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TODAY IN GERMANY

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

Finance Minister casts doubt over future of €49 ticket, three die in crash in Saxony-Anhalt, acid attack in Bochum being probed and more news from Germany on Monday.

Published: 1 July 2024 08:19 CEST
An advertisement for the Deutschlandticket can be seen in front of a train at the main station in Frankfurt am Main.
An advertisement for the Deutschlandticket in front of a train at the main station in Frankfurt am Main. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sebastian Gollnow

Finance Minister casts doubt over future of €49 Deutschlandticket

Finance Minister Christian Lindner has expressed doubts about the future of the €49 Deutschlandticket, suggesting that modernising Germany’s railways would require greater levels of investment – something that could in turn mean raising ticket prices.

Originally launched in 2023, the €49 travel ticket allows unlimited travel nationwide for a month with certain long-distance services excepted from the offer.

Doubts have been cast about the future of the ticket before, with some towns including Stendal in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt axing the discounted travel ticket and opting out of the scheme.

Lindner told Welt am Sonntag that modernising German railways will cost tens of billions of euros, and that in the near future a proper debate about the price of the Deutschlandticket will be needed.

“At some point, politicians will have to decide whether we want to invest more in the railways or whether the price should remain at €49,” Linder said.

READ ALSO: Will Germany’s €49 ticket be continued?

Three die in crash on country road in Saxony-Anhalt

Three people have died in a horror crash in the early hours of Monday in Saxony-Anhalt.

A car left the Landstraße 204 road at a bend around 2.15 am, plunging into a ditch and down a slope,

The 58-year-old driver lost control of her SUV in the rain.

Three people died and two are seriously injured. According to police, the passengers were young people and all come from the local region (Burgendlandkreis). 

The road is closed following the accident.

Arrest after acid attack in Bochum leaves five injured

Police have launched an investigation after a man poured an acidic liquid on guests at a cafe in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. 

Five people were injured – one of them seriously – in the incident that took place in the outdoor seating area of the cafe in the “Bermudadreieck” district on Sunday at around 3.30 pm. 

According to police, the customers were drinking coffee and eating food “in a relaxed atmosphere” when the attack occurred.

The man poured the acidic liquid over a male guest sitting at a table, according to police, and he was seriously injured. A woman sitting at the same table and a waitress were also injured.

The two other people injured as a result of the attack were other customers. All were taken to hospital by ambulance.

The suspected perpetrator was arrested nearby shortly after the attack.

 It was initially unclear which liquid was involved, but it is being investigated with the help of a special unit at Dortmund fire and rescue.

Authorities are questioning the suspect. 

German police register 830,000 border checks since start of Euro 2024

German police have reportedly carried out 830,000 border checks since the start of Euro 2024.

This is according to figures announced by national police chief Dieter Romann. A total of 603 people have been arrested during the border stops so far, with 85 people detained on suspicion of serious crimes such as terrorism and extremism. 

86 people were turned back at the border for hooliganism-related offences.

Euro 2024 began on June 14th and will last until July 14th. The bolstered border checks will remain in place until July 19th.

READ ALSO:

England avoid shock at Euro 2024 as Spain ease into quarter-finals

England escaped an embarrassing exit from Euro 2024 on Sunday as they came from behind to beat Slovakia in extra time and reach the quarter-finals, while Spain defeated surprise packages Georgia 4-1 to set up a mouthwatering quarter-final showdown with hosts Germany.

A Jude Bellingham overhead kick deep in injury time and a Harry Kane strike early in extra time allowed England to beat Slovakia 2-1 in their last-16 tie in Gelsenkirchen.

England's forward #09 Harry Kane acknowledges the public at the end of the UEFA Euro 2024 round of 16 football match between England and Slovakia at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen on June 30, 2024.

England’s forward #09 Harry Kane acknowledges the public at the end of the UEFA Euro 2024 round of 16 football match between England and Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen on June 30, 2024. Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP

The win set up a quarter-final meeting with Switzerland on Saturday in Düsseldorf.

Spain will now go to Stuttgart for a clash with the host nation Germany on Friday.

The last-16 action continues on Monday as Kylian Mbappe and France take on Belgium in Duesseldorf at 6pm before Portugal meet Slovenia in Frankfurt at 9pm. 

READ ALSO How and where to watch the Euros in Germany 

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TODAY IN GERMANY

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

Germany looks forward to a tough match against Spain at Euro 2024 on Friday, a defected Greens MP is welcomed by the CDU, a third of older people say they want to retire early, and more news from around Germany on Wednesday.

Published: 3 July 2024 07:59 CEST
Today in Germany: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday

Can ‘Kroos control’ help Germany in its match against Spain on Friday?

Germany winger Leroy Sane said his side could “hurt” Spain in Friday’s Euro 2024 quarter final, thanks to the impressive return of midfielder Toni Kroos.

Sane started from the bench in all three of Germany’s pool games but returned to the starting line-up at the expense of Florian Wirtz in Saturday’s last 16 win over Denmark.

With pre-tournament favourites England and France struggling despite reaching the quarter finals, Spain have emerged alongside hosts Germany as favourites for the tournament.

The only side to win all four of their games, Spain are the form team of the tournament, having scored nine goals and conceded just one.

READ ALSO: How (and where) to watch Euro 2024 games in Germany this week

Sane said Germany and Spain had “played the best football” of the tournament.

“We need to keep control of our game, then we can hurt the Spaniards.”

Both Spain and Germany each have three Euros titles – more than any other team.

Traffic-light coalition calls for stricter rules for rude MPs

Politicians who trade personal insults in the Bundestag or act aggressively in committee hearings will be punished more severely in future, according to a new government motion released on Tuesday afternoon. 

Parliamentarians from the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) who penned the motion are pushing for automatic fines for MPs who break the rules at least three times within three weeks of a session. 

The amount of the fine is now also to be doubled to €2,000 in the case of a single offence and €4,000 in the case of a repeat offence. 

Previously, the Rules of Procedure stated: “The President may impose a fine of €1,000 on a Member of the Bundestag for a more than minor breach of the order or dignity of the Bundestag, even without a call to order having been issued. In the event of a repeat offence, the fine shall be increased to €2,000.”

Almost one in three over-50s wants to retire early 

Almost one in three older workers want to leave their job before the normal retirement age, according to a new survey carried out on behalf of Techniker Krankenkasse (TK).

In the over-50s age bracket, around 31 percent plan to do so.

The survey also asked what employees would like to see in order to postpone their planned retirement. In addition to a higher salary (66.5 percent), around 70 percent of over-50s said they would like to see more flexible working hours, including working arrangements that fit around their personal needs. 

Pensioners sit on a bench in Dresden

Pensioners sit on a bench in Dresden. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Sebastian Kahnert

The survey, which was carried out by the Institute of Employment Health Advisors, also surveyed HR managers and managing directors from more than 300 companies. More than three quarters of these stated that the retention of older employees would be crucial in the coming years.

In 46 percent of companies, more than a quarter of the workforce could retire in the next five years.

READ ALSO: Why the German pension reform is threatened with further delays

Defected Greens MP welcomed in the CDU

Politicians in the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party welcomed a new member of their fold with applause on Tuesday: Greens MP Melis Sekman, who announced online that she was defecting from the eco-friendly party. 

In a video published online explaining her defection, Sekman said that the style in which politics was done was important to her. “You have to be able to speak your mind without being pigeonholed,” she said.

According to media reports, the former Greens politician was warmly greeted in a parliamentary meeting with her new CDU colleagues and parliamentarians from their sister Christian Social Union (CSU) party. 

“It’s good that you have made this decision,” CDU leader Friedrich Merz is quoted as saying. “The parliamentary group is looking forward to getting to know you.”

Meanwhile, the sudden move has sent shockwaves through the governing Green party. It is the first time a Greens politician has defected to the CDU since 1996. 

Polish Prime Minister says Germany should lead on European security

Germany should be the leader of Europe’s security, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday in a sign of improved ties between two countries with often highly fraught relations.

Former EU chief Tusk came to power in Poland last year, replacing a government led by the populist Law and Justice party which was characterised by its deeply anti-German rhetoric.

“I cannot imagine that Germany would not be the leader for Europe’s common security, including Poland’s,” Tusk said at a press conference with visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Olaf Scholz and Donald Tusk

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is greeted by Donald Tusk (l), Prime Minister of Poland, with military honours at the German-Polish intergovernmental consultations. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

The meeting included the first talks between the Polish and German governments in six years.

“Poland, as one of the greatest victims of the Second World War, and Germany as the perpetrators of this destruction, this tragedy of World War II, today as free, democratic, European nations, should jointly and effectively ensure that Europe is safe,” said Tusk, who heads a pro-European government.

Scholz agreed that “the security of Poland is also that of Germany”.

READ ALSO: Germany reports record defence spending ahead of NATO meeting

The two leaders discussed defence cooperation as well as countering illegal immigration which has become a problem on Poland’s eastern border with Belarus.

Three German holidaymakers die in landslide in Switzerland

Three German holidaymakers died in a landslide in Ticino at the weekend. The police reported that the women were in their seventies and came from Baden-Württemberg.

Parts of the Swiss Alps saw a huge storm with heavy rain over the weekend which brought severe flooding and landslides that that knocked out several roads and bridges.

The bodies were recovered after the landslide on Sunday night near Fontana in the Maggia Valley. They have not yet been identified.

With reporting from DPA, Paul Krantz and Imogen Goodman

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