Euro 2024 host stadium in Munich to display rainbow colours
The Euro 2024 host stadium in Munich will display rainbow colours to celebrate Christopher Street Day, the city’s pride weekend, UEFA confirmed to AFP on Wednesday.
The stadium, which will host the opening match of Euro 2024 between Germany and Scotland, will be lit up in rainbow colours on June 22rd and 23rd.
There are no games planned in Munich for that weekend.
UEFA told AFP the arena would be illuminated in rainbow colours on request of the stadium management.
The stadium facade features more than 300,000 LED lights which can be in various colours to commemorate sporting, political or other events.
The external stadium lighting made headlines in 2021 when UEFA, the organisers of Euro 2024, rejected a request from the city of Munich to light it in similar colours during a match between Germany and Hungary, saying it was a “political statement”.
READ ALSO: Germany turns rainbow-coloured in protest at UEFA stadium ban
The request was made in response to a law passed in Hungary restricting LGBT+ content for minors, which critics say was too broad and could impinge on freedoms of expression.
Germany plays Group A rivals Hungary again on June 19th.
Germany warns of ‘trade war’ over EU’s China EV tariffs
The EU’s threat to hit Chinese electric cars with additional tariffs following an anti-subsidy probe risks a “trade war”, Germany said Wednesday, as the country’s auto giants warned the move would backfire.
“The European Commission’s punitive tariffs hit German companies and their top products,” German Transport Minister Volker Wissing said on X, formerly Twitter.
“Cars must become cheaper through more competition, open markets and significantly better business conditions in the EU, not through trade war and market isolation.”
After launching an investigation last year, the EU Wednesday threatened to impose extra tariffs of up to 38 percent on Chinese electric car imports from next month, unless Brussels and Beijing can resolve the issue.
China is an important market for Germany’s carmakers — in particular Volkswagen, Europe’s largest auto manufacturer — and industry figures have lined up to warn that new tariffs could trigger retaliatory measures.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz himself in May noted that half of EVs imported from China were produced by Western manufacturers.
READ ALSO: Germany unveils new approach to more ‘assertive’ China
Representatives from the German car industry also lined up to criticise the move.
“The negative effects of this decision outweigh any potential benefits for the European and especially the German automotive industry,” a Volkswagen spokesman said in a statement.
Meanwhile Hildegaard Müller, president of the VDA auto industry association, said the tariffs would not solve the challenges facing the sector and called on politicians to instead make Europe a more attractive place for manufacturers.
Greens ‘open to discussion’ on compulsory military service
In a distinct break with the party’s history of pacifism, the Greens have said they are willing to discuss proposals for reintroducing military conscription for young men in Germany.
“The security situation in Europe has changed fundamentally,” party leader Omid Nouripour told DPA on Wednesday after proposals for compulsory service were set out by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD).
“Accordingly, we must ensure that our Bundeswehr is well-positioned, both in terms of equipment and in terms of personnel.”
However, Nouripour said the proposals should be discussed “with society as a whole” and that joining the military should also be made more attractive.
Speaking to DPA, Greens’ security spokesperson Sara Nanni called Pistorius’ proposal a “good start to a debate” but said the fact that only men were included “would not be in keeping with the times”.
Under plans unveiled by the Defence Ministry on Wednesday, young men in Germany would be required to fill in a questionnaire about their health and willingness to serve in the military. Women could also choose to fill in this questionnaire, but wouldn’t be required to.
Based on the responses to an estimated 400,000 questionnaires, around 40,000 new recruits would be picked per year and signed up to complete at least six months of military service.
READ ALSO: Is Germany gearing up to reintroduce compulsory military service?
Germany’s Uniper ‘awarded €13 billion’ for lost Russian gas
German energy giant Uniper said Wednesday a tribunal had awarded it over €13 billion in damages from Russian state energy company Gazprom for its failure to deliver gas.
The ruling gave Uniper “the right to terminate the contracts and awarded it an amount of more than €13 billion in damages for the gas volumes not supplied”, the company said in a statement.
It was not clear, however, “whether significant amounts are to be expected” from Gazprom, CEO Michael Lewis said in the statement.
Gazprom steadily dwindled gas supplies to Germany following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine in apparent retaliation for Western sanctions on Russia.
The diminishing volumes sent gas prices soaring, pushing Uniper — Germany’s biggest importer of the fuel — to the brink of bankruptcy.
Uniper reported a €40 billion net loss for the first nine months of 2022, one of the biggest losses in German corporate history.
With Russian supplies slashed, Uniper has been forced to pay high prices on the open market.
The German government stepped in to nationalise Uniper over fears its failure could send shockwaves through Europe’s top economy.
Uniper initiated the legal action against Gazprom at the Stockholm-based tribunal in November 2022 over the Russian company’s failure to delivered agreed volumes of gas.
READ ALSO: Germany nationalises subsidy of Russian energy giant Gazprom
Although Gazprom completely stopped supplying Uniper with gas in August 2022, the supply contracts “were still legally in force and… would have continued to exist until the mid-2030s”, Uniper said.
The tribunal’s ruling provided “legal certainty”, CEO Lewis said.
With reporting by DPA
Please whitelist us to continue reading.
Member comments