Latest news with #CDUandCSU
Boston Globe
30-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Center-left party approves German coalition deal, paving the way for Friedrich Merz to be elected chancellor
The Social Democrats put a coalition agreement reached in early April to an online ballot of their 358,000-plus members, who voted over the last two weeks. The party announced Wednesday that 56% of their members voted in the poll, of which 84.6% cast their ballots in favor. Advertisement The deal gives the Social Democrats the crucial finance, justice and defense ministries, among others. The CDU and CSU previously approved the agreement. The lower house of the German parliament will meet on May 6 to elect Merz as the country's 10th leader since World War II. The coalition aims to spur economic growth, ramp up defense spending, take a tougher approach to migration and catch up on long-neglected modernization for the 27-nation European Union's most populous member. Germany has the continent's biggest economy. The coalition has a relatively modest majority, with 328 of the Bundestag's 630 seats. The Union and Social Democrats have governed Germany together before: once in the 1960s, and then in three of the four terms of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led the country from 2005 to 2021. Advertisement
The Star
30-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
Germany's Social Democrats approve coalition deal with conservatives
FILE PHOTO: German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil attends a so-called Social Democratic Party (SPD) dialogue conference with the party leadership as part of the SPD members' vote on the coalition agreement between the SPD, CDU and CSU, in Baunatal, Germany, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) approved a coalition agreement with the CDU/CSU conservatives, two sources close to the party said on Wednesday, clearing the last hurdle for the formation of a new government in Europe's largest economy. In the vote, which ended on Tuesday just before midnight, 84% of the members who took part were in favour of the deal, the sources said. (Reporting by Markus Wacket and Holger Hansen; Writing by Riham Alkousaa, editing by Kirsti Knolle)
Local Germany
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
Everything that changes in Germany in May 2025
Married couples can adopt a double name The rules around changing your name in Germany are quite restrictive, but an important liberalisation is set to come in on May 1st. From that date, married couples will be able to opt for a joint double-barrelled second name, either with or without a hyphen. Previously, only one partner was allowed to take on a double name - usually the woman. READ ALSO: Why Germany is changing its complicated rules around double surnames If the married couple opts to simply keep one name, they can still choose a double-barrelled surname for their child. If they don't choose a specific surname for the child, the double surname will be given automatically. Once a name has been picked for the first child in a family, all future children that the couple has together will be given the same name. Germany gets a new government Around 10 weeks after the federal elections took place in February, Germany's new coalition government is set to enter office on May 6th. Conservative veteran Friedrich Merz, who has long dreamt of taking on the most powerful role in the country, is set to replace the SPD's Olaf Scholz as Chancellor on this date. Merz's centre-right CDU and CSU alliance will govern along the centre-left SPD, marking the fifth 'Black-Red' coalition in Germany's history. Advertisement We won't know who the key ministers in the cabinet will be until early May, but SPD leader Lars Klingbeil has so far been tipped for the Finance Ministry , while Boris Pistorius is likely to stay on in defence. The new government has said it will prioritise revitalising Germany at a time of crisis, rebuilding its infrastructure and military capabilities and modernising the country's economy. No more paper photos for residence permits As part of efforts to digitalise administrative processes, only digital photos will be allowed on applications for passports, ID cards and residence permits from May. Over the coming months, photo terminals will be rolled out at Bürgerämter (citizens' offices) and immigration offices around the country. This will allow applicants for ID documents to take their photo on-site when they come for their appointment. People will still be able to go to photo studios and drugstores like Rossmann and DM to get their photos, but these will need to have access to a new encrypted cloud system. Acting Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) demonstrates the use of the digital PointID photo terminals at a press event in Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jan Woitas If you've already got a paper photo ready for your appointment in May, however, don't panic: a grace period is in place until July 31st, meaning local authorities can still accept non-digital photos in some cases. In another helpful change, passports, ID cards and residence permits can soon be sent directly to your home for a postage fee of €15. That means that, from May, you should only need one visit to the immigration office to apply for a new Aufenthaltstitel . READ ALSO: Germany starts next phase of digitalisation for ID and residence cards Germany celebrates two public holidays May is a great time for public holidays, with two Feiertage happening at the beginning and end of the month. On May 1st, marches and wild raves are held to celebrate Labour Day, while Ascension Day - or Christi Himmelfahrt - falls on May 29th. Advertisement Both of these holidays are on a Thursday this year, making it the perfect opportunity to book a couple of Brückentagen - or bridging days. This clever scheme, beloved of workers in Germany, involves strategically using your annual leave to give yourself a longer period of time off around public holidays. In this case, booking Friday 2nd and Friday 30th would give you two four-day weekends in May - all for price of just two days of your annual holiday. READ ALSO: How employees in Germany can make the most of public holidays in 2025 Tougher rules for organic waste You'll want to take extra care while separating your organic waste ( Biomüll ) from the start of May, because Germany is introducing significantly increased fees for violation of its biowaste regulations. From May 1st, you could face hefty fines up to €2,500 if you fail to properly separate inorganic materials from the food and organic waste in your biowaste bin. This comes as part of a new biowaste ordinance to be implemented nationwide. A woman throws banana peels wrapped in newspaper into a garbage can for organic waste. Violations of biowaste rules are about to get much more expensive. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Felix Kästle To stay on the right side of the law (and the refuse collectors), you'll need to ensure that no more than three percent of your waste is inorganic matter, and no more than one percent is plastic, in future. Of course, the best rule of thumb is to follow a "compostable-only" rule, where your Biomüll is reserved for food, garden waste and small scraps of paper. READ ALSO: Why you'll have to take more care sorting your biowaste in Germany from May Microsoft turns off Skype service For a certain group of millennials, this one may have a nostalgic pang: Microsoft is officially retiring is Skype video-calling service in May and shifting its focus to Teams instead. Following the shutdown on May 5th, people who still have Skype accounts can migrate over to Microsoft Teams instead, where all their previous chats and contacts will be waiting for them. Election of new pope Following the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, a new head of the Catholic church is set to be elected by a papal conclave in May. These conclaves generally begin 15 to 20 days after a pope's passing - in this case, between May 6th and May 12th. To elect a new pope, 135 cardinals under the age of 80 will gather in the Sistine Chapel and vote on potential candidates, with a two-thirds majority required to pick the winner. Advertisement Among the electors are three German cardinals: Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, the Archbishop of Cologne; Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, and Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Müller is also believed to be a potential candidate to become the next pope, though he is generally seen as an outlier. READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about the Catholic community in Germany
Local Germany
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
What will Germany's new military service look like - and who will it include?
In the lead-up to their coalition negotiations with the SPD, the CDU and CSU were openly in favour of reintroducing military conscription in Germany . At the start of March, defence policy spokesman Florian Hahn told Bild that Germany's "suspension of conscription no longer fits the current threat situation". "The first conscripts will have to walk through the barracks gates in 2025," he added. "We cannot stand by and watch as the world around us becomes more unsafe." Since then, however, the tone has softened, with the parties now pledging a voluntary model in their joint coalition pact. Announcing the agreement in April, CDU leader Friedrich Merz summed up the plans, saying the new government would 'strengthen military service in Germany, following the Swedish model — initially on a voluntary basis.' Why have the conservatives changed their minds? From a legal point of view, reintroducing conscription would be relatively straightforward, as Germany's old universal conscription law was deactivated rather than removed from the constitution back in 2011. ( As it stands, the law only applies to men. A decision to conscript women would require a two-thirds majority in a vote in the Bundestag). However, as a matter of politics – and logistics – it has proved anything but straightforward. The military has pointed out that they lack the infrastructure needed for training large numbers of new recruits – in terms of trainers, barracks, and district defence offices. Until recently, the focus of the Bundeswehr has been on foreign missions, for which it required experienced and highly trained soldiers – not 18-year-olds drafted for six months or a year. Advertisement Another sticking point may have been the relative reluctance of the electorate to contemplate a return to military conscription. According to Die Welt , 61 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds are opposed to its reintroduction - though YouGov recently found that a majority of Germans are in favour. Mostly influential, however, was the opposition of the SPD. For several months now, SPD Defence Minister Boris Pistorius - who is likely to remain is office - has been advocating for the creation of a military registration system rather than conscription. This was also the model supported by negotiators in talks with the CDU. READ ALSO: Who will the key ministers be in Germany's next government? What is the Swedish model? The so-called Swedish model is essentially a mandatory questionnaire sent to 18-year-old men and women, intended to assess their physical health (including cardiorespiratory fitness and strength), relevant skills, and willingness to defend the country. The questions are designed to collect information on all citizens of military age, allowing the state to decide who should be called up (and in what order) in the event of a military emergency. The information collected is held in Sweden's military conscription registry. Over the years, it has been used for a variety of different purposes, including to examine the role of physical fitness in mitigating the severity of Covid-19. Bundeswehr soldiers take part in a training exercise in Baden-Württemberg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Schmidt In the case of Germany, the questionnaire would be mandatory for men and voluntary for women. The government estimates that around 400,000 young people would submit their information per year, of whom around a quarter would be interested in signing up for the military. Of this group, 40,000 could be recruited per year - but the military would first have to build up capacity. For this year, a far more modest (and realistic) target of 5,000 per year has been set. Military service would then be carried out for a minimum of six months or a maximum of 23. READ ALSO: Germany warned its military still under-resourced Is Germany gearing up to reintroduce compulsory military service? Advertisement What does this mean for dual nationals and naturalised Germans? Provided they fall into the right age bracket, newly naturalised Germans and foreign dual citizens would also be included in the military service scheme. Aside from the obligatory questionnaire for young men, however, nobody would be forced to participate. It's possible that sensitivies around migration could have also led the parties to steer away from a compulsory conscription model. Today, more than one in five Germans has a 'migration background' - meaning either a parent or grandparent from a foreign country. In Germany's schools and kindergartens, this number rises to one in three. If conscription were reintroduced, discussions about who is obliged to serve, and who could be excluded from serving, are likely to prove contentious. German Defence Minister Poris Pistorius on a visit to Bernsdorf, Saxony on March 27th. On Thursday, he will unveil a new plan for the German Bundeswehr. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sebastian Kahnert In Sweden, Swedes with a foreign background are surveyed along with other citizens. According to a report by The Local Sweden , analysis of the questionnaire data demonstrates conclusively that Swedish citizens with a foreign background are just as willing to defend their country as native-born Swedes. 'There is nothing to suggest that the willingness to defend of foreign-born citizens is lower than that of others," said Christoffer Wedenmark, co-author of a report by the Swedish Defence Research Agency. "If anything, it's the other way around.' READ ALSO: What Germany's new coalition pact means for foreign residents What happens next? Assuming the coalition agreement is ratified by both parties over the next few weeks, and that Merz is elected Chancellor as planned on May 6th, Germany's new federal government is likely to launch a military conscription registry later this year. According to Defence Minister Pistorius, preparations for have been underway in the run-up to the federal elections and during coalition negotiations, meaning a bill could be put to parliament almost immediately. Advertisement Some details remain unclear, but German citizens who turn 18 this year - including dual nationals and naturalised Germans - can expect to start receiving letters from the Bundeswehr soon afterwards. Merz has indicated he would still like to see the re-introduction of compulsory military service in the future. For the time being, however, he is hoping the arrival of a national defence document in the post will prompt a greater number of young people to consider a career in the Bundeswehr.
Local Germany
12-04-2025
- Business
- Local Germany
Inside Germany: New coalition, Spargelzeit and a sausage-driven recovery
Inside Germany is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in Germany that you might've missed. It's published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article. New coalition sets out its vision for Germany Whatever you may think of Friedrich Merz, one thing can't be denied: Germany's incoming chancellor certainly lives up to the country's reputation for efficiency. Just four weeks after kicking off coalition talks, Merz's centre-right CDU and CSU alliance unveiled their new coalition pact with the centre-left SPD on Wednesday. At almost 150 pages, it's a hefty tome - and it's pretty mixed news for the international community. While many of the citizenship reforms brought in by the previous government will remain, the parties have pledged to scrap the "turbo" three-year path to citizenship . That means that all foreigners, regardless of integration, will have to wait at least five years to naturalise in the country. (Unless they're married to a German of course.) Luckily, dual nationality is set to remain in place, allaying the worst fears of many foreigners. For skilled workers, there are also a few interesting plans in the pact: the government wants to set up a new digital agency for skilled labour immigration, which will act as a single point of contact for workers from abroad. In future, the aim is to recognise foreign qualifications in as little as eight weeks. The agreement also contains plenty of policies designed to relieve struggling households - from tax relief for the middle classes to cheaper electricity and a hike in Elterngeld for new parents. Things are set to get tougher for jobseekers, however, as Bürgergeld is set to be replaced with a much stricter system. READ ALSO: How Germany's new coalition will affect your bank balance Advertisement Overall, the government has set itself two major tasks in this administration: boosting the ailing economy, and shoring up defence. The first will be done with hundreds of billions in infrastructure spending, as well as tax cuts for businesses and incentives to get people working more. The second with unlimited borrowing for defence and a new voluntary military service scheme. If you want to read about the government's plans in more depth, we've got you covered in our recent explainer. In it, we take you through the main policy changes that could affect the lives of foreigners in Germany. Wisdom of the week Between tariff threats and sluggish growth, there's been nothing but gloomy news about the economy lately. Could this bold new plan to double down on sausage sales be the answer the Bundesrepublik is waiting for? Where is this? Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jens Kalaene What on first glance looks like cascading ocean waves is, in fact, some large plastic sheets spread over a harvest of Spargel . Germany's white asparagus season is set to begin soon, meaning restaurants across the country will be adorning their menus with Spargel -dishes, and asparagus stalls will be springing up at the side of the road. This picture shows workers loosening the sheets on an asparagus field in Beelitz. The small town on the outskirts of Berlin is nicknamed Spargelstadt ("asparagus city") for a reason: it's one of the most famous asparagus-growing regions in the country. Advertisement Living offline in the 21st century Germany's lacklustre digital transformation may have been hitting the headlines lately , but as it emerged this week, not everyone is worried about online services. According to the Federal Office of Statistics (Destatsis), around 2.8 million people in Germany live life entirely offline - and have never even used the internet. The figures, which were based on a survey of computer use across the EU, show that four percent of 16-to-74 year olds are "offliners". For this group, booking a train ticket online or chatting with friends via WhatsApp are simply not a part of their lives. A woman works on a laptop. Image by Pexels from Pixabay With Germany's poor track record on digitalisation, many of us can only dream of such an innocent existence. How can you complain about paper and the post when you've never known any other way? For the rest of us, the woes of bureaucracy drag on. On that note, we'd love to know your thoughts on the most painful parts of administrative life in Germany. Have your say - and a healthy vent - by filling in our latest reader survey . Easter holidays begin in several German states Last week saw the first handful of states break up for the Easter holidays, with schools closing in Bremen, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt on the 7th and in Schleswig-Holstein on the 11th. On Monday, children in Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland are set to follow suit. Saxony will be the last of the states to head for its holidays, with schools in the eastern state closing from Good Friday. Advertisement If you're planning a fun Easter getaway, don't forget to read our rundown of the disruptions on Deutsche Bahn and potential jams on the Autobahn . We'll be off next week for our own long weekend, so in the meantime, happy Easter from all of us here at The Local. 'Inside Germany' will be back on the site - and in your inboxes - in two week's time.
