Latest news with #Klöckner
Euronews
04-06-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Left Party MP expelled from German parliament over Palestine t-shirt
Left Party MP Cansin Köktürk was thrown out of a German parliament plenary chamber on Wednesday for wearing a t-shirt with the word "Palestine" printed on it, a move deemed a political statement by the parliamentary leadership. Bundestag President Julia Klöckner intervened during the session, reminding MPs that political messages on clothing are not permitted in the chamber. "We have agreed and these are the clear rules of the House," Klöckner said, "that neither stickers nor any other form of denomination on T-shirts play a role." She continued, "I have asked Ms. Köktürk to change her sweater - and we did not make that public - but you apparently refuse. I would then ask you to leave the meeting. Please do so." This is not the first time Köktürk has attracted attention in parliament. On her very first day as an MP, she appeared in the Bundestag wearing a scarf resembling a Palestinian keffiyeh, prompting members of the conservative CDU to call for an official ban on such symbols. Köktürk later took to X to respond to the incident, writing: "Germany will continue to supply weapons to Israel. Not a word about over 50,000 dead and injured children. I am being asked by Mrs. Klöckner to leave the plenary hall because my shirt says 'Palestine.' You have all failed so badly." While the Bundestag does not have a detailed dress code, its rules require MPs and visitors to dress "in keeping with the prestige" of the institution. Enforcement of this standard is left to the discretion of the session chair. Past incidents suggest the issue is not limited to any one party or political leaning. In 2017, a 13-year-old girl visiting the Bundestag on a school trip was asked at security to zip up her "Refugees Welcome" sweatshirt to conceal the slogan. And in 2009, a student was stopped for wearing a T-shirt reading "Make love, not war." More recently, MP Marcel Bauer was twice expelled from the plenary chamber for refusing to remove a black beret, which was deemed inappropriate. Both Klöckner and Bundestag Vice President Andrea Lindholz (CSU) ordered him to follow the parliament's dress norms or leave. These recurring incidents reflect an ongoing debate in German politics over how far personal expression and political symbolism should be allowed within the halls of parliament. The EU steel sector was on high alert on Wednesday following the implementation of 50% US tariffs on steel and aluminium, a move that might divert global steel imports formerly heading to the US towards the EU. "With the doubling of US blanket tariffs on steel to 50% without exceptions, we expect massive deflection of the 27 million tonnes of steel previously destined for the US towards the European market,' director general of the European Steel Association (EUROFER) Axel Eggert warned in a statement. 'We are being flooded by cheap foreign steel,' he added, 'without swift action, we will not just be underwater — we will drown.' Kerstin Maria Rippel, the chief executive of the German Steel Federation said the 50% tariffs marked 'a new level of escalation' in the EU-US trade conflict. 'A 50-percent tariff on steel exports is a massive burden on our industry, as it will increase pressure on an economy already in crisis and will impact our steel sector in multiple ways,' Rippel said. On Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order, which the White House shared on X, claiming that the rise of tariffs on steel and aluminium would 'provide greater support' to US industries, and would 'eliminate the national security threat' posed by imported steel and aluminium. Last March, Trump had re-established tariffs on steel and aluminium, which were initially imposed in 2018 and 2020 under his first mandate. The steel sector has already been struggling with Chinese overcapacities flooding the EU market, but since the US imposed tariffs across the globe the bloc is facing overcapacities from multiple countries. Import penetration in the EU is up to 30% in 2025 in a context of depressed demand, Eggert claimed. In Brussels, the pressure has intensified following Trump's increased tariffs at a time when the EU seeks to negotiate a resolution to its trade dispute with the US. 'The 50% tariffs have clearly not helped the negotiations at all,' said one EU diplomat. On Wednesday, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič acknowledged in an X post that the two sides 'are advancing in the right direction at pace', and are 'staying in close contact to maintain the momentum', following his meeting with his US counterpart, Jamieson Greer in Paris on the sidelines of an OECD trade ministerial. But quizzed by journalists later in the day, Šefčovič said he 'strongly' regretted Trump's latest 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium, adding: 'It doesn't help, especially as we are making progress.' A group of EU high-level experts, including Tomás Baert, trade advisor to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has been in Washington since Monday to negotiate the technical details that could help the EU and the US break the deadlock. Besides the 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium, the EU is also facing a 25% tariff on cars and a 10% levy on all other imports. The US also has launched several investigations into pharma, semiconductors and aircrafts that could lead to further tariffs. Trump has further threatened to impose a 50% tariff on all EU goods as of 9 July if the negotiations fail to meet his expectations. The US and the EU exchanged proposals two weeks ago, but both sides have dismissed the other's offers. The EU offered a deal of zero-for-zero tariffs on all industrial goods and purchase of strategic products such as US energy, tech and agri-products, whereas the US expected the EU to review some of its regulations.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German parliament to fly rainbow flag on Saturday - but not on Pride
The German parliament will fly a rainbow flag on Saturday to mark the international day against homophobia, but the symbol for the queer community will not be seen during Berlin Pride celebrations. The flag will be hoisted on May 17, a date which Julia Klöckner - the president of Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag - on Friday called crucial in the fight "against discrimination and for the acceptance of the diversity and equality of all people." The date, formally known as International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, was chosen to mark the World Health Organization's 1990 decision to remove homosexuality from its classification of diseases. "I have also decided that this will be the only occasion and that a corresponding flag will not also be flown on Christopher Street Day, which, as a day of assembly, protest and celebration, thrives on its powerful presence on the streets," Klöckner added. The term Christopher Street Day (CSD) is used in Germany to refer to Pride celebrations for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT+) community. It is a reference to the location of the Stonewall Inn in New York City's Greenwich Village neighbourhood, where a protest against police discrimination on June 28, 1969, kick-started the gay liberation movement. The Reichstag building - which houses the Bundestag - first flew the rainbow flag to mark CSD in 2022. Former Bundestag president Bärbel Bas said raising the flag would show a commitment to diversity.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germans must know 'monstrous extent' of WWII crimes, says Klöckner
Germany must recognize the "monstrous extent" of the crimes it committed during World War II, the president of the Bundestag - the lower house of parliament - said on Thursday as German lawmakers marked 80 years since the end of the conflict. In a speech to the German parliament, Julia Klöckner highlighted the forgotten victims of the brutal war, which Germany started with its invasion of Poland in September 1939. "German occupying forces committed war crimes almost everywhere in Europe," she said. "To this day, not everyone is aware of the monstrous extent of the German crimes. Or worse still, many no longer want to deal with it." Among the overlooked victims of the conflict, Klöckner emphasized the suffering of the Polish nation, and of the scale of German destruction in modern-day Belarus and Russia. She also brought up the plight of the German women who faced sexual violence by invading forces, drawing a direct parallel to the conflict in Ukraine. "Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol: Once again, girls and women are becoming victims of sexual violence, used as weapons of war," she said, referring to Ukrainian cities that have become symbols of the current war. Klöckner further condemned Russia's justification of the war in Ukraine through reference to World War II as an "abuse of history." She warned that while post-war Germans have long considered peace to be inevitable, the 80th anniversary of the conflict shows that "those who were liberated have a duty to defend freedom."
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German parliament to mark 80 years since end of World War II on May 8
Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, is to hold a special ceremony on May 8 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the downfall of the Nazi dictatorship. "World War II was the most brutal and bloody war in history," Bundestag President Julia Klöckner said on Tuesday. "We remember and we do not forget." Klöckner is due to give a speech focused on the war's consequences for women and on lessons from the conflict for the present day. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to deliver a commemorative address, with conservative leader Friedrich Merz - who is due to be elected as the country's chancellor on May 6 - in attendance. Anke Rehlinger, president of the upper house, the Bundesrat, is also due to attend the ceremony, alongside diplomatic representatives and Stephan Harbarth, president of the German Constitutional Court. A one-off bank holiday has been set in Berlin to mark the 80th anniversary of the war's end on May 8, 1945. On the 40th anniversary in 1985, a speech by then-president Richard von Weizsäcker made international headlines, with its clear recognition of the guilt and involvement of many Germans in Nazi crimes and the responsibility of subsequent generations. While many Germans saw the events of 1945 as defeat, Weizsäcker insisted that May 8 was a "day of liberation" from the "inhuman system of Nazi tyranny." The National Socialist German Workers' Party - commonly referred to as the Nazi party - gained power under Adolf Hitler in 1933 and led Germany into World War II in 1939. Around 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust, with other persecuted groups including the Roma people, disabled people and Poles.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany's new Bundestag convenes in Berlin as coalition talks proceed
Germany's Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, convened for a new legislative session on Tuesday. Lawmakers gathered in Berlin, one month after parliamentary elections delivered a victory for Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc - made up of the Christian Democrats and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union. The slimmed-down chamber has dropped from 733 to 630 seats after a parliamentary reform, and the members' political allegiances have also shifted, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) now holding almost a quarter of the seats. The CDU's Julia Klöckner was elected as the Bundestag president, the second-highest office of state in Germany behind the federal presidency. As president, Klöckner will open and close sittings, call items of business and grant lawmakers permission to speak. Klöckner, from the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate, is the fourth woman to hold the position, which outranks the chancellor in terms of formal protocol. In a speech following her election, Klöckner warned that "liberal democracy cannot be taken for granted" and called for more respect in parliamentary debates. "The way we deal with each other here and exchange arguments has an influence on social debates," she said. Lawmakers were set to elect Klöckner's deputies later on Tuesday, with senior AfD politician Bernd Baumann complaining that his party's candidate was unlike to garner enough votes to secure the position. "We could put up Jesus Christ and Mahatma Gandhi, they wouldn't get elected," said Baumann. All German mainstream parties have ruled out working with the far-right party, a strategy referred to as a political "firewall." Coalition talks continue The opening of the new Bundestag comes as coalition talks between the CDU/CSU and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) continue. Together, the country's traditional political rivals hold a slim majority of seats in the new Bundestag, despite having garnered under 45% of the vote in February's election. Merz, the presumptive next chancellor, has stated that he wants an administration to be in place by the Easter holidays in April, but negotiations are ongoing over a number of thorny issues, such as migration policy. The next administration is likely to face steadfast opposition in the Bundestag from the AfD, which finished in second place with a record 20.8% of the nationwide vote. The success of the AfD and the resurgence of The Left, both parties that the CDU/CSU bloc has promised not to work with, leaves the two parties with a so-called blocking minority in the chamber, giving them the power to thwart constitutional amendments. That prompted Merz and his prospective coalition partners to rush a historic package through the outgoing Bundestag last week, relying on support from the Greens to amend constitutional rules on government borrowing for defence and create an extraordinary €500 billion ($541 billion) fund for infrastructure and climate protection. Scholz to be dismissed The new Bundestag also marks a significant step for outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is set to be formally dismissed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier later on Tuesday. Under Article 69 of the Basic Law, Germany's constitution, the outgoing administration is formally dismissed after the new chamber is constituted. Steinmeier is set to hand over certificates of dismissal to the chancellor and his 14 ministers at around 5:30 pm (1630 GMT). However, Scholz is set to remain in office in a caretaker capacity until the next government is formed. The president's office said Steinmeier has already requested for Scholz's administration to continue its work until it can be replaced.
