Latest news with #Chancellery
Straits Times
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Germany's Merz faces pressure to toughen stance on Israel
FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz addresses the media with Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store (not pictured) at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, July 21, Niesner/File Photo BERLIN - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is under pressure to take a firmer stance towards Israel, with members of his own coalition calling for Berlin to join a statement by dozens of Western nations condemning the "inhumane killing" of Palestinians. Merz, who leads Germany's centre-right CDU, has been increasingly critical of Israel. But Germany was notably absent from the joint statement issued on Monday by the EU and 28 Western countries including Britain and France, which called on Israel to immediately end the war. The countries condemned what they called the "drip feeding of aid" to Palestinians in Gaza and said it was "horrifying" that more than 800 civilians had been killed while seeking aid. Reem Alabali Radovan, international development minister in Merz's cabinet and a member of the centre-left SPD junior coalition partners, said on Tuesday she was unhappy with Germany's decision not to sign it. "The demands in the letter from the 29 partners to the Israeli government are understandable to me. I would have wished for Germany to join the signal sent by the 29 partners," she said. Merz's office says Germany's criticism of Israel is similar to that of other allies. Merz said on Tuesday he had told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "very clearly and very explicitly that we do not share the Israeli government's policy on Gaza". "Above all we see the great suffering of the civilian population there. That is why I would like to once again renew my call to truly provide the necessary humanitarian aid to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. The way the Israeli army is operating there is not acceptable," he said. Government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said that although Germany did not sign the joint declaration, Merz and his foreign minister "expressed very critical views of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip yesterday – and in terms of substance and significance, said the same thing." "Their statements are in no way inferior to the joint declaration," Kornelius said. But the decision to withhold Germany's signature from the declaration follows many months in which Germany has taken particular care in public to restrain its criticism of Israeli actions. German officials say their approach to Israel is governed by a special responsibility, known as the Staatsraeson, arising from the legacy of the Nazi Holocaust. They believe they can achieve more through diplomatic back channels than public statements. German statements on Gaza typically include a demand for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas. The joint statement that Merz declined to sign to this week stopped short of such a demand, although it noted that the hostages were suffering under worsening conditions. Merz is one of the few European leaders who has publicly offered to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without arresting him on a warrant for suspected war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Israel rejects the charges against Netanyahu and says they are political motivated. The ICC says all signatories of the court's founding statute, which include all 27 EU members, are obliged to arrest Netanyahu if he enters their territory. Critics of Merz's approach, including within the SPD coalition partners, say the legacy of the Holocaust cannot be an excuse for ignoring Israeli crimes, and, on the contrary, the post-Holocaust motto of "never again" should apply to Gaza now. 'The situation in Gaza is catastrophic and represents a humanitarian abyss," said a joint statement by two senior SPD lawmakers - foreign policy spokesperson Adis Ahmetovic and rapporteur for the Middle East Rolf Mützenich - who called for Berlin to join the joint declaration. There should be "clear and immediate consequences" for Israel, including the suspension of a pact governing EU-Israeli relations and a halt to the export of weapons to Israel that are used in violation of international law, they said. REUTERS
DW
21-07-2025
- Business
- DW
Germany updates: Companies pledge €631 billion investment – DW – 07/21/2025
The "Made for Germany" alliance has pledged investments totalling €631 billion over the next three years. Friedrich Merz met with top executives in Berlin in a bid to breathe life into the German economy. DW has more. An alliance of top German companies pledged to invest at least €631 billion ($733 billion) in Germany over the next three years. Chancellor Friedrich Merz met with executives from top German firms on Monday, hoping to rally fresh investment after two years of recession. While the government has approved billions in tax relief and a €500-billion ($580 billion) fund for infrastructure and climate, Berlin says public money alone won't be alliance of German companies, numbering in the dozens, pledged to invest at least €631 billion ($733 billion) in Germany over the next three years. "The investments by the initiative are a very powerful signal that we are now experiencing a shift in sentiment and consolidating it," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. "The message ... is very clear: Germany is back. It's worth investing in Germany again. We are not a location of the past, but a location of the present and above all the future," he added. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that large public investments could be boosted significantly private funding. 'We want to leverage this potential and thus trigger further growth effects," Merz said after meeting with representatives of the "Made for Germany" initiative at the Chancellery in Berlin. The new government has launched a program to spur on investment and establish a €500 billion fund to splash on German infrastructure over the next 12 years. It has also pledged to cut bureaucratic red tape and speed up digitization. The initiative is being led by executives from Germany's blue-chip companies, including lender Deutsche Bank and industrial group Siemens. A summer interview with Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), was severely disrupted by protesters on Sunday. Members of her party have called for a repeat. Watch what happened here: There has been a continued decline in the number of people employed in Germany's metal and electrical industry, according to the employers' association Gesamtmetall. The association said that since the beginning of 2025, there had been around 60,000 job losses. Basing its findings on a survey of companies, the association said that the number of employees in May was 2.5% lower than compared to the same period the year before. While Germany's new government has taken some measures to relieve the situation, Gesamtmetall's managing director Oliver Zander higlighted a reduction in the electricity tax and the immediate investment program as outstanding issues. "The speed at which the decline in employment in the metal and electrical industry continues shows, however, that the federal government has no time for breathers," Zander said. The next heat wave has been forecast in Germany. How is a country known for its lack of air conditioning preparing? Read the full story about Germany's preparations for heat waves. Researchers say a far-right social media campaign — that painted a respected law professor as extremist — caused the suspension of the election of judges to Germany's highest court. Read the full story on the controversial failure to elect a judge to Germany's top court. Once famed for never being late, German trains almost never run on time anymore. Deutsche Bahn has launched a refurbishment program that is likely to last at least a decade, and the costs and criticism are increasing. Read the full story on increasing delays on Germany's rail network. Germany's bond market calmed slightly on Monday after weeks of rising long-term interest rates. Investors are now waiting for new economic data from the Eurozone and a key decision from the European Central Bank (ECB). A bond yield is the return investors get for lending money to the government by buying its bonds. When bond prices go up, yields go down — so falling yields often reflect expectations of slower growth or lower interest rates. Economists believe the ECB will keep interest rates steady for now, but might cut them again as early as September. Some analysts think this week's Eurozone business activity data could show little change, partly due to global trade worries and a strong euro. That could make German government bonds more attractive, pushing their prices up and yields down. Senior representatives from around 50 countries are reconvening for another meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The virtual session is set to begin with opening statements from German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, UK Defense Secretary John Healey, and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The Ukraine Defense Contact Group was first launched on April 26, 2022, at the US air base in Ramstein, Germany — leading to the term "Ramstein format." US President Donald Trump's turnaround on military aid for Ukaine is likely to be the main topic of discussion, as NATO allies work to facilitate the weapons delivery. Survivors of abuse within the Catholic Church are urging the Vatican to take action against Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, following years of controversy and a newly closed investigation. The plaintiffs accuse Woelki of shielding perpetrators and retraumatizing victims through his handling of abuse cases in the archdiocese. The complaint, submitted by all 12 members of the survivors' advisory board at the German Bishops' Conference, was drafted by physician and board member Katharina Siepmann. "The affected often experience the cardinal's behavior as offensive," said Siepmann, who suffered three years of severe abuse as a child and has served on the board since early this year. The body was established in 2022 to represent victims and advise the Church. The group's formal complaint against Woelki refers to alleged breaches of church law, not state law. "We ultimately hope that officials in Rome — and the pope himself — will view the cardinal's behavior as unacceptable and intervene," Siepmann told German broadcaster WDR. In May, Cologne prosecutors announced that Woelki would not face perjury charges in connection with his sworn statements about when he learned of abuse allegations in his archdiocese. The archbishop had been under investigation for more than two years. Woelki, who remains a cardinal and Archbishop of Cologne, took part in the conclave that chose Pope Leo XIV. The small town of Bohmte near the city of Osnabrück in the northwestern state of Lower Saxony was the scene of a spectacular accident that left two people seriously injured, including a seven-year-old boy. For as yet unknown reasons, local police reported, a car appears to have come off the road at high speed before colliding with a parked vehicle and crashing through a hedge. It then landed on a trampoline, hitting and injuring the child who was playing on it, and bounced into the attic of a barn. Read the full story about the car that crashed into a trampoline in northern Germany. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet top executives from major German firms on Monday in a bid to restore investor confidence and revive the struggling economy. Representatives from around 30 companies — including Siemens and Deutsche Bank — are expected to attend the talks in Berlin, according to sources cited by DPA. More than a dozen firms listed on the DAX, Germany's main stock index, are among those invited. The meeting will focus on the "Made for Germany" initiative, launched by Siemens and Deutsche Bank, which aims to strengthen the country's investment climate. Participating firms are expected to outline upcoming projects and signal readiness to commit fresh capital. After two years of recession and amid a bleak outlook for 2025, Merz is urging companies to ramp up domestic investment. His government, which took office in May, has approved multi-billion-euro tax relief packages to stimulate growth. A government spokesperson last week pointed to the recently passed €500 billion (over $580 billion) infrastructure and climate fund, saying public investment will lead the way — but private sector participation is essential. Once Europe's growth engine, the German economy has been hit hard by inflation, energy price shocks, and mounting global competition in the wake of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video from the DW newsroom, overlooking the Rhine River in Bonn — the former capital of West Germany. You join us as Chancellor Friedrich Merz gets ready to woo some of Germany's biggest business bosses to help get the sluggish economy back on its feet. Top names like Siemens and Deutsche Bank are expected talks in Berlin, along with more than a dozen other DAX-listed giants. About 30 firms are set to join what's being billed as a major push to rebuild investor confidence in the country's economic future. Merz is under pressure after two back-to-back years of recession and little sign that 2025 will turn things around. Follow along for the latest on what Germany is talking about on Monday, July 21.
The Star
16-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Merz visits UK as Europe closes ranks in face of threats
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) -Friedrich Merz embarks on his first trip to London as German chancellor on Thursday to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and sign a wide-ranging friendship treaty, as part of a broader push to reset the EU's relationship with Britain. Merz's day trip comes a week after a three-day state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, signaling greater cooperation between Europe's three top powers at a time of growing threats to the continent and uncertainty about their U.S. ally. Europe is facing trade tensions with the United States since the return of President Donald Trump to the White House as well as existential questions about Washington's commitment to helping defend its European allies, including Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion. "The agreement comes at a time when, as Europeans, we are particularly challenged in terms of security policy," a German government official said in a briefing ahead of the trip. "Not stated in the preamble is that transatlantic matters are also — let's put it this way — in flux. This too is part of the context." Germany has such friendship treaties with just a handful of countries like France, symbolizing the closeness of their ties. Coming nearly a decade after Britain voted to leave the European Union, the treaty includes a clause on mutual assistance which, "in light of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, is highly significant", the official said. It builds on a defence deal agreed last year that included the joint development of long-range strike weapons, and comes after France and Britain agreed last week to reinforce cooperation over their respective nuclear arsenals. German defence tech company Stark on Wednesday announced a new factory in Britain, the first production facility outside of Germany, to create AI-powered unmanned systems. The treaty will include an agreement to jointly combat smuggling and human trafficking, the German official said. The British government said Germany would make a landmark commitment to outlaw the facilitation of illegal migration to Britain with a law change to be adopted by the end of the year. That would give law enforcement the tools to investigate warehouses and storage facilities used by migrant smugglers to conceal dangerous small boats intended for illegal crossings to Britain, it said in a statement. (Reporting by Sarah Marsh in Berlin and Elizabeth Piper in London;Editing by Ros Russell)
The Citizen
29-06-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Zelensky Ukraine's withdrawal from anti-landmine treaty
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday signed a decree putting his war-torn country on track to leave the anti-landmine Ottawa... Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gives a joint press conference with the German Chancellor at the Chancellery in Berlin on 11 October 2024. Picture: Tobias Schwarz / AFP Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday signed a decree putting his war-torn country on track to leave the anti-landmine Ottawa Convention, according to a document published on his website. The treaty bans signatories from acquiring, producing, stockpiling or using anti-personnel mines, which are designed to be buried or hidden on the ground. They often leave victims mutilated if they are not immediately killed, and aid groups denounce the long-term risk of unexploded mines for civilians. Putting Ukrainians first More than 160 countries and territories are signatories to the Ottawa Convention, though neither the United States nor Russia have joined. 'I hereby decree… to put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine dated June 29, 2025 on Ukraine's withdrawal' from the landmark convention, Zelensky said. To enter into force, the decision still must be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament and notified to the United Nations. Confronted with Russia's invasion, 'Ukraine is compelled to give unconditional priority to the security of its citizens and the defence of the state,' Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement. It said the decision to withdraw was 'difficult but necessary' in order to 'protect our land from occupation, and our people from horrific Russian atrocities.'. 'This step has been demanded by the reality of war long ago,' a Ukrainian lawmaker, Roman Kostenko, said on social media. 'Russia… uses mines against our military and civilians on a massive scale. We cannot remain bound by conditions when the enemy has no restrictions,' he said. The treaty withdrawal, more than three years into Moscow's invasion, follows similar decisions by Kyiv's allies Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — all neighbours of Russia. In March, human rights groups condemned their intention to pull out from the convention. READ NEXT: Ukraine war 'existential,' Kremlin says, launching revenge strikes
The Standard
26-06-2025
- Business
- The Standard
UN nuclear chief says it's possible Iran's highly enriched uranium 'is there'
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi speaks during a doorstep with Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger at the Austrian Chancellery, in Vienna, Austria, June 25, 2025. (Reuters)
