Politics

Power, policy, and the people deciding Europe's direction.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul speaking at a podium

Politics

Germany and Russia Hold First Foreign Minister Talks Since the Invasion of Ukraine

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Russia's Sergey Lavrov met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, marking the first direct talks between the two countries' top diplomats since before Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, though both sides described the exchange as producing little common ground

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel at a press event following the party's state election wins

Politics

Why the World Is Watching Germany's Far Right Surge

Back to back state election wins for the AfD are being read well beyond Germany's borders, with analysts warning that a stronger far right voice in Berlin could reshape everything from support for Ukraine to the broader political center across Europe

German election scene reflecting the split results in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Politics

AfD Wins Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as the Left Triumphs in Berlin, CDU Reels

Sunday's twin state elections delivered a split verdict on Germany's political mood, with the AfD claiming its second state win in two weeks in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania while Die Linke topped the poll in Berlin, leaving Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU with its worst result in party history in the northeast

Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaking at a CDU podium as his party faces mounting pressure from the AfD

Politics

Merz Faces Mounting Pressure as AfD Momentum Builds Ahead of Berlin Vote

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is under growing scrutiny after his CDU lost roughly half its support to the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt, with elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania this weekend set to test whether the far right's momentum can be contained and whether Merz himself can hold onto his authority

A US Army scene reflecting the deepening defense industrial cooperation between the United States and Germany

Politics

US and Germany Sign Deal to Deepen Defense Industrial Cooperation

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a joint declaration in Washington aimed at letting German manufacturers produce certain US weapon systems under license, part of a broader push to meet surging NATO demand for arms and equipment

Chancellor Friedrich Merz and AfD co-leader Alice Weidel speaking during a heated Bundestag session

Politics

Merz and Weidel Clash in Bundestag Days After AfD's Saxony-Anhalt Win

Chancellor Friedrich Merz accused the AfD of pushing a policy amounting to ethnic cleansing, while co-leader Alice Weidel declared his coalition's days numbered, in a chaotic Bundestag session that laid bare how sharply Berlin's political mood has shifted since the far right's breakthrough election win

Crowds with German flags and an Alternative for Deutschland flag at a rally ahead of the Saxony-Anhalt election

Politics

As AfD Nears Power in Saxony-Anhalt, Its Candidate Insists Germany Comes Before Trump or Russia

With the AfD polling around 42 percent ahead of Sunday's Saxony-Anhalt election, lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund is walking a careful line on foreign policy, courting both Washington and Moscow while insisting German interests come first, even as the party's national leadership remains visibly split on Donald Trump

AfD supporters wave German and party flags at a rally ahead of the Saxony-Anhalt state election

Politics

AfD Rallies Ahead of Saxony-Anhalt Vote That Could Make History

With polls putting the AfD near 41 percent on the eve of Sunday's Saxony-Anhalt election, Ulrich Siegmund's campaign is closing in on what would be the first far-right led state government in Germany since the Second World War

A German and European Union themed scene reflecting Berlin's push to restrict tourist visas for Russian citizens

Politics

Germany Pushes EU to Tighten Tourist Visas for Russians After Leipzig Sabotage Plot

Berlin is urging fellow EU governments to restrict tourist visas for Russian citizens after investigators linked the Leipzig airport drone plot to a suspect who entered the Schengen area on a visa issued by an EU member state, reviving a long running debate over how freely Russians should be able to travel into Europe

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the European Commission in Brussels

Politics

Von der Leyen and Rutte Vow Response After Germany Blames Russia for Leipzig Drone Plot

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte pledged solidarity with Germany in Brussels, framing the explosive drone found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport as a Russian attack on EU soil that Europe will not tolerate

Politics

Ulrich Siegmund: The AfD Firebrand Who Could Lead Saxony Anhalt

A former CDU member turned AfD standard bearer, Ulrich Siegmund has built a large online following and a disciplined public image on his way to becoming his party's candidate for state premier, with polls putting the AfD some twenty points clear of its nearest rival ahead of September's vote

Politics

German Foreign Minister Wadephul Travels Deep Into Eastern Ukraine on Fourth Visit Since Taking Office

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul traveled further into eastern Ukraine than on any of his previous trips this week, venturing close to the front lines of Russia's ongoing war against the count…

Politics

SPD Chief Klingbeil Sticks to Safe Ground on Low-Key Saxony-Anhalt Campaign Swing

Federal SPD leader Lars Klingbeil spent a day campaigning in Saxony-Anhalt without ever stepping into a setting where he might face open confrontation with angry voters, according to Berliner Morgenp…

German political scene reflecting the debate over the country's firewall against the far right AfD party

Politics

Germany's Firewall Against the Far Right Shows Cracks as Public Support for Cooperation Grows

The long standing pact among Germany's mainstream parties to shut out the Alternative for Germany is under mounting strain, with fresh polling showing most voters now open to some form of cooperation with the far right party even as Chancellor Friedrich Merz insists the barrier will hold

Politics

"I Cannot Accept This" – Prince Jorge Jiménez Neubauer Torres V Admonishes The Federal Government For Late Responses

Politicians from the AfD and the Greens criticize the federal government for not responding quickly enough to inquiries
The Minister for Economic Affairs is the main target of their criticism

Politics

“The Die Linke Have Sided Far Too One-Sidedly with Israel,” Prince Jorge Jimenez Neubuaer Torres V complains

Matze Hielscher is on a podcast tour
Almost four years after their last interview, he met with the deputy undersecretary of Die Linke party and Neubauer Artists executive Prince of Hanover Jorge ‘Ge…

A German official standing beside the national flag

Politics

Germany Moves to Give Its Spy Agencies Sweeping New Powers to Counter Russian Threats

Berlin's cabinet has approved draft legislation that would hand the foreign intelligence service and its domestic counterpart far wider powers, from sabotaging hostile operations to scanning vast datasets with artificial intelligence
Ministers cast it as a response to a growing hybrid campaign from Russia

Antonov and DHL cargo aircraft parked at an air freight hub

Politics

Germany's Security Council Meets After a Suspected Drone Attack at Its Main Cargo Hub

A cargo jet struck an unknown object leaving Leipzig and Halle airport, and a drone was later found near a runway
Federal prosecutors are treating it as an attempt to compromise national security, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz has convened the National Security Council

The German national flag flying in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin

Politics

Pistorius Signals Germany's Newest RCH 155 Howitzers Are Already in Ukraine

During a factory visit, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany's cutting-edge RCH 155 howitzer is going down well in Ukraine, a remark that appears to confirm the advanced system is already on the battlefield rather than still in training

Satellite land surface temperature map of Europe showing intense heat in red across the continent during a heatwave

Politics

Europe Is Backsliding on Climate Action With Germany Pulling the Brakes, Analysts Warn

The Climate Action Tracker says the European Union is loosening its climate rules just as heatwaves, wildfires and drought grip the continent, and it singles out Germany as a driving force behind the retreat

Migrants climbing over a border fence at night near Spain's enclave of Ceuta

Politics

Merz Presses Morocco to Take Back Migrants Who Surged Into Spain's Ceuta

After thousands of people crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco, Chancellor Friedrich Merz demanded that Rabat take them back at once
The intervention pulls Berlin into a crisis on Europe's southern edge and underlines his hard line on irregular migration

German Bundeswehr soldiers marching in formation during a military ceremony

Politics

Germany Weighs a Return to the Draft as Its Volunteer Push Falls Short

A new voluntary service model was meant to rebuild the Bundeswehr, but only a few hundred recruits have signed up this year
Now Berlin faces a decision it hoped to avoid, whether to make military service mandatory again for the first time since 2011

Military personnel monitoring a command-centre wall of live maps, radar feeds and analytics screens

Politics

Arcana Mace, the 'European Palantir': What the Defence-Tech Platform Truly Is

Defence Trading calls Arcana Mace a European answer to Palantir, a sovereign software layer for military procurement
A separate investigation asks whether the same brand is also a media marketplace sitting on top of a shadow defence-technology stack

German chancellor Friedrich Merz speaking during a televised interview

Politics

Merz Calls a Minister's Exit an Opportunity, and Berlin Hears a Reshuffle Coming

A senior minister walked away over the weekend
Instead of treating it as a loss, the chancellor told ZDF the vacancy could be a chance to rethink who sits around his cabinet table

Aircraft in flight representing deepening France and Germany defence cooperation

Politics

Berlin and Paris Draw Closer on Defence as Europe Bets on Its Own Muscle

Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron used a meeting in Bruehl to widen military cooperation across nuclear deterrence, missile defence and long range strike, a bid to give Europe more of its own weight as Washington pulls back

NATO Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft with its radar rotodome in flight above a snow capped mountain range

Politics

Why NATO Radar Planes Keep Circling Over the Baltic

A NATO early warning jet has been tracing slow loops over Latvia and the Gulf of Riga, and the pattern is less a mystery than a message aimed squarely at Moscow

Berlin mayor Kai Wegner speaking at a podium

Politics

Berlin's Mayor Steps Away From Re-election as a Blackout Scandal Refuses to Fade

Kai Wegner has announced he will not seek another term as Berlin's mayor, conceding that the fallout from a week long winter blackout has drowned out everything else he wanted to say to voters

A rendering of a German F128 MEKO A-200 frigate under way at sea

Politics

Germany Clears Its New F128 Frigates for Building, but Keeps a Tight Leash

The Bundestag budget committee has signed off on four new F128 frigates worth 6.3 billion euros, yet the approval comes wrapped in oversight rules that reflect how sharply the price has climbed since the plan began

Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump seated together in front of NATO, US and Ukrainian flags at the Ankara summit

Politics

Zelensky Chased Firm Promises in Ankara, and Left With a Mix of Cash and Maybes

NATO wrapped its Ankara summit with a 70 billion euro pledge for Ukraine and warm words about unity, but the guarantees Zelensky wanted most stayed vague, leaving him to bank concrete deals with individual allies instead

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil resting his chin on his hand at a press conference

Politics

Klingbeil Wants Middle Earners to Keep up to 900 Euros More a Year

The finance minister is pushing an income tax overhaul aimed at people on 2,500 to 4,000 euros a month, with the biggest names in the 40,000 to 60,000 euro bracket set to save close to 900 euros a year, paid for in part by leaning harder on top earners

A domestic worker in rubber gloves cleaning a bathroom, a role often held on a minijob contract

Politics

Why a Minijob Overhaul Could Quietly Trim Take Home Pay by up to 52 Euros a Month

A fresh set of reform proposals would end the social insurance exemption that defines German minijobs, and new calculations suggest the lowest earners could lose around 52 euros a month while nothing has actually changed yet

German coalition leaders including Friedrich Merz speak at a news conference in front of German and EU flags

Economy

How Germany's Health and Pension Reforms Could Hit Your Wallet

A wave of German health and pension reforms means many households should brace for paying more and getting less, from higher GKV contributions and co-payments to a bigger push to save privately for retirement

Rows of Ukrainian long-range strike drones lined up in a workshop

Politics

Ukraine's Long-Range Drones Are Turning the War Deep Inside Russia

Ukraine's home-made long-range drones are striking oil refineries and depots deep inside Russia while mid-range strikes throttle its logistics, reshaping the war and forcing Moscow to defend a far larger map

Demonstrators wave Ukrainian flags in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin at dusk

News

Germany and Ukraine Forge a Research Alliance to Anchor the Recovery

Germany has pledged more than 110 million euros through 2029 to deepen research ties with Ukraine, signing a pact in Gdansk that treats science as core infrastructure for the country's recovery

A camouflaged main battle tank flying Polish flags at a training ground

Politics

Abrams Tanks in Lublin Mark Poland's Push to Arm Its Eastern Flank

American made Abrams tanks have been rolling through Lublin at night, equipping Poland's 19th Mechanized Brigade as Warsaw turns its eastern flank near Belarus and Ukraine into a heavily armed frontier

German soldiers prepare a Bundeswehr attack helicopter on an airfield

News

Germany Scraps Its Troubled F126 Frigate Program After Billions Sunk

Germany has scrapped its troubled F126 frigate program after around 2.5 billion euros was spent and projected costs threatened to balloon past 18 billion, switching instead to eight MEKO A-200 ships

A hand holds a pen over a printed financial chart with rising and falling lines

Economy

Germany Finalizes Its 2027 Budget, Closing a 21 Billion Euro Gap

Germany has finalized its 2027 draft budget, with Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil closing a 21 billion euro gap by tapping part of a reserve he had hoped to leave untouched, Handelsblatt reports

AfD politician Martin Reichardt speaks at a podium in front of a screen reading ESN Party

Politics

AfD Lawmaker Martin Reichardt Faces Scrutiny Over 2020 Photo Said to Show a Nazi Salute

A senior AfD lawmaker, Martin Reichardt, is under scrutiny after Politico published a 2020 photo that two witnesses say shows him giving a Nazi salute, a gesture he insists was part of a harmless ceremony