Political news, decisions and debates from Germany, Europe and the world, reported with clear source attribution.
A former FDP member of Germany's Bundestag has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for sexually abusing a seven-year-old boy, in a case that highlights the severe penalties for such crimes.
In the Bundestag question time, the opposition confronted the federal government with 60 critical inquiries. The governing parties CDU/CSU and SPD remained conspicuously silent.
The Ukrainian president is calling on EU countries to release a blocked 90-billion-euro loan package. The financial aid is crucial for Ukraine's security and resilience in the war against Russia.
Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized the importance of European capacity to act in a government statement in the Bundestag. He warned of lost freedoms and called for a reduction in bureaucracy and new free trade agreements.
The Bundestag rejected a Green Party motion to reform medical care centers. A second proposal for a new primary care system will now be further discussed in the Health Committee.
The AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag wants to bring all of Germany's gold reserves back to Germany. The motion was referred to the Finance Committee after a half-hour debate.
In his inaugural government statement, Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged the European Union to project greater confidence on the global stage, while offering few specifics on domestic policy and sharply criticizing the far-right AfD.
The German government has approved a draft law to make it easier for victims of e-scooter accidents to claim compensation, shifting liability to include cases of simple negligence.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is ramping up anti-EU rhetoric in his election campaign, a strategy aimed at diverting attention from pressing domestic issues.
Berlin's mayor faces fresh heat over his crisis response to January's blackout, with critics now questioning his workload claims before a controversial tennis match. The scandal strikes at a vulnerable moment for city leadership already grappling with infrastructure failures.
German democracy faces serious challenges, but experts argue it's far from doomed. In a Bundestag debate, scholars highlighted its resilience while warning against nostalgic myths of a better past.
A new exhibition in the German Bundestag spotlights the whirlwind 180 days when East Germany's first freely elected parliament raced against time to forge reunification. This intense period of democratic rebirth, marked by 164 laws passed in just seven months, shows how history can accelerate in moments of profound change.
Berlin wants to control integration means more precisely and transparently. The focus is on clear responsibilities, measurable goals and comprehensible implementation.