Political news, decisions and debates from Germany, Europe and the world, reported with clear source attribution.
Azerbaijani Ilham Aliyev has confirmed that former German and Russian government representatives held secret talks in Baku from July 12 to 14 about Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. German Friedrich Merz stated his government was neither involved nor informed.
In the debate over surrogacy, former CDU leader Armin Laschet has sharply attacked constitutional lawyer Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf, calling her statement 'something cruder'.
A wreath laid by the far-right AfD party sparked a physical altercation at the German government's memorial ceremony for the July 20 plot to assassinate Hitler.
The AfD uses satire as a backdrop for party events, revealing its stance on unjust regimes and democracy. A commentary in the FAZ warns of the serious implications of such fantasies of violence.
The AfD federal executive has refrained from immediate consequences in the power struggle with the party leadership in North Rhine-Westphalia, but has set up an investigation committee to scrutinize the state association, as WDR learned from AfD circles.
At the central commemoration of the July 20, 1944 plot in Berlin, a scuffle broke out. According to a photographer for the German Press Agency, Tobias Korenke, a grandnephew of Nazi resistance fighter Dietrich Bonhoeffer, tried to remove a wreath placed by the AfD parliamentary group at the memorial in the Bendlerblock.
Boris Pistorius intends to travel to Washington and Texas in September for talks with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth. According to Ukrainska Pravda, citing Politico, a visit to the Pentagon and a possible bilateral meeting with Hegseth are planned.
Saxony-Anhalt's state premier Sven Schulze (CDU) is calling for a quick replacement of Jens Spahn as parliamentary group leader of the CDU/CSU. According to Zeit, Schulze fears that the Berlin personnel debate will overshadow the state election campaign in his state.
Jens Spahn's resignation, the Union is looking for a new parliamentary group leader. Today, the CDU leadership and the Bundestag faction are deliberating on the succession.
Germany's parliament and upper house have passed several decisions directly affecting citizens, from health insurance to broken smartphones.
The 9th Duke of Wellington has lost his hereditary seat in the House of Lords after the Labour government expelled all hereditary peers. He is not fighting the move but instead calls for a complete overhaul of the upper chamber.
Bundestag and Bundesrat have passed the healthcare savings package and the new heating law. Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner announced his resignation, as reported by ZDFheute.
Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) has defended her controversial savings package for the healthcare system against massive criticism. In an interview with the F.A.Z., she emphasized that the compromises were very good and that the financial gap had been closed.
The Bundestag has suspended the planned increase in lawmakers' salaries for July. MPs are thus foregoing around 500 euros more per month.
The Bundestag has passed the Building Modernization Act, which again permits the continued operation and new installation of gas and oil heating systems. Bundesrat also approved the law.
Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) has withdrawn his candidacy for the top spot in the state election in September, citing ongoing criticism over his communication during the January power outage.
The Bundesrat has voted to make the denial of Israel's right to exist a criminal offense. The Bundestag is expected to decide on the bill, introduced by Hesse, after the summer break.
The political future of Kai Wegner, Governing Mayor of Berlin, is uncertain. CDU members are calling for his withdrawal.
The Bundesrat has approved the Infrastructure Future Act, which aims to accelerate the expansion of rail and highway networks. The Bundestag had already given its approval.
The Bundestag has voted for savings in the statutory health insurance system. Spending caps and higher co-payments are intended to prevent premium increases.
Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hamburg are putting pressure on the federal government: they threaten to block the planned health insurance reform in the Bundesrat today, as NDR reports.
The Bundestag has passed a law to provide financial relief to Germany's states and municipalities, allocating one billion euros annually from 2026 to 2029.
Just ten weeks before the state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the AfD remains the strongest force, but according to an NDR poll, a red-red-green coalition could achieve a razor-thin majority.
The Berlin-Brandenburg State Social Court has temporarily halted the fee reduction for psychotherapists that was introduced in April. The ruling is final.
The Bundestag has approved the construction of new gas-fired power plants. The opposition voted against the law, which will impose additional costs on consumers starting in 2031.
Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) faces mounting pressure over false claims about his crisis management during the major power outage in early January. New research by Tagesspiegel shows that Wegner's assertion he spent the morning of January 3 on official phone calls is untrue.
The controversial chat control proposal has cleared a key hurdle in the EU Parliament. The plan allows automated scans on end devices without breaking end-to-end encryption.
The Left party has failed in its emergency appeal against the new heating law at the Federal Constitutional Court. The court dismissed the complaint as inadmissible, clearing the way for a vote in the Bundestag.
More than 10,000 households have reported suspected excessive rents to authorities via the Left Party's reporting portal, according to an analysis by the Left Party parliamentary group in the Bundestag.
Ahmetovic, the foreign policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, has criticized the German government's reaction to the collapse of the ceasefire in the Iran war.
The German Bundestag is switching from paper attendance lists to digital chip cards for its members. The reform, proposed by the CDU, CSU, and SPD, aims to simplify the process and reduce administrative workload.
The parliamentary groups of the Greens and the SPD are calling for the withdrawal of two German navy ships from the Middle East amid renewed escalation of the Iran war.
Polish Karol Nawrocki met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on July 8 on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara. Nawrocki said the historic disputes were not resolved during the conversation.
Tübingen's mayor Boris Palmer will serve as an independent advisor to state premier Cem Özdemir on modernizing the administration and reducing red tape.
The Greens and the Left Party have filed a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court to stop the planned Bundestag vote on the health insurance savings package this Friday. According to Tagesspiegel, the opposition parties see their parliamentary rights violated after extensive amendments.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU) has rejected comparisons between the current political situation in Germany and the East German dictatorship as absurd. She made the remarks during a visit to the Hohenschönhausen memorial.
In a dispute over planned health insurance reform, Green MP Janosch Dahmen has appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court. He criticizes that the law is being rushed through parliament.
The Greens are considering legal action against the planned health savings package of Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU), as reported by the Abendzeitung Munich, citing party leader Felix Banaszak.
The expert commission tasked with reforming Germany's debt brake has failed to agree on a joint concept. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) will receive three different proposals next week.
SPD and CDU want to postpone the decision on the new Hamburg-Hannover rail line. According to NDR, the vote is now expected after the local elections in Lower Saxony in September.