Germany's Baerbock elected as UN General Assembly head – DW – 06/02/2025
Skip next section Former German foreign minister elected president of UN General Assembly
06/02/2025
June 2, 2025 Former German foreign minister elected president of UN General Assembly
Former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was elected president of the UN General Assembly after a vote on Monday in New York.
She received 167 votes in a secret ballot, with Chairman Philemon Yang making the announcement on Monday.
Baerbock was the only candidate to run and expressed her gratitude for her election, saying she wanted to be an "honest broker" for the General Assembly.
Baerbock is due to be inaugurated for the role, which is largely ceremonial, on September 9, shortly before the General Assembly's annual meeting.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
DW
2 hours ago
- DW
Germany updates: Merz set for inaugural trip to US – DW – 06/04/2025
06/04/2025 June 4, 2025 Germany seeking easier process to declare countries safe in asylum curbs The German government is looking at a simpler process when it comes to declaring countries of origin as safe, under a push by the new conservative-led coalition to reduce the number of asylum seekers. Chancellor Merz's Cabinet approved a draft policy in which a country can be declared safe with a simple statutory order and where the consent of the Bundesrat (Germany's upper house of parliament) is no longer needed. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the move was part of a whole package of "national measures (...) to implement the asylum turnaround." Under German asylum law, "safe countries of origin" are seen as those where people are not subject to political persecution or inhuman punishment. Migrants seeking asylum from these countries are likely to have asylum applications rejected, apart from exceptional cases. Deportations back to safe countries will also face fewer legal obstacles. Opposition lawmakers from the Green party have criticized the draft as contrary to German law, as have asylum and immigration NGOs. The reform still needs to be approved by the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. The announcement comes just days after a court declared the government's tightened border security, including the turning back of asylum seekers, to be illegal under German law.
Local Germany
2 hours ago
- Local Germany
'Slap in the face': Applicants blast Germany's plan to scrap citizenship reform
Germany's Federal Cabinet in Berlin passed a bill recently that aims to scrap the three-year path to citizenship for those foreigners considered "highly integrated". Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) who had brought the bill forward suggested that it marks the beginning of a "migration turnaround" -- essentially a tightening of Germany's immigration policies -- along with more patrols on the country's borders and the end of family reunifications for refugees . Advertisement The looming legal change, which still needs a vote of approval by the Bundestag, would prevent some people from applying for German citizenship until they've resided in the country for at least five years. But it was initially unclear how many of Germany's foreign residents it would affect, because eligibility for the fast-track three-year path was relatively limited. To get a better sense of how many immigrants would be affected, and what the changes mean for them, we conducted a survey of affected readers and got an expert view on the move. How many people are affected? Dr. Herbert Brücker, head of migration, integration and international labour market research at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), told The Local that he thought the number of people directly affected by the law change would be "very small". He said that the fast-track was "only earmarked for people who meet requirements regarding earnings, language proficiency and no dependency on welfare benefits etc., but also have to prove extraordinary achievements in the labour market, schools und universities, or other areas such as science, arts or (professional) sports." Recent naturalisation statistics confirm that very few applicants had managed to gain citizenship with the fast-track path. While Germany saw a record number of naturalisations in 2024 , nearly 50,000 more than the year before, only a few hundred of those were from fast-track applicants. In some German states, it seems that not a single fast-track naturalisation was approved. In Berlin however there were over 300 new "fast-track" citizens. Advertisement READ ALSO: Germany sees record number of foreigners gaining citizenship In response to our reader survey, several people said that they had planned to apply for citizenship via the three-year route, or had already submitted an application to naturalise after three years of residence. Dis-incentivising skilled worker migration? Asked if he thought the legal change would work against Germany's efforts to lure skilled workers, Brücker said that he would expect it to have a negative effect. "The fast track procedure was designed exactly to improve the position of Germany in the global competition for talent, for example in comparison to Canada, the US and Australia," he said. Engelhard Mazanke, director of the LEA, speaks at a naturalisation ceremony in the Berlin district of Wedding. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bernd von Jutrczenka He added that highly-skilled workers tend to be "more mobile than other groups of migrants, and have more choices" about where to go. But he also noted that citizenship is "just one among many factors affecting [immigrants'] location choice". Advertisement One reader, who identified herself only as Mel, told The Local, "This feels like a slap in the face." "As someone who ticks all of the boxes, it's frustrating that [the government] seems to want to penalise people who chose to learn the language, and pay some of the highest taxes." Mel said she would have been eligible to naturalise as of next year and had turned down job offers in other countries in favour of remaining here and having a chance to apply to become German. She added that if the law change would be reason enough for her to reconsider her efforts to remain in the country. Advertisement "My skills are in high demand and Germany doesn't seem to want them," she said. "I have turned down job offers in other countries in favour of remaining in Germany to apply. If Germany scraps this route, I will consider other jobs in other countries." Alexandra Curry from Lower Saxony was another fast-track applicant who was left angry over the move to scrap it. "I planned my whole life around the application," she said. "I didn't apply for jobs or masters programs, so that I didn't have to leave my state and start the application again. "So many missed opportunities. Whilst my application is still under consideration and I am likely to be accepted for it, if the cancellation of the law comes into immediate effect, maybe I just wasted the last year of my life and all the missed opportunities for nothing." Another reader, named Valentyn who lives in Munich, called the move a "bad decision" because it "decreases the desire to integrate." She pointed out that foreigners who might otherwise push themselves to learn C1 level German to be eligible for faster naturalisation will now just "not care" and settle for B1 understanding. Is there an argument for scrapping fast-track citizenship? Roughly half of the respondents to our survey said they either approved of Germany's decision to end the fast-track path, or were indifferent to the change. Notably, most of these respondents also answered that they planned to naturalise after the standard five-years of required residence (suggesting that they would not be eligible for the fast-track path). Advertisement Asked how they felt about the end of fast-track citizenship, one anonymous respondent from Hamburg wrote, " Das ist mir egal. " ("It doesn't matter to me.") In defence of their position they wrote that, the number of affected people was relatively small and five years was not a harsh residence requirement for naturalisation compared to other countries. They added, "I'd rather the government focus efforts on more impactful problems but if this satisfies their itch for further citizenship reform and protects the five year path and dual citizenship, then let's get it done so we can bring the focus back to more beneficial as improving the Opportunity Card program, for example." READ ALSO: Is Germany's 'Opportunity Card' visa too complicated to work? Many respondents to the survey who were not against the end of the three-year citizenship track shared this view, and many specifically cited the fact that the five year requirement would be maintained (as opposed to the previous eight) as a significant victory. For his part, foreign labour expert Brücker appears to be more worried about the symbolic significance of the law change than it's direct impacts. "We carry out surveys among the entire immigrant population in Germany," Brücker explained. "Interestingly enough, not only the refugees, but also immigrants using employment-related entry channels as well as EU citizens mention the respect for human rights, respect for the rule of law, and the welcoming culture among the main reasons they have chosen Germany as their destination country. "Thus, I think policies such as 'push-backs' of asylum seekers at the German border...[and] the general atmosphere and sentiments towards immigration also play a role. "Everything else equal, I would therefore expect that this also reduces skilled and highly-skilled labour migration to Germany."
DW
3 hours ago
- DW
High hopes as Germany's Merz meets US President Trump – DW – 06/04/2025
Will German Chancellor Friedrich Merz convince US President Donald Trump to be a reliable partner to Europe? Expectations are high for Merz's first visit to Washington. Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump have already exchanged private cell phone numbers and they are on a first-name basis, but aside from a brief encounter in New York years ago, this Thursday will be the first time that the two leaders meet. The new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is on his inaugural visit to Washington. Merz, like former chancellor Angela Merkel, the British Queen Elizabeth and French President Charles de Gaulle before him, has been invited to stay at the Blair House, directly adjacent to the White House. It was only a few weeks ago that Merz expressed strong disapproval of events in the Oval Office in March, when the US president publicly ridiculed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and blamed him for Russia's war against his country. Merz also took issue with Vice President JD Vance and other Trump associates for expressing support for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD). How Merz aims to regain Germany's standing on foreign issues To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Committed to trans Atlantic cooperation Recently, the German chancellor told public broadcaster WDR how his first telephone conversation with Donald Trump went: "It's always important not to talk for too long, but to keep it short and also let him talk." According to Merz, every second or third word the president said was "great." "You have to adapt your approach and work with him. At the same time, we mustn't make ourselves smaller than we are," said Merz. "We are not supplicants." Carlo Masala, professor of international politics at the Bundeswehr University in Munich, also thinks Merz needs to be confident going into his meeting with Trump. Masala told public broadcaster NDR: "He needs to be assertive, but at the same time make Trump feel respected as a great statesman with a strong vision. I believe that flattery combined with European self-confidence is the best strategy, although there is no guarantee that it will ultimately be successful." The talks in Washington are likely to focus on three major issues: the war in Ukraine, the tariff disputes, and the question of Europe's contribution to its own security. On security issues, Merz can now point to some achievements. Trump has repeatedly complained about the low defense spending of some European NATO partners, including Germany, and threatened to withdraw US protection. Now Merz can say that Germany is planning a massive military build-up: Five percent of Germany's GDP will be allocated to defense in the future, with 3.5% going directly to the military and 1.5% to defense-related infrastructure. German FM: Germany to ramp up defense spending To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Tariffs and defense Germany is also seeking to assume a greater leadership role in Europe. The joint visit made to Kyiv by the heads of state of Germany, France, Great Britain and Poland to show their support, which was initiated by Merz, demonstrated Europe's willingness to meet the American demand that it takes responsibility for its own security affairs. In return, Merz and other European leaders hope to work with the US to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. On the issue of tariffs, Merz has no authority to negotiate because trade policy is a EU matter. But as an export nation, Germany is getting hit hard by trade barriers. On the day Merz departed, US import tariffs on European steel and aluminum doubled to 50%. The chancellor is likely to urge both sides to avoid an escalating trade conflict in which everyone loses. Friedrich Merz is very much a trans Atlanticist. He is likely to try to convince Donald Trump that it is also in his own interest for the US to remain committed to Europe. But political scientist Carlo Masala is pessimistic: "I believe that any long-term strategy that can work must assume that the United States will pull out of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine." Europeans will have to be prepared for the US, as Ukraine's most important supporter, to withdraw, Masala said. "And to move quickly when it comes to the question of European defense capabilities and sovereignty," he said. "That is the long-term strategy." Trump threatens 50% tariffs on EU imports To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Will Trump visit his ancestral home in Germany? With the new federal government made up of the conservative CDU/CSU and the Social Democrats (SPD), a new style has also emerged in foreign policy. Former Green Party Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was sometimes criticized for being moralizing and patronizing. The new government now wants to focus more on common interests and finding compromises, even with difficult partners, such as the Trump administration. The conflicts between Germany and the US are numerous, and Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump are very different characters. But the German chancellor is determined to engage openly with the US president. Echoing a move by former Chancellor Angela Merkel, Friedrich Merz has invited the US president to visit the homeland of his ancestors. Trump's grandfather, Friedrich Trump, grew up in the winegrowing village of Kallstadt in the Palatinate region of Germany before emigrating to the US. It is not yet known whether Trump will accept the invitation this time. This article was originally written in German. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.
