Latest news with #HendrikWüst
Euractiv
02-07-2025
- Business
- Euractiv
Europe's chemical powerhouse tells Brussels to go easy on new regulations
North Rhine-Westphalia, one of the EU's industrial heartlands and Germany's most populous state, is demanding special consideration for its chemicals industry ahead of key regulatory overhauls in Brussels. With some 18 million residents, the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia is not only larger than most EU countries, but also by itself the sixth-largest economy in Europe and a major hub for the chemical industry. It's state capital Düsseldorf is using that heft now. 'There are not many industrial centres this strong,' said Christian Democrat Hendrik Wüst, who governs the state, on a visit to Brussels on Wednesday. 'Our economic power in North Rhine-Westphalia is 20% above the EU average," he told reporters. Wüst, a leading candidate to succeed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, came to Brussels to demand 'level-headed chemicals policy,' according to an eight-page list of demands he brought along, seen by Euractiv. The chemicals sector especially plays a key role in his state, Wüst said. Among his eleven-company-strong delegation were four chemical companies: polymer-producer Covestro, speciality chemical leader Evonik, adhesives giant Henkel and intermediates producer Lanxess. Not part of the visit but also home in NRW is pharmaceutical giant Bayer. 'The design of chemical policy and revision of REACH are of great relevance to not only the sector but the entire industry,' the document said, further stating that t he EU should sense-check industrial emissions rules and the urban wastewater directive – while making it easier to get construction permits. 'Planning and approval procedures (especially in environmental law) must be accelerated massively and decisively,' Wüst's demands close. The EU executive is expected to present a chemicals package next week. German chemical players have long pushed to delay the reform of the EU's flagship chemical rulebook REACH. Kjeld Neubert contributed reporting. (vib)
The Independent
11-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
World-famous German "nail artist" Günther Uecker dies at 95
German artist Günther Uecker, one of the country's most important post-war artists who was world-famous for his large-format nail reliefs, has died. He was 95. German news agency dpa reported that his family confirmed he died at the university hospital in his hometown of Düsseldorf in western Germany Tuesday night. They did not give a cause of death. For decades, Uecker, who was often dubbed 'the nail artist,' created art by hammering carpenter's nails into chairs, pianos, sewing machines and canvases. His works can be found in museums and collections across the globe. In his art work, seemingly endless numbers of nails, which would by themselves perhaps be perceived as potentially aggressive and hurtful, turned into harmonic, almost organic creations. His reliefs with the tightly hewn nails are reminiscent of waving grasses or fields of algae in a marine landscape. Uecker himself described his nail art as diary-like landscapes of the soul, which he called an 'expression of the poetic power of man,' dpa reported. Hendrik Wüst, the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia which includes state capital Düsseldorf, called Uecker 'one of the most important and influential artists in German post-war history' and said that with his life's work, he influenced generations of young artists and 'contributed to an open and dynamic society." Born on March 13, 1930, in the village of Wendorf on the Baltic Sea, Uecker moved to Düsseldorf in the mid-1950s, where he studied and later also taught at the city's prestigious art academy. In one of his most spectacular appearances or art happenings, he rode on the back of a camel through the hallways of the venerable academy in 1978. Together with fellow artist Gerhard Richter, he 'occupied' the Kunsthalle Baden-Baden museum in 1968, with both kissing in front of the cameras. The son of a farmer, he traveled the world with a humanitarian message of peace and exhibited in countless countries, including dictatorships and totalitarian states. He painted ash pictures after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine in 1986, and exhibited human rights messages painted on fabric in Beijing. He also painted 'Verletzungswörter,' or words of violence, killing and torment in many languages and foreign scripts on large canvases. In 2023, Uecker erected a stone memorial in Weimar in memory of the victims of the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald. 'The theme of my artistic work is the vulnerability of man by man,' he said.
Associated Press
11-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
World-famous German "nail artist" Günther Uecker dies at 95
BERLIN (AP) — German artist Günther Uecker, one of the country's most important post-war artists who was world-famous for his large-format nail reliefs, has died. He was 95. German news agency dpa reported that his family confirmed he died at the university hospital in his hometown of Düsseldorf in western Germany Tuesday night. They did not give a cause of death. For decades, Uecker, who was often dubbed 'the nail artist,' created art by hammering carpenter's nails into chairs, pianos, sewing machines and canvases. His works can be found in museums and collections across the globe. In his art work, seemingly endless numbers of nails, which would by themselves perhaps be perceived as potentially aggressive and hurtful, turned into harmonic, almost organic creations. His reliefs with the tightly hewn nails are reminiscent of waving grasses or fields of algae in a marine landscape. Uecker himself described his nail art as diary-like landscapes of the soul, which he called an 'expression of the poetic power of man,' dpa reported. Hendrik Wüst, the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia which includes state capital Düsseldorf, called Uecker 'one of the most important and influential artists in German post-war history' and said that with his life's work, he influenced generations of young artists and 'contributed to an open and dynamic society.' Born on March 13, 1930, in the village of Wendorf on the Baltic Sea, Uecker moved to Düsseldorf in the mid-1950s, where he studied and later also taught at the city's prestigious art academy. In one of his most spectacular appearances or art happenings, he rode on the back of a camel through the hallways of the venerable academy in 1978. Together with fellow artist Gerhard Richter, he 'occupied' the Kunsthalle Baden-Baden museum in 1968, with both kissing in front of the cameras. The son of a farmer, he traveled the world with a humanitarian message of peace and exhibited in countless countries, including dictatorships and totalitarian states. He painted ash pictures after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine in 1986, and exhibited human rights messages painted on fabric in Beijing. He also painted 'Verletzungswörter,' or words of violence, killing and torment in many languages and foreign scripts on large canvases. In 2023, Uecker erected a stone memorial in Weimar in memory of the victims of the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald. 'The theme of my artistic work is the vulnerability of man by man,' he said.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Relatives to commemorate victims of Germanwings crash 10 years ago
Families and friends of the 150 people who died in the crash of a Germanwings aircraft in the French Alps exactly a decade ago are set to commemorate the victims on Monday. The plane was en route from Barcelona to the western German city of Dusseldorf on April 24, 2015, when the co-pilot, who suffered from a mental illness, deliberately crashed the plane to take his own life, investigators believe. Among the people on board was a group of school students from the town of Haltern am See, located in the western Ruhr region, Germany's former industrial heartland. Students and teachers at the secondary school are due to lay down white roses to commemorate the 16 students and two teachers killed in the crash. Church bells are to ring out in Haltern at 10:41 am (09:41 am) to mark the exact time of the crash 10 years ago. "Our country is united in remembering those who lost their lives 10 years ago. We will honour their memory," Hendrik Wüst, premier of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia where Halter is located, posted on X. Many relatives have also travelled to the site of the tragedy in France to attend a memorial to commemorate the victims.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German conservatives want 'democratic' alliance after historic vote
Leading members of Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU) on Thursday demanded a broad alliance against the Alternative for Germany (AfD), one day after a historic motion on migration policy passed in parliament with the backing of the far-right party. Hendrik Wüst, the premier of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, denounced the AfD in a speech in Dusseldorf and said that "the major problems of our time must be solved from the democratic centre." The AfD "is misanthropic, it is racist in parts, it is anti-European," said Wüst, who leads Germany's most populous state. On Wednesday, the CDU relied on support from the AfD to narrowly pass its non-binding five-point plan for a tougher migration policy through the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's parliament. The move was extremely controversial, marking the first time the AfD have been relied upon to form a majority for legislation. Another vote on a CDU-backed package of migration policies is expected in parliament on Friday with concrete measures aimed at cracking down on asylum-seekers entering the country. The AfD and two minor parties have signalled they will support the bill. Wüst did not address the votes directly, but said that Germans are worried about crime and migration and "it must not happen that only the right-wing fringe provides the quick answers." The CDU premier of the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, Daniel Günther, appealed explicitly to other established parties to back Friday's bill. "There is a broad majority in the population in favor of having clear rules when it comes to internal security and the enforcement of law and order," said Günther. "And it must be democrats who come to a common solution here." He called Wednesday's vote "bitter" and said that mainstream democratic politicians now have "a real historical responsibility to face."
