far-right Alternative for Germany voters, where 65% say there is little or no military threat from Russia, while 29% see one.
Among supporters of the populist left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, only 33% see a threat, while 51% do not.
Supporters of the socialist Left party are evenly split — 48% see a threat, 47% do not.
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German consumers are paying more for meat — and prices are still climbing this summer.
And while retail costs rise, producers of Germany's favorite meat, pork, face falling returns.
According to the Agricultural Market Information Company (AMI) in Bonn, average discount supermarket prices for a 400-gram pack of minute steaks increased by 30 cents in early July, from €3.49 to €3.79 ($4.06 to $4.41). The price for coarse pork sausages rose from €2.59 to €2.89, and a 550-gram pack of chicken schnitzel went up 30 cents to €6.26.
Meat and meat product prices have steadily risen in recent years. The Federal Statistical Office reports that, by June, they were on average 31.7% higher than in 2020.
Poultry had risen by more than 45%, and minced beef by over 68%. The German Meat Industry Association cites several causes: general inflation, rising feed costs, wage increases, and energy policy impacts.
Beef has become scarcer in Germany. According to the industry association, more farms are ending cattle production, citing regulatory pressure and uncertainty about future farming standards. The result has been shrinking herds.
Meanwhile, poultry consumption is rising.
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German media have begun scrutinizing the government's latest deportation flights to Afghanistan, questioning whether the men truly fit the label of dangerous criminals.
One of the 81 men deported on Friday was Haroon I., 27, who was escorted from a facility in Pforzheim under heavy police presence late on Thursday.
Footage of the scene, obtained by , shows the emotional moment.
The report said the man was a convicted cannabis dealer who had already served his sentence. People close to him say he had been rebuilding his life and was well on his way to integrating into German society.
said that Haroon had strong German, was living with his partner, a German woman, had a job and was a member of his community. He also had little connection to Afghanistan with most of his family having left the country.
The convoy was guarded by police in balaclavas who kept back friends and supporters.
Pforzheim was one of the departure points for the new round of deportations to Afghanistan ordered by Germany's centrist coalition. A plane carrying the men left Leipzig airport early on Friday.
The government has said it is delivering on a campaign pledge to deport people to Afghanistan and Syria, starting with criminals and people posing a perceived risk.
After the deportations, the United Nations said no one should be returned to Afghanistan, regardless of their legal status.
A fireworks display at the Düsseldorf Rheinkirmes — a type of town fair — has left 19 people injured, including four seriously.
Emergency services confirmed the injuries late Friday after fireworks reportedly exploded unusually close to the ground. According to police, at least one child was among the injured.
Eyewitnesses told German public broadcaster WDR that some rockets flew sideways or detonated low, with a few even landing in the Rhine River. One video from across the river shows explosions lighting up both the sky and ground at the same time.
"I was at the fair watching the fireworks," said one witness. "Some rockets flew surprisingly low and exploded close to people. I wondered if that wasn't too near the crowd."
Fire officials believe some rockets may have veered off course, with one misfiring directly into the crowd.
Organizers initially kept the fair running to avoid panic but ended festivities early around 10:45 p.m. (2045 GMT). The event had been scheduled to continue into the early morning.
The Rheinkirmes fair, the biggest to take place on the river, is rooted in an annual celebration of the city's patron saint Apollinaris. It started on July 11 and is set to end on Sunday.
Germany has been falling short on preparing its population for major emergencies, according to the German Red Cross (DRK).
Millions of people need training in first aid and self-reliance, said Heike Spieker, head of the DRK's National Relief Society.
"To build these skills sustainably, four million people would need to be trained," she said. That level of preparedness would ensure people could help themselves and others during a crisis.
The courses, supported by federal funding and offered by aid groups, go beyond first aid. According to the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, they cover how to act when power goes out or flooding follows heavy rain.
To reach a "reasonable level" within five years, around 800,000 people would need training each year, Spieker said.
"In reality, current funding covers an average of fewer than 100,000 participants per year," she added.
She also criticized the government's current budget plans, saying they are "absolutely insufficient and contradict the political promises to strengthen civil protection."
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from the DW newsroom in sunny Bonn on the Rhine River.
You join us as news comes in of a mishap at what was supposed to be a dazzling event at the Düsseldorf Rheinkirmes on Friday night, when a fireworks display went wrong.
Emergency services said the rockets appeared to explode far too close to the ground, and 19 people were injured. According to police, at least one child was among those hurt.
Follow along for the latest on what Germany is talking about on Saturday, July 19.