Latest news with #Steinmeier
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany would be a 'poorer' country without migration, president says
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called for debates on migration to be held with "reason," amid increased border controls under the country's new government. "Immigration was never easy," Steinmeier said in Berlin at an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the Intercultural Week, a nationwide initiative against racism. "It is also not just a problem story. It is also always an important part of our country's success story." Steinmeier said discussions on migration policy should include both an "honest position that says what we want and can do," as well as a "consensus that we are and will remain a country with many backgrounds, religions and cultures." "Being German today also means equal rights for those with immigrant biographies," the president added. Some 21 million people in Germany - around a quarter of the population - either migrated to the country, or are the children of migrants, Steinmeier said. "We are more than a country with people with an immigrant background," the president said. Germany is a "country with an immigrant background." He added: "Without immigration, Germany would undoubtedly be a poorer country." His comments came as Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt presented his plans for a crackdown on migration in Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. "Citizens expect political change from us," Dobrindt said on Friday after taking office last week under Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative-led coalition government. The interior minister, from the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU), argued that the change has now begun on Germany's borders. Shortly after taking over the ministry, Dobrindt ordered tougher border checks, allowing officials to turn back migrants even if they apply for asylum. Addressing his coalition partners from the Social Democratic Party (SPD) on Friday, Dobrindt said he knows the crackdown is "a longer road" for the centre-left party than for Merz's conservative bloc. "Let us tackle this task together." Irregular migration, he said, jeopardizes "the stability of our country." He also announced increased deportations, including to Afghanistan and Syria. Deporting migrants to the two countries, despite questions over their governments' support for human rights, was a major campaign issue ahead of February's parliamentary elections. Dobrindt further argued that police powers must be increased, and that officers should no longer be placed under general suspicion. He rejected proposals by the previous centre-left coalition for police to be required to issue receipts after stopping people in public places when asked for - a policy meant to combat racial profiling - and for mandatory identification for officers.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany would be a 'poorer country' without migration, president says
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called for debates on migration to be held with "reason," amid increased border controls under the country's new government. "Immigration was never easy," Steinmeier said in Berlin at an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the Intercultural Week, a nationwide initiative against racism. "It is also not just a problem story. It is also always an important part of our country's success story." Steinmeier said discussions on migration policy should include both an "honest position that says what we want and can do," as well as a "consensus that we are and will remain a country with many backgrounds, religions and cultures." "Being German today also means equal rights for those with immigrant biographies," the president added. Some 21 million people in Germany - around a quarter of the population - either migrated to the country, or are the children of migrants, Steinmeier said. "We are more than a country with people with an immigrant background," the president said. Germany is a "country with an immigrant background." He added: "Without immigration, Germany would undoubtedly be a poorer country."
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German president recalls hostages' plight on visit to kibbutz Be'eri
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has pledged further assistance to Israel to free the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, as he paid a visit to kibbutz Be'eri, one of the Israeli communities ravaged during the October 7 attack. "Their fate is an open wound," Steinmeier said of the 58 hostages still being held by Palestinian extremist group Hamas in Gaza. "Germany will not forget them, I will not forget them. Our voice will not be silent as long as they have not returned." The German president also noted the suffering of the civilian population in the war-torn Gaza Strip, which Israel has cut off from humanitarian aid for more than two months. Kibbutz Be'eri is located some 4 kilometres from the Gaza Strip. Some 130 of the community's 1,300 inhabitants were killed when Hamas-led militants launched their unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. More than 50 people from the kibbutz were abducted to the Gaza Strip that day. In total, over 1,200 people were killed and some 240 taken hostage to Gaza during the attacks, with 58 still believed to be held in the coastal area, including the bodies of six people from Be'eri. Steinmeier was joined by Israeli President Isaac Herzog and their wives, Elke Büdenbender and Michal Herzog, in commemorating the victims of the attack. Germany is providing financial support to aid the reconstruction of kibbutz Be'eri, co-founded by German Jews. Berlin is providing some €7 million ($7.8 million) for a new cultural and community centre set to be build at the site of a former art gallery that was destroyed in the attack. Herzog said: "The fact that we are rebuilding this building as a place of the spirit gives us hope." Steinmeier was in Israel for a second day as the two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic relations. To celebrate the historic milestone, Herzog visited Berlin on Monday.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German President discusses Gaza war with Netanyahu
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed the situation in the Gaza war with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his two-day visit to Israel on Tuesday. Immediately before the meeting, Netanyahu had announced a new offensive to dismantle the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Steinmeier said before the conversation that they would talk about the conduct of the war and its consequences, as well as the new announcements. Steinmeier defends meeting with Netanyahu "I very much hope that we will receive explanations, including explanations of what is intended in the medium and long term," the German president said. Steinmeier also rejected the demand from the human rights organization Amnesty International not to meet Netanyahu. "I find that the demand is very simplistic," he said. "It would also be the easiest thing for politicians to avoid difficult conversations. That has never been my stance. And it is especially not my stance in relation to Israel." Amnesty had previously called on the German president to refrain from meeting Netanyahu, who is being sought under an international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. Military honours, meetings between presidents Steinmeier arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv at midday, where he was greeted with military honours by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Herzog had been in Berlin on Monday, and Steinmeier had flown on to Israel on Tuesday morning. The reciprocal visit honours the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two states 60 years ago. Diplomatic ties were formally established on May 12, 1965, following an agreement between Germany's then-chancellor Ludwig Erhard and Israeli prime minister Levi Eshkol. The move came after a gradual rapprochement between the two nations whose relationship had been deeply scarred by the atrocities carried out during the Holocaust, during which Nazi Germany murdered some 6 million Jews. In the following decades, Germany and Israel have built a close network of political, economic, military, scientific and cultural cooperation. But the anniversary was overshadowed by the ongoing Gaza war, with Steinmeier appealing to Herzog in Berlin to lift the blockade preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the civilian population in the coastal area and adhere to international law. "Israel's enemies do not abide by the rules, but we must," Steinmeier said in his speech at a state banquet in the German capital on Monday evening. At the same time, he noted Israel's right to self-defence. In Jerusalem, the two heads of states visited the National Library of Israel. Visit to Kibbutz Be'eri to conclude the trip On Wednesday, Steinmeier plans to visit Kibbutz Be'eri, which is located directly on the border with the Gaza Strip. Hamas had almost completely destroyed it during its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Steinmeier visited the kibbutz with Herzog a few weeks after the attack.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German president visits Israel to mark 60 years of diplomatic ties
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Jerusalem on Tuesday to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany, forged in the grim shadow of the Holocaust. Steinmeier was welcomed at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport with military honours by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who visited Germany on Monday to mark the diplomatic milestone. Diplomatic ties were formally established on May 12, 1965, following an agreement between Germany's then-chancellor Ludwig Erhard and Israeli prime minister Levi Eshkol. The move came after a gradual rapprochement between two nations whose relationship had been deeply scarred by the atrocities carried out during the Holocaust, during which Nazi Germany murdered some 6 million Jews. In the following decades, Germany and Israel have built a close network of political, economic, military, scientific and cultural cooperation. But the anniversary was overshadowed by the ongoing Gaza war, with Steinmeier appealing to Herzog in Berlin to lift the blockade preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the civilian population in the coastal area and adhere to international law. "Israel's enemies do not abide by the rules, but we must," said Steinmeier in his speech at a state banquet in the German capital on Monday evening. At the same time, he noted Israel's right to self-defence. In Jerusalem, the two heads of states visited the National Library of Israel, with Steinmeier set to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later in the afternoon. Human rights group Amnesty International had previously called on the German president to refrain from meeting Netanyahu, who is being sought under an international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.
