Tag: German

German Catholic and Protestant bishops stress faith in face of wars


Germany’s Catholic and Protestant bishops emphasized the comforting and inspirational force of faith in Easter sermons to their congregations on Sunday.

The world was marked by “war, terror and cruel violence,” Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki said in remarks released ahead of his sermon in the city’s famous cathedral.

“Aside from Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine on our doorstep, the land in which the risen Jesus greeted his disciples on Easter Sunday morning with the words: ‘Peace be with you,’ has also been affected,” Woelki said.

Conflict could not be resolved through war, terrorism or violence, he added. Easter presented a challenge to act for a better, more just and more peaceful world.

Georg Bätzing, who heads the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said the message that love and non-violence would triumph in the end was difficult to believe given current events. Attaining this required a long path of learning, he said.

The head of the Protestant churches in the Rhineland, Thorsten Latzel, said that Easter was the right counter-story to the crises of the present. “We are currently living through one crisis after another, terrible violence in Ukraine, in Israel/Palestine and in terrorist attacks,” he said.

Turning to Germany, Latzel said: “We are seeing how populists here are trying to divide society.” The positive message of Jesus by contrast gave people the strength to resist this, he said.

“That is the deepest foundation of my hope: that I can stand up myself to contradict the hatred along with others,” Latzel said.



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China profiting from EU climate policy on cars, says German EPP chief


China is profiting from the European Union’s climate policy, according to a German lawmaker heading a centre-right European party who spoke out in favour of the combustion engine.

It is clear “that the ban on the combustion engine was a serious industrial policy mistake from which China is benefiting,” the head of the European People’s Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, told the Funke media group newspapers.

We want to “remedy this after the European elections,” Weber said in reports published on Sunday.

He was referring to a decision by EU members last year to ban new cars with combustion engines, despite efforts by Berlin to block the move. Germany is a major producer of cars with combustion engines and its auto industry is a key sector in the German economy.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently said the combustion engine decision would be reviewed in 2026.

The Green Deal, as EU climate policy measures are known, should not become a “China Deal,” said Weber, noting the growing number of electric carmakers from China entering the European market.

German carmakers including Volkswagen and BMW are lagging behind their Chinese rivals in terms of e-car sales.

Germans are only slowly embracing e-cars, Federal Motor Transport Authority data shows, with nearly 1.41 million purely battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) registered on January 1 in Germany, some one in 35 on German roads.

Growth in electric car sales could slow in 2024 since the cancellation of state subsidies. At just under 50,000, new BEV registrations in January and February were well below the average figures for the previous year.

However the governing coalition, which includes the Green Party, hopes to have 15 million electric cars on the road by 2030.



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Putin exploiting German angst, former president says


Germans are being too fearful in their dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, former president Joachim Gauck has said in remarks published by the RND news agency on Saturday.

“Putin knows that many Germans are quicker to feel afraid than for example the Poles or French, and he is exploiting this tendency,” Gauck, who served as president between 2012 and 2017, said. “Fear is an aide to the aggressor.”

Gauck, a former Lutheran pastor in communist East Germany who played a key role as a rights activist in the run-up to German reunification in 1990, said fear made people unable to see possible solutions to problems.

He argued that Chancellor Olaf Scholz should reconsider his refusal to supply Ukraine with Germany’s long-range Taurus cruise missiles and rejected the view that this would draw Germany into the war in Ukraine.

He noted that experts in international law, military experts and many members of the ruling coalition did not share Scholz’s view on the issue. Kiev has appealed for Berlin to send the missiles, which are reported to have a range of 500 kilometres.

The issue has been the subject of intense debate, with Scholz expressing fears that targets deep inside Russia could be hit if Berlin surrendered control over targeting to Kiev. Moscow would theoretically be in range from northern Ukraine, as would the Crimean Bridge linking the peninsula to Russia.

Gauck enjoys considerable status as a voice of moral authority in Germany after serving as the government commissioner looking into the records of the Stasi, East Germany’s notorious Ministry of State Security.



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German bishop compares Navalny treatment to Jesus on Good Friday


A Catholic bishop in western Germany compared the treatment of late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to the trial of Jesus before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, in comments to mark the Easter holiday of Good Friday.

According to the Bible, Jesus was presented to the people and then taken back inside the governor’s palace, where he was hidden from public view.

“When the Russian dissenter and fighter for freedom and peace, Alexei Navalny, died weeks ago, this is exactly what came to my mind,” Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck said on Friday at a former colliery in Bottrop, north of Essen, according to a speech text distributed in advance.

“After he was arrested in the worst possible way, he was locked up inside, in detention centres, court buildings and ultimately in an inhumane gulag in the polar ice,” he said.

The rest of the world would see “his message of freedom” in eternity, the bishop said.

Navalny, the best-known Russian opposition figure, died on February 16 in a prison camp in the Arctic Circle in Siberia. It has not been independently established whether the 47-year-old died as a result of the prison conditions or whether he was killed.

On Good Friday, Christians all over the world commemorate the execution of Jesus on the cross.



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German federal properties remain empty in midst of housing shortage


More than 360,000 square metres of housing owned by the German federal government are vacant amidst a severe lack of housing in many German cities, information obtained by dpa showed.

The properties amount to around several thousand flats which are supposed to house federal employees, according to the information. The government’s property agency BIMA owns more than 18,000 square metres of vacant housing in Berlin alone. BIMA is one of the largest property owners in Germany.

The figures were revealed in an answer to a parliamentary question from Caren Lay, a member of the Left Party in the Bundestag, that was made available to dpa.

The Finance Ministry says the vacant properties include flats that have not yet been rented out following a move-out but could be rented out again in the near future, as well as flats in need of refurbishment. In a few cases the flats cannot be used in the long term, for example because they do not have planning authorization.

Lay blamed the government for being partly responsible for Germany’s housing shortage due to the vacancies in federally owned properties. “Federal employees are competing in the overheated housing market, especially in Berlin,” she said.

The German Council of Property Professionals estimates there is currently a shortage of 600,000 flats in Germany.

Of a total of almost 6 million square metres of federal “commercial and other real estate,” which also includes office, storage and production space, around 2.8 million square metres are currently vacant, the ministry’s response continued. Around 638,000 of the properties could not be used, and the sale of around 453,000 square metres was planned.



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Just under 1.4 million pure electric cars on German roads in 2023


The number of electric cars in Germany grew by almost 396,000 last year to just under 1.41 million, according to the Federal Motor Transport Authority.

The authority said that means one in every 35 cars is a purely battery-powered electric vehicle (BEV).

If you include the 2,000 or so cars with fuel cells and 922,000 plug-in hybrids, there were 2.33 million – or around one in 21 cars.

The increase in pure electric vehicles was therefore slightly higher than in 2022, when just under 395,000 were added. It is also significantly lower than the number of new BEV registrations last year, which totalled 524,000.

The authorities surmise that large numbers of the vehicles registered in Germany were therefore apparently destroyed in accidents, taken out of service or sold abroad.

In the current year, it is becoming apparent that the number of electric cars could grow more slowly – partly because the state purchase premium has been eliminated.

At just under 50,000, new BEV registrations in January and February were well below the average figures for the previous year. However, sales at the start of 2023 were also initially slow following cuts to the premium.

The largest group of electric cars in Germany are SUVs, which account for more than a third of registered BEVs at 487,000. Minis and small cars follow further behind with 238,000 and 235,000 vehicles respectively.

In terms of brands, Volkswagen is still in the lead: around 237,000 electric vehicles from the Wolfsburg-based company are registered in Germany.

They are followed by Tesla with 164,000 and Renault with 120,000, with Hyundai in fourth place with 92,000 and BMW in fifth place with 85,000.



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Former German chancellor Schröder says West must negotiate with Putin


Germany’s former chancellor Gerhard Schröder says he can still imagine that his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin could contribute to ending the war in Ukraine.

“We have worked together sensibly for many years. Perhaps that can still help to find a negotiated solution, I don’t see any other way,” Schröder said in an interview with dpa.

Schröder has been friends with Putin since his time as chancellor from 1998 to 2005 and continues to work for the majority Russian companies operating the Nord Stream pipelines through the Baltic Sea. Although he has described the Russian attack on Ukraine as a “fatal mistake,” he has not renounced Putin.

The leadership of his Social Democratic Party has marginalized him for this reason, but an expulsion procedure against him failed.

When asked why he is maintaining his friendship with the Russian president despite tens of thousands of deaths and Russian war crimes in the Ukraine war, Schröder replied, “It’s true that this is a dimension that is different.”

It had once looked as if his personal relationship with Putin could be helpful in solving an extremely difficult political problem. “And that’s why I think it would be completely wrong to forget all the positive things that have happened between us in politics in the past. That’s not my style and I don’t do that either,” he said.

Schröder was alluding to his mediation mission in March 2022 shortly after the Russian attack on Ukraine, when Schröder said he first met then Ukrainian parliamentarian and current Defence Minister Rustem Umerov in Istanbul and travelled on to Moscow for talks with Putin. However, the initiative failed.

The Kremlin welcomed Schröder’s statements.

Good, constructive relations on a personal level like those between Schröder and Putin could help to solve problems, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies on Thursday.

The Kremlin spokesman added that when it came to those in power in Germany today, he did not see any willingness to end the war in Ukraine.

Schröder also indicated that he is in favour of a new attempt at mediation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict at the government level.

“France and Germany would have to take the initiative. It is obvious that the war cannot end with the total defeat of one side or the other,” the former chancellor said.

Schröder described speculation that Putin could start a nuclear war or attack a NATO country on the eastern flank as “nonsense.”

In order to nip an escalation towards such scenarios in the bud and prevent the population from becoming more worried, serious thought must be given to a solution to the conflict in addition to support for Ukraine, he emphasized.

Germany’s current chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has not spoken to Putin on the phone since December 2022.

In an interview with the German daily Märkische Allgemeine published on Thursday, Scholz pointed out that there had been repeated discussions with Moscow about, for example, the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain, security at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and the exchange of prisoners.

“A number of countries, including Ukraine, are currently discussing at the security advisor level what something could look like that would lead to a peace process,” he said. “But let me make one thing very clear: peace is possible at any time.”

“Putin just has to stop his barbaric campaign and withdraw troops,” Scholz asserted.



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Kremlin welcomes former German leader’s Ukraine war offer


The Kremlin has welcomed statements by former chancellor Gerhard Schröder, known to have held close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin while in office, to use the friendship to contribute to ending the war in Ukraine.

Good, constructive relations on a personal level like those between Schröder and Putin could help to solve problems, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies on Thursday.

It comes after the former German leader told dpa in an interview that he and Putin “have worked together sensibly for many years. Perhaps that can still help to find a negotiated solution, I don’t see any other way.”

Schröder has been friends with Putin since his time as chancellor from 1998 to 2005 and continues to work for the majority Russian Nord Stream pipeline companies.. Although he has described the Russian attack on Ukraine as a “fatal mistake,” he has not renounced Putin.

The leadership of his Social Democratic Party has marginalized him for this reason, but an expulsion procedure against him failed.

Peskov said Schröder and Putin’s friendship had repeatedly helped “to solve the most difficult questions and ensure the gradual evolution of bilateral developments.”

The Kremlin spokesman added that when it came to those in power in Germany today, he did not see any willingness to end the war in Ukraine, ordered by Russian President Putin in February 2022.

Germany led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, one of Ukraine’s main backers, was massively involved in the war, he claimed, without giving details. The dominant approach in Europe was to “provoke Ukraine into fighting to the last Ukrainian.” Although Moscow was observing varying positions in Europe, it did not see any change in the situation, Peskov said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between President of the New Development Bank Dilma Rousseff and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Konstantinovsky Palace. Alexey Danichev/KREMLIN/dpa

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between President of the New Development Bank Dilma Rousseff and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Konstantinovsky Palace. Alexey Danichev/KREMLIN/dpa



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German consumers pay more for energy than before Ukraine war


Natural gas and electricity costs in Germany rose significantly more in the second half of 2023 than in the comparable period before the energy crisis caused by the Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Private households paid an average of 11.41 euro cents (12.29 US cents) per kilowatt hour for gas, the country’s Federal Statistical Office announced on Thursday.

This was actually 6.9% less than in the first six months of 2023. However, compared to the second half of 2021 – the same period before the war in Ukraine – household customers had to pay 67.1% more, despite price-rise restrictions imposed by the government.

Electricity cost consumers an average of 41.75 euro cents per kilowatt hour. This was 1.3% less than in the first six months, but 19.4% more than in the second half of 2022 and 27% more than before the crisis.

The prices take into account price brakes for electricity and gas that apply until the end of 2023. Germany’s coalition government introduced the restrictions to ease the burden on consumers.



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Former German chancellor Schröder says West must negotiate with Putin


Germany’s former chancellor Gerhard Schröder says he can still imagine that his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin could contribute to ending the war in Ukraine.

“We have worked together sensibly for many years. Perhaps that can still help to find a negotiated solution, I don’t see any other way,” Schröder said in an interview with dpa.

Schröder has been friends with Putin since his time as chancellor from 1998 to 2005 and continues to work for the majority Russian companies of the Nord Stream pipelines through the Baltic Sea. Although he has described the Russian attack on Ukraine as a “fatal mistake,” he has not renounced Putin.

The leadership of his Social Democratic Party has marginalized him for this reason, but an expulsion procedure against him failed.

When asked why he is maintaining his friendship with the Russian president despite tens of thousands of deaths and Russian war crimes in the Ukraine war, Schröder replied, “It’s true that this is a dimension that is different.”

It had once looked as if this personal relationship could be helpful in solving an extremely difficult political problem. “And that’s why I think it would be completely wrong to forget all the positive things that have happened between us in politics in the past. That’s not my style and I don’t do that either,” he said.

Schröder was alluding to his mediation mission in March 2022 shortly after the Russian attack on Ukraine, when Schröder said he first met the then Ukrainian parliamentarian and current defence minister Rustem Umerov in Istanbul and travelled on to Moscow for talks with Putin. However, the initiative failed.

Today, Schröder is in favour of a new attempt at mediation at the government level.

“France and Germany would have to take the initiative. It is obvious that the war cannot end with the total defeat of one side or the other.”

Schröder described speculation that Putin could start a nuclear war or attack a NATO country on the eastern flank as “nonsense.”

In order to nip an escalation towards such scenarios in the bud and prevent the population from becoming more worried, serious thought must be given to a solution to the conflict in addition to support for Ukraine, he emphasized.



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