Skip next section Starmer tells Steinmeier German-British relations going from ‘from strength to strength’
12/03/2025December 3, 2025
Starmer tells Steinmeier German-British relations going from ‘from strength to strength’
Steinmeier spoke with Starmer at Downing Street after being received by the king at Windsor CastleImage: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa/picture alliance
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street, praising close cooperation between the two countries.
Starmer said Britain and Germany are working together on Ukraine, migration, trade and economic growth, saying the partnership from was going from “from strength to strength.”
Steinmeier noted relations are in far better shape than during the difficult post-Brexit years.
“We have to engage in improving the situation and coming closer in this changing world with new threats to all of us,” he told Starmer.
The two leaders joined a roundtable with UK and German business leaders.
Steinmeier’s three-day state visit includes a banquet and a speech to Parliament, underscoring a renewed security alliance that has helped rebuild London-Berlin relations.
https://p.dw.com/p/54iOZ
Skip next section IN PICTURES: Germany begins deployment of Israeli-Made Arrow 3 missile shield
12/03/2025December 3, 2025
IN PICTURES: Germany begins deployment of Israeli-Made Arrow 3 missile shield
Germany on Wednesday deployed its new Arrow air defense system to detect and intercept incoming ballistic missiles, including Russia’s Oreshnik. The initial deployment is at Holzdorf Air Base, but it will be expanded to ensure the entire country is covered once it becomes fully operational by 2030.Image: Axel Schmidt/REUTERSDeveloped by Israel Aerospace Industries with US support, Arrow-3 is the upper layer of Israel’s missile shield, and it is the system’s first deployment outside the country. It is also said to be Israel’s largest-ever military export contract.Image: Ralf Hirschberger/AFPArrow-3 is made up of radar detection systems, launchers and arrays of interceptor missiles and can reportedly hit targets that fly above the Earth’s atmosphere. It is part of the broader European Sky Shield effort launched in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.Image: Ralf Hirschberger/AFP/Getty ImagesThe initial deployment is at Holzdorf Air Base, but it will be expanded to ensure the entire country is covered once it becomes fully operational by 2030.Image: Ralf Hirschberger/AFP
https://p.dw.com/p/54i7j
Skip next section Foreign Ministry defends Russia-critical op-ed in Indian newspaper
12/03/2025December 3, 2025
Foreign Ministry defends Russia-critical op-ed in Indian newspaper
Following criticism from India’s Ministry of External Affairs of an opinion piece co-authored by Germany’s ambassador that criticized the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, the German Foreign Ministry has rejected its accusation that the article represented “unacceptable diplomatic practice.”
In response to a question from DW, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Martin Giese said the assessment of Russia’s behavior contained in the article was “completely shared by almost all countries across the world.”
“This kind of information in a daily newspaper is precisely the task that our ambassadors have to carry out worldwide. It is not interference but a representation of the German position,” he said.
“We stand up for this here in Germany; we stand up for this across the world,” he said, adding: “And here, we completely have our ambassadors’ backs.”
The op-ed, co-written by German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann together with his counterparts from France and Britain and published in the Times of India, was entitled “World wants the Ukraine war to end, but Russia doesn’t seem serious about peace.”
It was published just days before Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to arrive in India on a state visit on Thursday.
https://p.dw.com/p/54hm4
Skip next section Germany to host 2029 Women’s European Championship
12/03/2025December 3, 2025
Germany to host 2029 Women’s European Championship
‘We’29 – together we will rise’ is the slogan of Euro 2029Image: Maximilian Koch/IMAGO
Germany is set to host the women’s Euros in 2029. In a bid process that saw Italy and then Portugal drop out, Germany was victorious over bids from Poland, aiming to become the first Eastern European nation to host a women’s tournament, and a joint bid from Denmark and Sweden.
Germany hosted the men’s Euros in 2024, but this is Germany’s women’s first tournament since the 2011 World Cup. The last women’s Euros was even longer ago, back in 2001, which was a tournament that Germany also won.
Read more about Germany hosting the 2029 Women’s European Championship here.
https://p.dw.com/p/54i3J
Skip next section Spanking tradition ends on German island of Borkum12/03/2025December 3, 2025
Spanking tradition ends on German island of Borkum
A 2023 documentary exposed a German island’s brutal Christmas traditionImage: Lars Penning/dpa/picture alliance
A centuries-old tradition in Germany’s Borkum in which young men hit women on the buttocks with cattle horns during the Klaasohm festival has been discontinued and a safety plan put in place.
Read the full story on why the spanking tradition was ended.
https://p.dw.com/p/54grI
Skip next section German neo-Nazi Zschäpe expresses remorse in court
12/03/2025December 3, 2025
German neo-Nazi Zschäpe expresses remorse in court
Beata Zschäpe, the convicted neo-Nazi and member of the National Socialist Underground (NSU) terror group, showed remorse for her crimes in court on Wednesday.
“I am ashamed,” the 50-year-old told the Dresden court.
She was speaking during the trial of her alleged confidante, Susann E., who is being prosecuted for allegedly supporting the NSU, providing Zschäpe with her insurance card and personal details.
Zschäpe was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to life. She said she had only become aware of the impact of her crimes, which included several murders, during her trial and that she had now come to terms with her sentence.
She was part of the NSU along with Uwe Böhnhardt and Uwe Mundlos. They carried out 10 murders across Germany between 2000 and 2011. The victims were mostly Turkish and Greek businessowners as well as one police woman.
Zschäpe’s accomplices killed themselves after the network was uncovered.
https://p.dw.com/p/54hCb
Skip next section Left Party to abstain on pension reform, securing its passage
12/03/2025December 3, 2025
Left Party to abstain on pension reform, securing its passage
Heidi Reichinnek has become the new face of the Left Party Image: Jens Krick/Flashpic/picture alliance
The Left Party has said it will abstain on Friday’s vote on the pension reform package, practically ensuring that the vote will now pass.
By abstaining, they lower the needed majority from 316 votes to just 252.
The coalition government currently has 328 seats, but 18 members of the youth wing of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s own party had threatened to vote against the bill. Its failure would have put a strain on the already fractured coalition.
The bill aims to keep pensions at 48% of the average income. The young conservatives had feared this would prove too high a cost borne by younger generations in the long term.
The Left Party members justified their abstention, saying they were afraid a failed pension bill would see the rate fall below 48%.
“We won’t accept the pension rate being further squeezed and have therefore decided as a party to abstain from the planned vote on the government’s pension package on Friday,” said Heidi Reichinnek, the leader of the Left Party in the Bundestag.
https://p.dw.com/p/54gx4
Skip next section German Cabinet moves to ratify treaty on protecting seas
12/03/2025December 3, 2025
German Cabinet moves to ratify treaty on protecting seas
Germany is finally looking to ratify the 2023 UN-agreed High Seas Treaty.
The treaty had already been signed by 160 countries, including Germany, but needs a formal law to be fully ratified. A draft bill was approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday and will now go to the Bundestag for a vote.
The treaty allows for the creation of marine protected zones on the high seas and calls for environmental assessments of human activities, such as fishing.
“The oceans are vital for our survival. They produce oxygen, provide us with food and are the largest ecosystem on the planet,” Environment Minister Carsten Schneider said.
He added that they are under extreme pressure due to plastic pollution, overfishing, climate change and chemicals.
The high seas are not part of any national sovereignty and until the 2023 treaty had no environmental rules governing them.
High seas treaty is ‘a big deal’: Oceanographer
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https://p.dw.com/p/54gaR
Skip next section Sexual abuse in schools often ignored, study finds
12/03/2025December 3, 2025
Sexual abuse in schools often ignored, study finds
Teachers lack the skills and training to appropriately handle reports of sexual abuse in schoolsImage: Dmitrii Marchenko/Zoonar.com/IMAGO
The victims of sexual abuse in schools have often been left alone, without any help, a study from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Germany has found.
The study found many cases where teachers and other school staff knew about the abuse but failed to intervene.
They often ignored assaults or even covered them up to protect the school’s reputation.
The study included 133 reports from between 1949 and 2010.
It found that girls made up 80% of the victims, with the vast majority of perpetrators being men.
The assaults and abuse were reported to mostly have taken place inside the school building, in sport halls, changing rooms and classrooms.
In most cases, they were not one-off cases with many reports of perceived “romantic” relationships between teachers and students.
“The affected were often only able to recognize the manipulation and name the abuse retrospectively,” the study said.
Read more here about how Germany’s schools are failing to fight child sexual abuse.
https://p.dw.com/p/54fwo
Skip next section German companies say data protection is inhibiting digitalization, AI
12/03/2025December 3, 2025
German companies say data protection is inhibiting digitalization, AI
More and more German companies are unhappy with the country’s famously strict data protection laws that they think are inhibiting digitalization and AI development, according to a survey published on Wednesday by Bitkom.
Some 603 companies from a range of sectors were surveyed.
Here are the main results of the survey:
72% of companies said Germany is going too far with data protection, up from 64% last year
77% said it is slowing digitalization, up from 70%
71% said data protection needs to be adapted to the AI age
63% said that AI companies were being driven from the EU by data protection laws
85% called for clearer data protection guidelines
69% complained the guidelines are being too strictly enforced
79% called on the government to push for a reform of data protection rules at the EU level
“Artificial intelligence is the deciding future technology and AI needs data,” Bitkom expert Susanne Dehmel said.
“The data protection regulations should be reviewed with a view to Germany’s position in the future AI world,” she added.
According to a KPMG study from May, around two-thirds of Germans use AI, but only around one-third trust it.
https://p.dw.com/p/54fpf
Skip next section Germany pledges another €200 million for military equipment for Ukraine
12/03/2025December 3, 2025
Germany pledges another €200 million for military equipment for Ukraine
Wadephul (right) has said Russia is not willing to negotiate a peaceImage: Virginia Mayo/AP Photo/picture alliance
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul joined his NATO counterparts in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss further support for Ukraine.
Wadephul said Berlin will provide an additional $200 million (€171.6 million) worth of military equipment for Ukraine through NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism.
Ahead of the meeting, the German foreign minister said Russian President Vladimir Putin “has not yet shown any real willingness to negotiate.”
“Putin wants to continue undermining European and Euro-Atlantic security. He wants to test our defense readiness. He wants to divide us in order to weaken our alliance,” he said.
“But he will not succeed,” Wadephul added.
For the latest from Ukraine, read our live updates blog.
https://p.dw.com/p/54fVL
Skip next section Germany proud but defeated as Spain retain Nations League12/03/2025December 3, 2025
Germany proud but defeated as Spain retain Nations League
Germany matched Spain for much of the two-legged final but couldn’t find the net in either gameImage: Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa/picture alliance
Not too long ago, anything but winning was unacceptable for Germany’s women’s national team.
But, despite a 3-0 loss to Spain in the Nations League final, a new generation are showing real signs of progression.
Read DW’s full report on the women’s football match between Germany and Spain.
https://p.dw.com/p/54fU6
Skip next section Pension reform rebels told to make themselves known by midday
12/03/2025December 3, 2025
Pension reform rebels told to make themselves known by midday
Following Tuesday’s test vote on the contentious pension reform package, its opponents have been told to come forward by midday on Wednesday for talks with senior members of the conservative bloc.
Although the vote showed a majority would support the bill on Friday when it will be voted on in the Bundestag, there were still many who voted “no.”
Those against the reform are from the youth wing of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc. They have said it will be too costly, with the burden falling on younger generations.
Amid fears of what might happen to the strained coalition government if the vote fails on Friday, those who did vote “no” have been told to come forward so that they can have one-on-one chats with senior lawmakers.
For more on how the conservative youth wing has caused so much trouble for the coalition government, read DW’s full report from Ben Knight.
https://p.dw.com/p/54fSz
Skip next section German Christmas markets face higher security costs12/03/2025December 3, 2025
German Christmas markets face higher security costs
The security bollards at the Bonn market can stop a truck from running into visitorsImage: Rainer Unkel/IMAGO
As German cities ramp up Christmas market protections after past terror scares, vendors are footing part of the bill.
Is the country’s billion-euro holiday tradition starting to feel the chill?
Read the full report on the rising costs for Germany’s traditional Christmas markets.
https://p.dw.com/p/54fT8
Skip next section Steinmeier expected in London for a 3-day state visit
12/03/2025December 3, 2025
Steinmeier expected in London for a 3-day state visit
King Charles’ first state visit after becoming monarch was to Germany in 2023Image: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa/picture alliance
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s state visit to the United Kingdom comes as the two countries have been enjoying closer relations, especially on issues of security, following years of post-Brexit fracture.
Steinmeier will meet with King Charles at Windsor Castle — reciprocating the meeting the two had in Berlin’s Bellevue Palace in 2023 when Charles made his first state visit as monarch to Germany.
The president will also be given the rare opportunity to speak to British lawmakers in Parliament as well as hold talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The visit talks are expected to focus on support for Ukraine and security for Europe.
On Friday, Steinmeier is set to visit Coventry, a city devastated by German air raids during the Second World War.
Steinmeier was serving as foreign minister during the Brexit vote and spoke of “irresponsible politicians” who “lured” people into leaving the EU at the time. But German-British relations have improved in the last few years, especially under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and now Starmer.
Representatives from major German companies such as Siemens, BMW, Deutsche Bank and RWE are joining the president, with Mercedes planning to announce a £20 million ($26.5 million, €22.7 million) electric vehicle technology project.
https://p.dw.com/p/54fR1
