German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is in Finland to meet with Nordic leaders, has elaborated on his statement that Germany is allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons against Russia.

Merz also said that if Russia rejects the offer of Vatican mediation in the Ukraine war, it is obviously not interested in peace.

He also reiterated that Israel’s latest military actions in Gaza did not seem necessary to fight Hamas terrorism or defend Israel’s existence.

Meanwhile, a Syrian man pleaded guilty of carrying out a knife attack in the German town of Solingen last August in which three people were killed.

These updates have been closed. Thank you for reading.

Here is a roundup of top news stories from Germany on Tuesday, May 27:

Skip next section Who is likely to take Germany’s key Cabinet posts?

04/09/2025 April 9, 2025 Who is likely to take Germany’s key Cabinet posts?

Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz, whose conservative CDU/CSU emerged as the biggest party in Germany’s February elections, has not yet finalized the new cabinet.

However, here are some of the key politicians in the running for the most crucial portfolios. The top briefs are all tipped to go to men, as well as the increasingly important portfolio of defense minister.

Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister: Social Democrat co-leader Lars Klingbeil is widely expected to take the powerful posts of finance minister and vice-chancellor.

Holding such key positions could give him a good chance at a run for the chancellery himself, at some point down the line.

Relatively young at 47, he has become the dominant voice in the SPD since the election, taking the baton from outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Foreign Minister: Some expect the job of Germany’s top diplomat to go to Johann Wadephul, the 62-year-old deputy chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. He is known for pushing to allow Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia with Western-supplied weapons.

A strong contender to run the foreign ministry has also been Armin Laschet, 64, a former CDU party leader who was his party’s chancellor candidate in the 2021 general election.

Interior Minister: The brief is to be held by the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) and the foremost politician from the Bavarian conservative in Berlin is state group leader Alexander Dobrindt. Expectations are correspondingly high, even within his own party, that he will move into the cabinet as interior minister — the key ministry that the CSU will hold — although it’s not clear whether he actually wants the job.

Defense Minister: The incumbent in the post, the SPD’s Boris Pistorius, is expected to stay in the job, having won plaudits as defense minister both from other politicians and the German public. The 65-year-old has often been voted Germany’s most popular politician in opinion polls, at a time of growing unease about the threat posed by a hostile Russia. Pistorius could also become Friedrich Merz’s deputy, should Klingbeil decide against it.

What women might take ministerial posts?

The Social Democrats’ Svenja Schulze could remain in post as Minister for Development and Klara Geywitz as Minister for Construction.

Sonja Eichwede, a member of the Bundestag from Brandenburg, is being discussed for the justice ministry. However, the current interior minister, Nancy Faeser, has also recently been considered for the position.

It is unclear whether the much-criticized SPD co-leader Saskia Esken will still claim a cabinet position. She has not yet commented on this.

Current Bundestag President Bärbel Bas could possibly expect a new position. She is being considered for party leader and parliamentary group leader, but also for a cabinet position and could replace party colleague Hubertus Heil as labor minister.

From the CDU, Schleswig-Holstein’s education minister Karin Prien could become education minister at the national level.

The work of the new German government has begun. For the CDU, the CSU and the SPD, the challenges ahead are enormous. The economy is in a slump and the far-right AfD is the strongest opposition party.

What do the previous center-left coalition government of Social Democrats (SPD), environmentalist Greens and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) and the new alliance of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (CSU), and the SPD have in common? Apart from the fact that both of them took around 10 weeks to form a coalition agreement, not much. At least, that’s what the conservative parties maintain.

“The change in direction that many of the population want is set down on paper,” said CSU leader Markus Söder at the signing of the coalition agreement in early May. “Strengthening the economy, limiting illegal migration, putting Germany back in order, and giving it new momentum.” And he added, this must now be done “at top speed.”

Among the Social Democrats, however, there is little inclination to fundamentally change everything that they had put in place over the past three and a half years in power. They are resisting overly drastic cuts, especially in social policy.

The chancellery is now back in the hands of the CDU. Its leader, Friedrich Merz, has become the head of government, while SPD leader Lars Klingbeil is his vice chancellor and finance minister. In total, there are 17 ministries. The CDU and SPD each lead seven, the CSU three. What is striking is that the CDU has mainly sent lawyers into the race, while the SPD has appointed far more women than men.

The CDU/CSU and SPD are an alliance of convenience, forged because the results of the February 23 election yielded no other way to form a majority that did not include the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). However, Chancellor Merz has emphasized that the two parties had grown closer during the coalition negotiations.

“Over time, we found ourselves working more and more closely, in an increasingly collegial and trusting manner. I am very confident that we will succeed in governing our country with strength, foresight, and trust,” he said.

More border controls and refusals

The CDU/CSU and SPD see it as their responsibility to prevent the AfD from growing in strength. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) said on public broadcaster ARD that this primarily means dealing with the issues that have “made the AfD big,” adding that there is “work to be done.” The AfD must be “governed away.”

Germany will now turn some asylum-seekers away at its borders, Dobrindt said on May 7. He added that exceptions would be made for “vulnerable groups,” including pregnant women and children.

Several thousand additional officers are to be deployed to monitor the borders, in addition to the roughly 11,000 federal police officers already on the ground. Increased air surveillance aims to make it easier to identify smugglers and to be able to react more quickly to changes in their routes.

Several of Germany’s 16 federal states support the plans. These include Brandenburg, Saxony and Bavaria, which have borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria respectively. However, there was immediate criticism from the neighboring countries. “We are not going to close the borders, but we are going to control the borders more strictly and this stronger control of the borders will also lead to a higher number of rejections,” said Dobrindt.

But he also sought to allay concerns. “We will gradually increase this higher number of rejections and the stronger controls at the borders,” he added. “We will ensure that, step by step, more police forces are deployed at the borders and can also carry out these pushbacks.”

Germany grapples with tougher asylum policy To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Germany has no federal budget

In terms of domestic policy, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has had to get to work immediately. It’s his job to present a federal budget as quickly as possible for the current year. The previous government fell apart trying to achieve just this back in November. Even a draft for the 2026 budget is already overdue.

The CDU/CSU and SPD have made governing a little easier for themselves with a €500 billion ($567) special fund for investments. Now, as Klingbeil put it, “the biggest modernization in decades” is being launched. “For schools, for the railways, for security, for fast internet, for climate protection, for energy, for mobility, for additional housing.”

Too many pensioners, too few skilled workers

Nevertheless, the government will still have to make hefty cuts. The additional debt may only be used for investment and not for social spending. But this is precisely what continues to grow due to the demographic shift in Germany.

Germans are getting older and living longer. A reform of the pension system is urgently needed, but the SPD has insisted on keeping pensions stable. Currently, every fourth euro from the federal budget is paid into the pension funds as a subsidy. The older the population gets, the greater the costs for care and health insurance. Here, too, Klingbeil will have to consider how costs can be reduced.

A lot will depend on how the German economy develops, especially when it comes to financing social spending. And the outlook is bleak, with the country in its third year of recession. Klingbeil has stressed that strengthening the economy is the highest priority.

“Prosperity has to be earned, and that is why this coalition agreement is a clear sign that we want to strengthen industry, attract future industries to Germany, and that we are committed to Made in Germany.”

How Merz aims to regain Germany’s standing on foreign issues To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Merz faces foreign policy challenges

The new government also faces enormous challenges in foreign policy. Following US President Donald Trump’s policy shift and in view of the threat from Russia, Germany must redefine its role in Europe and the world.

This is what Merz, a seasoned European politician and transatlanticist, wants to take on as his central task. “Large parts of Europe, the European Union in particular, are waiting for us to once again make a powerful contribution to the success of the European project,” he said. The new chancellor plans to set up a National Security Council in the chancellery to bundle foreign policy and security policy decisions going forward.

This article was originally written in German.

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.

Flags flutter outside the Reichstag building, the seat of the German parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany May 6, 2025. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

BERLIN, May 19 (Reuters) – Germany’s new finance minister has begun intensive preparations for the 2025 and 2026 budgets, with savings sought despite the government giving itself fiscal room by creating a new infrastructure fund, a document seen by Reuters on Monday showed.

After former chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition collapsed in November, the last government ran out of time to pass the 2025 budget. Germany has instead been operating on a provisional budget since the start of the year.

Sign up here.

In the planned official budget, however, new finance minister Lars Klingbeil will be looking for savings.

“As finance minister, I will push for every ministry to come up with savings,” Klingbeil told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland on Sunday.

Germany in March approved plans for a massive spending surge, including a 500 billion euro ($570 billion) fund for infrastructure and exemptions from debt rules for defence spending.

Even with this, “leaning back … is not an option,” Klingbeil said.

Germany is facing two important challenges according to the document seen by Reuters. The first one is security.

“Our security is more threatened today than at any time since the end of the Cold War. The greatest threat comes from Russia,” finance ministry state secretary Steffen Meyer said in the document.

The second challenge is ongoing economic weakness, with Europe’s largest economy failing to grow for two consecutive years and the government forecasting stagnation this year.

The document sets the three priorities of the new finance ministry: investments for modernizing Germany, structural reforms to enhance competitiveness and ease the burden on the public and on business, and budget consolidation.

“Now is the moment to quickly raise the potential of the German economy and go back to a higher and sustainable growth path,” Meyer said.

According to the document, the draft budget for 2025 will be approved by cabinet on June 25, the first discussion in parliament will take place in July and the budget committee will finalise the details in September, when it should also be approved by lawmakers.

In parallel, the first draft of the 2026 budget should be approved on July 30. It is to be discussed in parliament in September, then approved in the lower house of parliament in November and the upper house in December, following the usual schedule.

($1 = 0.8874 euros)

Reporting by Christian Kraemer and Maria Martinez, Editing by Rachel More and Hugh Lawson

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil attends a session of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

BERLIN, May 27 (Reuters) – Germany will ramp up public investment to 110 billion euros ($125 billion) this year as part of efforts to modernise the economy and put it back on track for growth, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Tuesday.

“At the same time, we will implement comprehensive structural reforms and continue to strictly consolidate the budget,” he said in an emailed statement.

Sign up here.

Government investment in 2024 came in at around 75 billion euros ($85 billion).

Germany’s new coalition government plans a surge in public spending targeting defence and infrastructure, hoping to close gaps in long-neglected areas of investment while hauling the economy out of a two-year downturn.

“My top priority is to put Germany on a growth path now. This is how we boost the economy and secure jobs,” said Klingbeil, who also serves as deputy chancellor.

The 2025 investments will be paid for using Germany’s core budget together with a special fund created to modernise ageing infrastructure and another fund financing the transition to a greener economy.

The government is currently preparing a draft of the 2025 budget, which the cabinet is due to approve on June 25.

($1 = 0.8814 euros)

Reporting by Holger Hansen, writing by Rachel More, editing by Friederike Heine and Thomas Seythal

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab