Lars Klingbeil

Merz’s conservatives in new crisis over alleged support for AfD

At a press conference this week, the German chancellor had barely begun addressing yet another disastrous set of election results when he stopped to rebuke a man moving in front of the cameras

Leaders from Merz’s Christian Democratic Union publicly closed ranks around the chancellor and his reform drive on Monday, despite growing internal concern that his leadership is rapidly driving their party toward demise

Leaders from Merz’s Christian Democratic Union publicly closed ranks around the chancellor and his reform drive on Monday, despite growing internal concern that his leadership is rapidly driving their party toward demise

Friedrich Merz is facing renewed pressure after his CDU crashed to 4.9% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, missing the threshold for state parliament in its worst regional result since 1949

Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) collapsed to 5.5 percent in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and fell to second place with 20 percent in Berlin

Berlin races to ease pump pain amid global supply shocks and oil route attacks

With elections due next year in eight EU countries including France, Italy, Spain and Poland, leaders are scrambling to head off the potential fallout from what analysts have warned could be one of the continent’s biggest energy shocks in decades

For nearly eight decades in postwar Germany, the mainstream political establishment has refused to work with parties it deems extreme

AfD party's landslide win in eastern Germany tests country's 'firewall' against the far right

The mood was already tense amid the lengthy Iran war and Trump's renewed beef with neighbor Canada

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz denounced the statement made by the controversial Israeli politician

The German government plans to crack down on tax fraud, money laundering and illegally acquired assets with more audits and stiffer penalties

More money for the military, less for everything else, while debt continues to grow rapidly: such is Germany's draft budget for 2027

Germany just rolled out its most significant reform drives in recent years as Chancellor Friedrich Merz seeks to revive Europe’s largest economy and convince voters that his coalition government can deliver results

The changes form part of a wide-ranging package of economic reforms aimed at boosting productivity and helping revive Europe's largest economy, which has struggled with sluggish growth, rising energy costs and increased international competition

The European Commission presented in December ​a plan to better integrate EU capital ⁠markets through joint supervision, moving it from ​national authorities to the European Securities and Markets ​Authority (ESMA) in Paris

In an interview with POLITICO, Makis Keravnos warned against the formation of the “E6” — made up of the six largest economies, which has formed in a bid to break political deadlocks on the EU’s investment aims — ahead of a crunch meeting in Berlin on Thursday

Rising oil prices and growing bond market volatility have raised fears of a global recession

Scott Bessent wants allies to heap pressure on Tehran, as regime leadership refuses to fold

The conservative Christian Democrat took office on 6 May 2025 after a humiliating loss in the first round of voting in parliament

Two top Republican lawmakers expressed concern about the decision to withdraw troops

What began as a spat between Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump over the Iran war is rapidly turning into a historic rupture between Germany and the US

Trump turned back the latest proposal almost as soon as it was delivered

Iranian foreign minister also spoke with several of his counterparts, including EU's Kaja Kallas

The Cabinet hopes to sign off on core points of its 2027 budget, so it can start to move through parliament

The Cabinet hopes to sign off on core points of its 2027 budget, so it can start to move through parliament

On Saturday, Pedro Sánchez hosted left-wing leaders at rallies promoting democracy and progressive unity on Barcelona

Trump allows Cuba oil delivery

Ukraine has received the final tranche from the UK amounting to £752 million (about US$1 billion) under the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration for Ukraine (ERA) initiative

Dispute over windfall tax on oil firms resolved after coalition ​talks

Leaders of Germany’s centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) have embraced the prospect of a big-bang reform programme following two stinging setbacks in weekend elections

The SPD’s defeat at the hands of its coalition partner could plunge the party deeper into crisis nationally and destabilize the government in Berlin as the left-wing party seeks to retrench and appeal to what’s left of its socialist base

Merz Fails Election Test After Greens Win German State Vote

German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil on Saturday rejected Berlin’s participation in the escalating military conflict in Iran, describing the U.S.-Israeli campaign as “not our war” and flagging legal concerns over the strikes

Meanwhile, figures show German industry cut around 124,000 jobs in 2025

Meanwhile, figures show German industry cut around 124,000 jobs in 2025

“[Macron] repeatedly and correctly speaks of our pursuit of European sovereignty,” Wadephul told German public radio in an interview on Monday

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech at the Munich Security Conference has served as another building block in the Trump administration's foreign policy

There were many fine speeches at last week’s Munich Security Conference

He’ll be joined on the main stage of the Munich Security Conference by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organization; Finnish President Alexander Stubb; and German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, and Republican Senator Tom Tillis

Germany cuts growth forecasts amid slow recovery

Germany and France want to speed up action on strengthening the euro currency, cooperating on military spending and building supply chains for critical raw materials

EU economies are trying to reduce their dependence on imported critical raw materials from countries including China and to tackle fears that trade tariffs and the fragmentation of global markets could undermine growth and investment

Under pressure from the threat of Washington's tariffs, India and the European Union on Tuesday agreed the contours of a trade deal after muddling through stop-start negotiations for nearly 19 years