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TODAY IN GERMANY

Today in Germany: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday

Severe storms and heavy rain, German activists call on EU citizens to help protect abortion rights, Toni Kroos to retire from football and more news from around Germany on Wednesday.

Published: 22 May 2024 07:57 CEST

A flooded street in Wuppertal on Tuesday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/NEWS5 | Matthi Rosenkranz

Severe storms hit southern Germany

More storms and flooding have been sweeping across the country.

The German Weather Service (DWD) warned of severe thunderstorms in the north and east of Bavaria on Tuesday night into Wednesday – with heavy rain, hail and gale-force winds. The districts of Lower Bavaria, Upper Palatinate and Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia were affected.

In the Upper Palatinate, masses of water swept away cars and people had to be rescued from their homes on Tuesday, reported local media.

On Wednesday morning, police announced that numerous overnight calls had been made to emergency services, particularly in the north and east of Bavaria, due to the storms. However, the situation has eased since Tuesday.

In the flood-hit regions of Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, no weather-related incidents were reported overnight.

Storms are expected to hit the northern half of the country on Wednesday.

It comes after days of severe weather and storms that have lashed parts of the country, with Saarland being badly hit.

Activists and NGOs in Berlin to urge voters to protect reproductive rights

Activists and NGOs are gathering in Berlin on Wednesday to urge people to safeguard reproductive rights ahead of the EU elections.

On the heels of the recent German government commissioned report calling for abortions to be legalised within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in Germany, activists from across Europe will be meeting in Berlin and calling on residents to sign up to the My Voice, My Choice for Safe and Accessible Abortion’ initiative which aims to secure over 1 million signatures over the next three weeks.

The European Citizens’ Initiative allows European citizens to propose legislation. When an initiative collects the target number of signatures, the European Commission evaluates it. If approved, the commission may propose legislation, consulting with EU institutions. For “My Voice, My Choice,” hitting one million signatures would prompt the commission to propose financial support for safe and accessible abortion in the EU.

Pro-choice advocates fear that abortion rights are under threat in Germany, especially with the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which supports tightening the existing law, rising in the polls in recent months. Campaigners are concerned that Germany will see its reproductive rights backslide as witnessed in Italy under Georgia Meloni’s government.

While abortion is rarely punished, it remains illegal in Germany, except for specific circumstances including if the abortion seeker receives mandatory counselling, if the pregnancy creates health risks for the woman, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape. Paragraph 218 of Germany’s criminal code outlaws abortion, with possible penalties of up to three years in prison and terminating a pregnancy after 12 weeks remains illegal.

Luisa Neubauer, from Fridays for Future Germany, said “Since the publication of the results of the Expert Commission on Reproductive Self-Determination and Reproductive Medicine, the debate about the urgently needed abolition of 218 of the German Criminal Code and access to free abortions in Germany has once again become the focus of public attention.

“However, a political implementation of the commission’s recommendations remains unaccomplished, especially by the traffic light government.”

PODCAST: Driving ban threats, Berlin tourist tips and will abortion become legal in Germany?

German football favourite Toni Kroos to retire from football after Euro 2024

Real Madrid’s German international midfielder Toni Kroos has announced he will retire from football after Euro 2024.

“My career as an active footballer will end this summer after the Euro championship,” 34-year-old Kroos, who won the 2014 World Cup with Germany, said on Instagram.

Before the European Championship, Kroos will have a chance to win the Champions League with Real for a fifth time when they face Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on June 1st.

The German team's Thomas Müller (l) and Toni Kroos after a game with the Netherlands in March

The German team’s Thomas Müller (l) and Toni Kroos after a game with the Netherlands in March. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Arne Dedert

He also won the Champions League with Bayern Munich before joining the Spanish giants.

Kroos joined Real in 2014 and quickly formed a formidable midfield partnership with Croatian national player Luka Modric.

Kroos has also won the Liga title four times and the Bundesliga three times with Bayern.

He announced he was quitting international football in July 2021 but reversed his decision in February after talks with Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, who persuaded him to play on until the Euro 2024 on home soil.

German ‘prince’ at centre of alleged coup plot denies charges

The self-styled prince at the heart of an alleged conspiracy-fuelled plot to attack Germany’s parliament and topple the government rejected the accusations made against him as his trial opened Tuesday.

In all, six men and three women accused of belonging to or supporting the group face trial in Frankfurt in one of the biggest cases heard by German courts in decades.

Prosecutors accuse the group, which includes a former politician and ex-army officers, of preparing a “treasonous undertaking” to storm the Bundestag and take MPs hostage.

The defendants filed into the purpose-built, high-security court in the western German city ahead of the proceeding.

One woman, wearing a hooded jacket, hid her face from journalists’ cameras with a file, while the alleged ringleader, Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss, looked relaxed as he entered the room.

Reuss, a minor aristocrat and businessman, was in line to become the provisional head of state after the current government was overthrown, according to prosecutors.

French far-right splits with German AfD in EU parliament

France’s main far-right party said Tuesday it will no longer sit in the EU parliament with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) faction, indicating it had lost patience with the controversies surrounding its German allies.

The National Rally (RN) said it was going to create some distance from the AfD afer comments made by the head of the German party’s list in the upcoming EU polls next month about the SS paramilitary force in Nazi Germany.

The head of the AfD’s list in the polls, Maximilian Krah, had said in a weekend interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica that someone who had been a member of the SS was “not automatically a criminal”.

With reporting by DPA

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Today in Germany: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

German and G7 leaders agree to a $50 billion loan for Ukraine

G7 leaders were set to agree at an Italy summit Thursday on a new $50-billion loan for Ukraine, using profits from frozen Russian assets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flew in to join US President Joe Biden and leaders from Germany, Italy, Britain, France, Canada and Japan at a session of the Puglia talks dedicated to the war.

Top of the agenda was a plan for an urgent $50-billion loan to help Kyiv with defence, budgetary support and reconstruction after more than two years of war with Russia.

The loan would be secured against the future profits from interest on €300 billion ($325 billion) of Russian central bank assets frozen by Western allies.

“Good news from the G7: another $50 billion for Ukraine,” German Finance Minister Christian Lindner wrote on X.

He said the agreement showed Russian President Vladimir Putin our “unity, greatly helps Ukraine and relieves the burden on budgets”.

He added, “Now we are working on the details.”

Since the war began, the EU and its Member States provided nearly €100 bn to support Ukraine.

The paradigm shift is our €50 bn Ukraine Facility.

Thank you, @Bundeskanzler and @ZelenskyyUa, for hosting this meeting.

The EU stands with Ukraine for as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/MJqDAIYhyY

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 11, 2024

Police in Saxony looking for suspected child killer

The homicide squad is still looking for the perpetrator following the discovery of the body of nine-year-old Valeriia in the forest near Döbeln, confirmed senior public prosecutor Ingrid Burghart on Thursday.

Investigators don’t want to share details about the cause of death or the ongoing investigation, but say they have theses on the motive.

According to reporting by “Bild”, the investigators have an ex-boyfriend of the girl’s mother in their sights. He is said to be in the Czech Republic. The Chemnitz public prosecutor’s office did not want to comment on this when asked by the German Press Agency.

The crime against Valeriia has shocked many people in her place of residence, which has a population of around 24,000. Many have laid candles, stuffed animals, pictures, angel figures and flowers near the child’s home to express their grief and bewilderment.

Questions still arise as to a delayed police search. A witness had heard screams on the outskirts of the city on the day of Valeriia’s disappearance, and later reported it to the police. Investigators say, however, that the initial report was not specific enough.

The public prosecutor’s office is also examining possible misconduct on the part of the school, which had not contacted Valeriia’s mother when the child did not arrive in her class.

Germany receives the most asylum applications worldwide after the USA

More people than ever before are fleeing violence, war, conflict and persecution worldwide. The UN refugee agency UNHCR reported on Thursday that in May, there were 120 million refugees worldwide, almost ten percent more than a year ago.

Among people who see no chance of returning home soon, the USA and Germany were the favoured destinations.

Baerbock meets a refugee child

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock plays with a child as she visits a temporary shelter for refugees. Photo by Karen MINASYAN / AFP

The USA recorded by far the most asylum applications, a total of 1.2 million. This was followed by Germany at a considerable distance with around 330,000 applications, ahead of Egypt, Spain and Canada.

“The dramatic increase in the number of refugees shows me very clearly: Right now we need more development cooperation, not less,” said Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD).

In the dispute over the 2025 federal budget, FDP representatives had called for significant cuts in humanitarian aid and development aid.

Development policy creates prospects for refugees on the ground and for their return to their homeland, explained Development Minister Schulze. “This is also in Germany’s interest.”

German climate activists end lengthy hunger strike in Berlin

A group of German environmental activists on Thursday ended a long-running hunger strike to force the government to do more to tackle the climate crisis.

The protest began in early March under the motto “starving until you tell the truth”, when the first member of the group, Wolfgang Metzeler-Kick, stopped eating.

The 49-year-old went on hunger strike for a total of 92 days and was admitted to hospital in early June — although he reportedly continued the action for several days afterwards.

Germany coach urges team to harness ‘privelege of pressure’

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said his side needed to use the pressure of hosting Euro 2024 to their advantage ahead of Friday’s tournament opener against Scotland in Munich.

This summer’s hosts are three-time winners of the European Championship but have endured a poor time since reaching the semi-finals at Euro 2016.

Since that tournament, the Germans were eliminated twice at the group stage of the World Cup, and lost to England in the last 16 at the Euros in 2021.

Admitting to being a “little nervous” ahead of his first game coaching Germany at a major tournament, Nagelsmann said he told his players to embrace the pressure in front of their home fans.

Scotland’s defender #03 Andrew Robertson (2ndL), Scotland’s forward #11 Ryan Christie (Rear R) and teammates attend a MD-1 training session of Scotland’s national football team ahead of the UEFA Euro 2024 football Championship at the team’s base camp in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on June 13th, 2024. Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

“I think it’s normal that you feel a little bit of pressure before a tournament and before important games like these,” the 36-year-old told reporters on Thursday.

“Ultimately for me it’s the most important theme, when I speak with my players, that pressure is a form of privilege.

“We need to simply enjoy being on the pitch. That’s very important. Our players started playing when they were young. They love it (football).

“If you do it that way, you’re doing it right.”

FDP says more borrowing could be needed in 2024

FDP parliamentary leader Christian Dürr has raised the spectre of a revised budget for 2024, with the potential to borrow more money than previously planned.

Speaking on ZDF’s “Morgenmagazin” on Friday, Dürr likened the finance minister’s role to household budgeting, where income and expenditure are regularly reviewed. He mentioned that adjustments might be necessary, particularly in areas like defence, infrastructure and internal security.

Bild recently reported that the federal government is considering a supplementary budget for this year, with coalition sources indicating that the Ministry of Finance had briefed the coalition’s budget committee on these plans a few days ago.

“We are monitoring tax revenue developments and budget implementation closely and are prepared to act as needed,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance told DPA.

Germany’s economy is currently underperforming, allowing for increased net borrowing under the debt brake’s economic clause, potentially up to €11 billion, Dürr explained. Currently, the planned net borrowing for this year stands at €39 billion and falls within the cap on borrowing mandated by the debt brake.

SPD politician calls for extension of temporary border controls

SPD parliamentary group leader Dirk Weise has spoken out in favour of maintaining additional border controls for several months after the Euro 2024 tournament is over.

“I don’t want to get used to it, because one of the greatest achievements of the European Union is the abolition of the barriers,” Wiese told Tagesspiegel on Friday.

“For reasons of security, however, I consider it necessary to extend the border controls for a certain period beyond the European Championships.”

Police carry out checks at the German-Polish border in Saxony. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Danilo Dittrich

Due to the Euro 2024, temporary controls will initially be in place at all of Germany’s internal Schengen borders until July 19th – five days after the final match of the tournament.

At the end of May, the Ministry of the Interior announced that stationary controls at the land borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, which have been in place since the beginning of the year, would be extended by six months. The controls were initially put in place to stop undocumented migrants crossing the border.

“These controls have led to a reduction in irregular migration and, incidentally, a large number of wanted people with German passports were also caught,” said Wiese, adding that the security situation in Germany could be classed as “high-risk”.

“In recent weeks and months, the security authorities have repeatedly succeeded in recognising potential attackers at an early stage and taking them out of circulation,” the SPD politician added.

With reporting by dpa and Paul Krantz.

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