Political news, decisions and debates from Germany, Europe and the world, reported with clear source attribution.
The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians expects longer waiting times for publicly insured patients from next year. It cites cut funding and fixed quotas for reporting free appointments.
The Hirudo malware disguises itself as a shopping or short-video app and replaces installed banking apps with tampered versions. Security researchers at ThreatFabric have so far found copies of eight banking applications.
Several umbrella organisations of migrant associations have sent an open letter to Chancellor Merz demanding safeguards in case an AfD-led state government takes power in Saxony-Anhalt – and a reply within 14 days.
Four weeks after the Berlin House of Representatives election, the Left, Greens and SPD have completed their exploratory talks. The party bodies are now to decide on opening coalition negotiations.
The head of the GKV umbrella association, Oliver Blatt, is calling for doctor's appointments to be allocated by medical need rather than insurance status. 75 million people with statutory insurance would be disadvantaged.
The Bundestag on Thursday passed the legal basis for the digital wallet "d-you". It is due to launch on 2 January 2027 – older people will then no longer have to renew their identity cards.
The Bundestag will decide on Friday on the introduction of a state-subsidised early start pension for children from the age of six. Ten euros per month per child are to go into a retirement savings account.
The Bundestag has passed the reform of emergency care. Around 750 integrated emergency centres are to relieve pressure on A&E departments from 2027 and steer patients better.
At the EU summit in Brussels, the 27 heads of state and government are wrestling over the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028 to 2034. Germany is demanding cuts of several hundred billion euros, while the Commission wants to increase it.
The Bundestag is expected to pass a legislative amendment on Thursday providing for gradual tobacco tax increases from 2027. A 20-pack of cigarettes could cost an average of 11.78 euros in 2030.
The German government has cleared the compromise on the sugar tax. From 1 July 2027, 26 cents per litre will be due from five grams of sugar, 32 cents from eight grams.
Friedrich Merz will give a government statement on Wednesday. In Hamburg, the first trial against an alleged Nord Stream saboteur begins.
Alexander Schweitzer is sworn in as labour minister this Tuesday. Even before the ceremony, the Union is demanding speed on pensions and the working hours law.
The US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) sees the energy ceasefire announced by Donald Trump as a one-sided offer: it would ban Ukraine from attacking Russian refineries, but allow Russia to continue hitting Ukrainian power plants.
Civil and disaster protection organisations plan to bring rescue helicopters and ambulances to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Tuesday. They warn of the consequences of the planned emergency reform.
After election defeats and Bärbel Bas's resignation, the Chancellor wants to cut the electricity tax for all households to the European minimum. The CDU leadership admits to a crisis of confidence.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha calls the removal of Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov from the EU list a mistake. Ahead of the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg, he demands more pressure on Moscow.
The Bundestag debates a bill on Thursday that would let the Bundeswehr call up reservists without employer consent. Who is covered, what it costs and where it may snag.
The labour minister and SPD co-chair steps down with immediate effect. Alexander Schweitzer is set to succeed her, opening a delicate phase for pension reform and the coalition.
A man allegedly threatened Poland’s prime minister and planned an attack. What investigators say, where accounts differ and what is still unknown.
Hannover prosecutors are investigating SPD Bundestag member Adis Ahmetović. A link to the proceedings over the Lehrte hospital site is not officially confirmed.
The Bundestag has voted by a large majority for monitoring of non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT). 529 MPs voted for the cross-party motion, 18 against, 23 abstained. An expert panel is to review statutory insurance coverage.
The Green parliamentary group has tabled a motion for a fundamental overhaul of statutory care insurance and criticises the cabinet draft as inadequate. Meanwhile, the government is postponing the appointment of the care commission.
The German government wants to accelerate planning and approval procedures for the Bundeswehr. The draft provides for exemptions in environmental and nature conservation law – and up to 210 million euros for accommodation.
The German government has presented the draft of the 30th Bafög amendment act. The housing cost allowance for students living away from home is to rise by around 16 per cent to 440 euros in the summer semester 2027.
The coalition committee of the SPD and CDU met at the Chancellery on Wednesday evening. The top-level meeting wrapped up without an all-night session.
The Green parliamentary group wants to close the gap between child benefit and the maximum tax relief from child allowances. Under its motion, child benefit would rise from the current 259 euros to 267 euros per child per month in 2027 and to 272 euros in 2028.
The expert panel on care reform will not meet this Wednesday as planned. The launch of the second commission on long-term care insurance reform has been pushed to next week because the coalition still needs to sort things out with the Social Democrats.
AfD politician Tobias Rausch was elected president of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, the SPD's national leadership is demanding that coalition partner CDU explain how it happened. The SPD parliamentary group also staged a protest in Berlin at a highly symbolic location.
Three members of the BSW parliamentary group in the Thuringian state parliament have left the party and group to form a new party. The coalition of CDU, BSW, and SPD loses its previous deadlock and now becomes a true minority government.
After the discovery of an unexploded explosive drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport, the German government imposed punitive measures against Russia. Vladimir Putin called Berlin's sanctions a 'serious mistake', as reported by ZDFheute.
After the Berlin blackouts, the federal government does not want to introduce fixed emergency power rules for mobile phone masts. Instead of blanket battery requirements, it relies on case-by-case assessments.
The governing parliamentary groups of CDU/CSU and SPD have adopted a paper at their retreat in Münster that aims to make Germany more resilient by the end of the year. Among other things, the paper calls for stronger civil protection and a faster reform of the intelligence services.
In the TV show "Sarah Tacke," CDU politician Christoph Ploß and Katja Kipping, managing director of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband, argued over the new basic income. Ploß defended stricter sanctions, while Kipping called for a cautious approach.
BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht has accused parts of the German government of being far-right, citing an authoritarian course and restrictions on freedom of speech in the Focus podcast "Machtmenschen."
AfD leader Alice Weidel has reaffirmed her goal of leaving the euro and the Schengen area if her party takes government responsibility. Leading economists warn of the economic consequences.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged continued support for Ukraine during his first official visit, responding to what he called Moscow's "outrageous threats."
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has traveled to Ukraine for talks. The visit coincides with the country's 35th Independence Day.
Ahead of state elections in eastern Germany, the dispute over the planned pension reform is intensifying. According to Tagesschau, Friedrich Merz (CDU) wants to implement all proposals of the pension commission, including the end of the deduction-free early retirement.
The German Association of Cities is calling for a fundamental overhaul of long-term care insurance, proposing it become a full-coverage system. This would prevent people who have worked their entire lives from falling into social welfare due to care costs.