Germany updates: Temperatures soar as heat wave intensifies – DW – 07/01/2025
Education trade unions have called for nationwide regulations for heat protection in schools.
In addition to modernizing schools with green roofs and shade sails, a board member of the Education and Science Union (GEW) is pushing for a "nationwide supply of free drinking water" for all children, young people, and employees.
Meanwhile, German hospitals are requesting additional funding to retrofit clinics to better handle the extreme heat.Following an altercation in a bar in Stuttgart, police shot an 18-year-old in the upper body, who died on the spot, despite resuscitation attempts.
The 18-year-old is said to have injured a 29-year-old man in the neck with a sharp object, according to police and the public prosecutor's office in the state capital of Baden-Württemberg. The suspect then fled while the victim was taken to hospital.
The suspect was then confronted by a police officer in a backyard.
The exact sequence of events is the subject of an ongoing investigation, the statement continued. The investigation into the use of firearms has been taken over by the State Office of Criminal Investigation.
Stuttgart is the capital city of the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.
Poland said it would impose temporary checks on its borders with Germany and Lithuania starting on July 7.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the measure was aimed at reducing irregular migrant crossings.
"We consider the temporary restoration of controls at the Polish-German border necessary to limit and reduce to a minimum the uncontrolled flows... of migrants back and forth," Tusk said, adding that similar checks would be imposed on the Lithuanian border.
"We are aware that this decision entails certain consequences regarding the freedom of movement of people... There is no other way," he said.
A Danish citizen has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, German prosecutors said Tuesday.
According to the prosecutors, the man's suspected aim was to collect information on Jewish sites and individuals in Berlin.
The man allegedly spied on three properties in June 2025, with him preparing for further intelligence activities, possibly terrorist attacks on Jewish targets.
In accordance with the German privacy law, the man was identified only as Ali S.Twenty-seven people were arrested across Germany in suspicion of growing and selling cannabis illegally.
They are suspected to have generated millions of euros of income through the illegal sale of the drug.
Some 30 buildings across three German states were searched as part of the investigation.
Several arrested were suspected of belonging to an illegal gang, according to police.
Among the states were North-Rhine Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in the west and Hesse in central Germany.
One person was killed and two were seriously injured by a man with a sharp object at a company in the southern state of Bavaria, police said.
The stabbing took place in the town of Mellrichstadt in the Lower Franconia region, with a 21-year-old German man being arrested in connection with the incident.
Neither the motive nor the company involved have been named by police, who said there is no further danger to the public.
A wildfire broke out in the largest forest in the city of Dresden in Germany's eastern Saxony state.
Around one hectare of forest went ablaze, with the fire already largely being under control.
Twenty-six firefighter teams are on site and have already managed to reduce the fire to about 8,000 square meters, the local fire brigades told local outlet Tag24.
In light of the heat wave in Germany, with expected temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius, education trade unions have called for nationwide heat protection regulations in schools.
"There must be uniform occupational health and safety regulations for students and school employees," said Anja Bensinger-Stolze, a board member of the Education and Science Union (GEW), in an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) newspapers.
In addition to modernizing schools with green roofs and shade sails, Bensinger-Stolze continued, a "nationwide supply of free drinking water" is necessary for all children, young people, and employees.
Additionally, first aid and safety training on how to deal with heat must be offered across the board, she added.
Gerhard Brand, the head of the Association for Education and Upbringing (VBE), suggested that spaces outside the school should be used more often during hot times of the year "if it fits with the curriculum."
Brand also believes that school authorities have a duty to equip existing school buildings so "learning can be guaranteed even during high outside temperatures."
Due to the ongoing heat wave, German hospitals are requesting additional funding to retrofit clinics.
"Severe heat poses challenges for hospitals and staff. Due to a lack of investment funds, only a few hospitals have air-conditioned rooms, offices, and waiting rooms," said Gerald Gaß, the head of the German Hospital Federation (DKG), in an interview with the newspaper.
"In the long term, we need a climate protection and adaptation program to renovate old buildings," he said, adding that this is the only way clinics can protect patients and staff from the consequences of climate change.
Currently, hospitals rely on measures such as shading facades and cooling packs, Gaß explained.
Europe is currently experiencing an early and extreme heat wave. Temperatures as high as 40 degrees are expected in Germany by the middle of the week.
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, and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Germany, from sunny Bonn where we have been feeling the current heatwave that looks set to continue through Tuesday.
Temperatures across Germany are set to rise. According to the German Weather Service, it will peak on Wednesday, with local temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius and widespread temperatures between 34 and 38 degrees.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will receive Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Luc Frieden, in Berlin on Tuesday.
The meeting will begin with a reception and military honors at the Federal Chancellery, followed by talks expected to cover foreign and European policy issues, as well as bilateral cooperation.
For all of the latest news from Germany, stay tuned here.
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EU and Germany push for a new World Trade Organization – DW – 07/04/2025
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a press conference on Thursday (June 3) that striking a comprehensive trade deal in 90 days was "impossible" but was hopeful of "an agreement in principle", specifically referring to the agreement the US and UK had struck as a model to aim for. Those watching the negotiations closely say there have been sharp divisions among European Union member states over what concessions are acceptable and on what the US side should offer. For example, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has spoken of the need to strike a deal quickly, criticizing the European Commission's "complicated" approach. "What is at stake here is the rapid resolution of a customs dispute, particularly for our country's key industries," he said. Yet, French President Emmanuel Macron has decried the idea of tariffs being levied by powerful countries as "blackmail", without specifically referring to Trump. Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, from the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington D.C., doesn't think the position of the German chancellor will be "acceptable" for all EU members. "Merz has said a number of times that we can live with a 10% across the board tariff. As long as we don't get a 25% sectoral tariff on cars, etc.," he told DW. While the comments of Sefcovic and von der Leyen have been somewhat conciliatory towards Trump and the US, Kirkegaard considers this to be an attempt to maintain unity amongst member states. "That's basically the Commission trying to protect itself against attacks from member states, because it's obviously they would have to bear the consequences of a trade war," he said. If the UK deal is a model, then the EU will likely have to live with 10% tariffs remaining in place on many goods, as the UK has done. The US-UK agreement cut the 25% tariff on UK cars to 10%, but the number of cars that can be imported on that duty is limited to 100,000 — roughly the amount of cars the UK sold to the US in 2024. Any cars exported above that quota will be subject to a 27.5% tax. The EU sold over 700,000 cars to the US last year. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video However, Kirkegaard believes if the steep car, steel and aluminium tariffs remain at the same level, it will hard for many on the EU side to accept. "As long as that's the case, there's not going to be a deal, in my opinion," he said. "It is ultimately not acceptable to the EU, which is an economy roughly comparable in size to the US, for US tariffs to go up and the EU's to not go up." Kirkegaard argues that in a trade confrontation between economies of the same size, tariffs should "go up together and down together." Bill Reinsch, a senior economics adviser with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), thinks a UK-style agreement is the most likely outcome. However, what is most important for Trump is the perception that he has "won" rather than what has actually been agreed, Reinsch told DW. "What matters for him is the Oval Office meeting, that so-and-so was agreed, and now everything's going to be fine. So it wouldn't surprise me if in the end there's a 'quote, unquote agreement' with the EU." He argues it would be prudent for the EU to focus on policy outcomes rather than perceptions of who has won. "Let him have the win. If you let him have the win, what he wins doesn't matter. So you don't have to give up very much if you handle it right." One area where there has been a lot of speculation around possible EU concessions, away from tariffs, is on its digital policy, particularly its Digital Services Act and possible digital sales taxes. Germany has been considering a 10% tax on the sales of US digital giants such as Google and Meta's Facebook in Europe. Trump has spoken out against such plans and this week Canada dropped a digital sales tax proposal to keep trade talks with the US alive. Reinsch thinks the EU should prevent member states introducing these taxes because "Trump is right" in his position, he argued, and that is "not even rhetoric." "I think they are clearly discriminatory against some American companies," he said, adding that from a policy standpoint "it's totally the wrong approach." "If you want to build European competitors, you don't do that by dragging down the competition this way. You do it by building European competitors and creating viable options," said Reinsch. As the July 9 deadline looms, serious consideration is being given to the implications of a negotiations blow-up. The EU has described thetrans-Atlantic trade relationship as "the most important commercial relationship in the world," as bilateral trade in goods and services reached €1.6 trillion ($1.88 trillion) in 2023, according to EU Commission data. Kirkegaard says a no-deal scenario could lead to the requirement for fiscal stimulus in some EU countries due to "short-term volatility." But the EU can cope with that, he believes. "We would not be back in [financial crisis of] 2008 or facing a situation similar to even the energy price shock that happened after the Russian invasion in 2022 — absolutely not," he said. He expects the EU to "lose half a percentage point of growth" this year and next year, which was "not trivial," but at the same time "nothing we couldn't live with." Reinsch has a different view, saying a failure would be "bad news" for everybody. "I think in terms of actual trade, it probably would not be as impactful as a blow-up with China because we buy so much more from China. But in terms of disrupting the relationship and particularly disrupting trans-Atlantic investment, I think it would be a huge problem."
