Skip next section Merz and Macron in German-French show of unity
07/24/2025July 24, 2025
Merz and Macron in German-French show of unity
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron put on a show of unity during the latter’s visit to Berlin on Wednesday.
But while the two presented a united European front in response to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump and an intention to discuss corruption issues with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, disagreements remain regarding the development of the joint Franco-German FCAS next-generation fighter jet and the condemnation of Israeli actions in Gaza.
“Big topics, great unity,” headlined German public broadcaster Tagesschau on Thursday morning, while Der Spiegel news magazine quipped: “No fish rolls, at least” – a reference to Macron’s visit to Germany in October 2023 when Merz’s predecessor Olaf Scholz treated him to a Fischbrötchen, a local Hamburg delicacy with an acquired taste.
Read more about what Merz and Macron discussed on DW.
https://p.dw.com/p/4xwoK
Skip next section German Catholics criticize ‘catastrophic’ humanitarian crisis in Gaza
07/24/2025July 24, 2025
German Catholics criticize ‘catastrophic’ humanitarian crisis in Gaza
The Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) said on Thursday that it was “appalled” by the suffering being endured by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and called on the German government to ensure the enforcement of international law.
“The humanitarian situation for the civilian population in Gaza is catastrophic,” ZdK President Irme Stetter-Karp told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
While acknowledging that Israel “has a legitimate right to defend itself against the terrorist organization Hamas,” she said that didn’t absolve the Israeli government from its responsibility to respect international law.
Stetter-Karp also said Israel’s military operations were impacting the civilian population to an “unjustifiable” extent and highlighted the acute threat of starvation, illness and death facing children in the besieged enclave.
“We are aghast that 875 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid at the distribution centers in Gaza,” she said. “This approach by the Israeli government must end immediately!”
Stetter-Karp also highlighted the plight of Palestinian Christians in the occupied West Bank, who she said were increasingly the targets of Israeli settler violence.
https://p.dw.com/p/4xwYw
Skip next section Munich airport planning special deportation terminal
07/24/2025July 24, 2025
Munich airport planning special deportation terminal
Germany’s second-largest airport is reportedly planning to construct a special deportation terminal in which police will process the repatriation of migrants to be deported.
According to a planning document seen by the Reuters news agency, the so-called “repatriation terminal” at Munich Airport is to be around 60 meters long and spread over two floors.
The facility, which is designed to facilitate “up to 100 arrivals and departures processing up to 50 individual measures and group charter flights daily,” is planned for 2028 and will also include a “central check-in in order to coordinate repatriations efficiently,” according to the document.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, both of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), have taken a strong stance on deportations of migrants with criminal convictions or rejected asylum claims.
Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter, of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), said the deportation of those convicted of crimes to their home countries was a sensible measure. “Therefore I don’t think it’s fundamentally wrong to propose such a terminal,” he said.
But political support is not universal. Local Green Party politician Gülseren Demirel told the Süddeutsche Zeitung broadsheet: “We are more than critical of a specific terminal for deportations.”
While you’re here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.
https://p.dw.com/p/4xwcg
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage07/24/2025July 24, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Morgen! Welcome to DW’s coverage of developments in Germany on Thursday, July 24.
Despite Germany’s dramatic defeat in the Euro 2025 semifinal last night, we all have to carry on, so here’s what’s on the agenda today:
The Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) has the criticized the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip
Munich airport is planning a special new deportation terminal where police can process migrants leaving Germany
Everything else you need to know from Germany as it happens
https://p.dw.com/p/4xwWQ
