Skip next section Billions diverted from infrastructure and climate protection, top institutes say
03/17/2026March 17, 2026
Billions diverted from infrastructure and climate protection, top institutes say
A year after the Bundestag passed the hotly debated Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality (SVIK), two separate prestigious economic research institutes have found that the vast majority of the €24.3 billion ($28 billion) fund has been diverted away from its stated purpose.
According to the German Economic Institute (IW), 86% of the funds have not been spent on Germany’s aging infrastruture or on meeting its climate goals. The Munich-based IFO institute puts the number closer to 95%.
IFO President Clemens Fuest said that the ruling coalition of Chancellor Merz’s center-right CDU bloc and the center-left SPD have “used the debt-financed funds almost entirely for other purposes, namely to plug up budget holes” elsewhere.
Researchers found that only €1.3 billion was spent on infrastructure and sustainability efforts. “That is a major problem,” Fuest said, as the package was meant to invest in Germany’s economic future.
In fact, the IW said that this amount does not even represent additional investment, but is just enough to cover inflation changes.
Environmental, transport, school and hospital groups — branches that were meant to benefit from the fund — have been highly critical of the news. Friedrich von Schönfeld, the financial chief for hospitals run by Caritas charity, warned that without investment into better-insulated hospitals with more modern heating, upkeep costs will become untenable in the long run.
https://p.dw.com/p/5AXFX
Skip next section ECJ rules Catholic groups cannot fire someone for leaving the church
03/17/2026March 17, 2026
ECJ rules Catholic groups cannot fire someone for leaving the church
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled in favor of a woman who was fired for leaving the Catholic Church.
The social worker was employed by the Catholic charity Caritas as a counselor for pregnant women. During a period of maternity leave that ended in 2019, she officially left the church for financial reasons — on top of the church taxes members pay in Germany, she had to pay extra because her high-earning husband was not a member.
She said she was fired upon her return from maternity leave for this reason.
The case was passed to the ECJ from the federal employment court in Erfurt.
According to the judges, a Catholic institution like Caritas is allowed to let employees go for publicly speaking negatively about the church, but not simply for leaving.
As to the question of whether religious-affiliated institutions can refuse to hire people based on membership, the ECJ said the decision was up to national courts.
https://p.dw.com/p/5AWwE
Skip next section Ballet banned in Russia over gay themes to premiere in Berlin
03/17/2026March 17, 2026
Ballet banned in Russia over gay themes to premiere in Berlin
Rudolf Nureyev was known for his very expressive and free style of balletImage: Gus/dpa/picture-alliance
A new ballet is premiering in Berlin this week after it was banned in Russia as “gay propaganda.”
“Nureyev” is a portrayal of Rudolf Nureyev, born in the Soviet Union in 1938, and widely considered the greates male ballet dancer of the 20th century. He fled his homeland for France in 1961, and was a star of the Royal Ballet in London before becoming director of the Paris Opera Ballet in 1983. He died in France in 1993 due to complications from AIDS.
The story of his life first premiered in Moscow in 2017, but was soon canceled and then outright banned in 2023 for portraying same-sex relationships.
Now, both the ballet and its creator, Kirill Serebrennikov, have found refuge in the German capital, alongside many other Russian opposition figures.
The ballet stars former Bolshoi dancer David Soares in the title role. The 28-year-old Brazilian said the piece is “very special to my heart and a big responsibility” to take on.
Bolshoi scraps ballet about gay dancer Nureyev
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https://p.dw.com/p/5AWuA
Skip next section Fresh strikes hit public transport in three states
03/17/2026March 17, 2026
Fresh strikes hit public transport in three states
The strikes once again hit Germany’s most populous and heavily traveled state of North Rhine-WestphaliaImage: Ina Fassbender/AFP
The latest in a series of public transport strikes has hit the federal states of Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as the city-state of Hamburg.
The states of Bremen, Hesse, and Brandenburg are due to follow suit if the latest round of talks on pay and working conditions between employers and the Ver.di union fall through.
On Wednesday, Ver.di has also called for a strike at Berlin-Brandenburg airport, which would affect hundreds of flights and tens of thousands of passengers.
Transport workers have been complaining of long hours and stagnating wages in the face of increasing inflation in Germany.
https://p.dw.com/p/5AWt0
Skip next section Suspected Russian agents trial begins in Stuttgart
03/17/2026March 17, 2026
Suspected Russian agents trial begins in Stuttgart
Three Ukrainian men who reside in Germany will go on trial in the southern city of Stuttgart this morning.
The men — aged 22, 25, and 30 — are suspected of planting GPS devices on postal packages to gather intelligence about how items are shipped from the European Union to Ukraine.
They allegedly carried out these operations from the German cities of Konstanz and Cologne in order to pass the information on to Moscow.
They are further accused of trying to plant explosives in packages bound for Germany or parts of Ukraine that Russia is trying to occupy.
This is the latest in a series of espionage cases that have increased in frequency since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
https://p.dw.com/p/5AWfX
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage03/17/2026March 17, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Guten morgen from DW’s newsroom in cloudy Bonn!
Today a fresh round of public transport strikes across several states is causing traffic chaos as bus and tram drivers fight for better working conditions.
European Parliament chief Roberta Metsola is on the final day of her two-day visit to Berlin.
And we will also bring you the latest from Stuttgart, where three Ukrainian nationals are on trial over espionage charges.
https://p.dw.com/p/5AWfW
