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DW
4 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
German government shows cracks over nuclear energy – DW – 06/28/2025
The economy minister attended a meeting of EU states using nuclear energy, even though Germany shut down its last reactor in 2023. The environment minister was quick to insist Germany will stick to its nuclear phaseout. It was only a relatively petty dispute over the organization of an EU event in Brussels. And yet, revealed how differently Economy Minister Katherina Reiche — of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) — and Environment Minister Carsten Schneider — of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — think about renewable energy, climate protection and nuclear power. In mid-June, Reiche was looking for a way to spend the evening in Brussels after a long meeting with her EU counterparts. There were two options: a meeting with representatives from countries that want to continue to expand renewable energies, and a meeting with pro-nuclear states. Twelve of the 27 EU states operate nuclear power plants, with France having the highest proportion — 55 reactors. Reiche ultimately attended the meeting of these countries, even though the government of former Chancellor Angela Merkel moved to phase out nuclear energy after the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. Germany's last power plant went off the grid in spring 2023. The fact that Reiche nevertheless chose to attend the meeting with the nuclear countries angered her SPD colleague. Schneider is officially responsible for nuclear safety in Germany as the environment minister, including issues relating to the interim and final storage of nuclear waste. "We have decided to phase out nuclear power. This has also been accepted by society," Schneider said. Officially, Germany is focusing on transitioning to renewable energies, and a large proportion of its energy is now generated from wind or solar power. "There are no further commitments [to the nuclear industry], nor will there be any," said Schneider. The disagreement between the Economy Ministry and the Environment Ministry on nuclear energy issues was already apparent. At the end of May, Reiche said in Brussels that she was "open to all technologies" when it came to energy production. The specific trigger was a joint paper by the governments in Paris and Berlin, which stated that the energy policy in both countries would be implemented "based on climate neutrality, competitiveness and sovereignty." In other words, according to the wishes of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, all forms of energy are to be promoted in the EU as long as they are low-emission. In France, this applies above all to the many nuclear power plants. In fact, nuclear power plants emit little or no greenhouse gases during operation and are therefore considered climate-friendly by their proponents. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The dangers of the technology lie in controlling the nuclear chain reaction and the nuclear waste it produces, which remains radioactive for many thousands of years. According to the EU treaties, each member state has the right to choose its own energy mix. There is also likely to be more disagreement between Reiche and Schneider on the issue of new gas-fired power plants. Shortly after taking office, the CDU minister announced plans to build 20 new gas-fired power plants. The previous government had also announced new construction to compensate for the often-fluctuating supplies from solar and wind power — but not in such large numbers. This is also a cause for concern for Schneider, who is responsible for meeting Germany's climate targets. In mid-May, the German government's expert council on climate issues warned that the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2045 must be backed up by a truly concrete plan from the government. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The economy and environment ministries have often clashed on issues of climate protection and energy policy. At the moment, the government's climate goals are being helped by the rather weak economy and the resulting lower production, especially in industry, according to the council. A member of the panel, Marc Oliver Bettzüge, director of the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne, told the newsmagazine : "At this point in time, it is not clear how the federal government intends to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2045." Building new gas-fired power plants is likely to make this plan even more difficult. Although gas-fired power plants emit less greenhouse gases than coal-fired ones, 20 new plants would jeopardize the climate 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.
CTV News
20 hours ago
- CTV News
Oak Bay, Saanich policing agreement nears expiry as negotiations unfold
A policing agreement that ensures Oak Bay, B.C. has the resources required to investigate major crimes is expiring in days. A policing agreement that ensures Oak Bay, B.C., has the resources required to investigate major crimes is expiring in days, with no immediate indication of renewal. The five-year service agreement between the Oak Bay Police Department (OBPD) and the Saanich Police Department (SPD) expires on Monday. The contract enables Saanich police to assist with or take the lead on major crime investigations in Oak Bay, which is a small community with a small police department. 'We are actively engaged in the negotiation process,' OBPD Chief Julie Chanin said in an email to CTV News. If those discussions continue beyond Monday, Chanin said the departments can agree on an extension. 'During negotiations, all services provided by SPD under the current agreement will remain uninterrupted,' an SPD spokesperson said in a statement. The departments first signed a service agreement in 2007 and have renegotiated it several times, most recently in the summer of 2020. The Saanich Police Association said it was consulted during the early stage of negotiations for a new agreement, but it isn't part of the current discussions, which are confidential. 'Like our partners in the Oak Bay Police Association (OBPA), we await a final decision — particularly as it relates to roles and responsibilities in what continues to be a resource-challenged environment,' union president Jason Whittaker said in an email. The OBPA could not be reached for comment. Oak Bay will not go without Former B.C. solicitor general Kash Heed said if the contract were to collapse, Oak Bay would still have access to investigative support. 'Ultimately, it's the responsibility of the solicitor general to make sure Oak Bay residents are looked after by their police service,' Heed said in an interview. 'If that is not possible, (the solicitor general) has the authority under the B.C. Police Act to intervene and make sure that takes place.' That means the province could tell OBPD to contract the RCMP or another agency on an as-needed basis, Heed said. 'It's down to a negotiation tactic that may go down to the wire, but at the end of the day, you have to ensure the residents in Oak Bay will be looked after with this comprehensive police service,' he said. As the departments negotiate, the nearby municipality of Esquimalt is eyeing alternatives to its agreement with the Victoria Police Department. Both cases serve as an argument for regionalized policing, Heed said. 'You can see how costly it is to police these balkanized areas; how ineffective it is,' he said. 'When you cross the street, you're in a different jurisdiction and you may get a different delivery of police service.'
Euronews
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
German lawmakers vote to curb family reunification programme
German lawmakers on Friday voted to suspend family reunification rights for migrants who fall short of full asylum status, part of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's push to crack down on immigration. The lower house of Parliament voted 444 to 135 in favour of suspending family reunions for migrants with subsidiary protection, a status granted to people allowed to stay because it's too dangerous to return home, even though they are not officially recognised as refugees. As of the end of March, more than 388,000 people in Germany, primarily Syrians, held subsidiary protection status. The new legislation suspends rules introduced in 2018 that allowed up to 1,000 close relatives per month to join migrants with this status. Until now, German authorities made case-by-case decisions based on humanitarian grounds, rather than granting an automatic right to family reunification. The law does not affect individuals who have been granted asylum or recognised as refugees under the Geneva Refugee Convention. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told lawmakers the change would reduce the number of people able to come to Germany by around 12,000 per year and would "break a business model" for human traffickers. Dobrindt defended the measure, arguing that the country's "capacity for integration simply has a limit." "Many people know they won't receive full refugee recognition," Dobrindt said, "but they still head for Germany because it's known that, even without asylum status, you can bring your family later. That creates a strong pull factor, and today, we are eliminating that pull factor." The Social Democrats (SPD) — a member party of Merz's governing coalition — expressed concerns about the legislation but ultimately agreed to it as part of a political compromise. Germany's Minister for Migration, Refugees and Integration, Natalie Pawlik, acknowledged the discomfort within her party, saying, "Integration works better when families are together." She added, however, that the SPD would support the measure, noting it does not apply to so-called hardship cases and is limited to two years. The bill approved on Friday marks the first migration legislation passed since Merz took office. His government has pledged tougher immigration policies amid mounting public pressure.
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
German commission recommends raising minimum wage to $17.11
Germany is set to gradually raise its hourly minimum wage to 14.60 euros ($17.11) by 2027 from the current 12.82 euros under proposals from a government-appointed commission, less than the ruling coalition had initially agreed to target. Raising the minimum wage can make it harder for companies to take on staff as higher labour costs may force businesses to cut jobs or reduce hours. This risk is especially high for small firms and low-skilled workers, potentially leading to higher unemployment. Initially, the minimum wage is to rise to 13.90 euros at the beginning of 2026. The proposal of the commission, a body comprising employers and trade union representatives, must be implemented by the labour ministry. Germany's Labour Minister Baerbel Bas welcomed the agreement, which "shows that social partnership in this country works," and asked the government to make this adjustment legally binding as of January 1, 2026. Under the changes, the euro zone's largest economy would see full-time workers on minimum wage typically earn close to 2,500 euros a month by 2027. The country would then have the second-highest minimum wage in the European Union behind Luxembourg, which mandates a monthly minimum of 2,638 euros, Eurostat data from 2025 show. Three other EU countries have a national minimum wage above 2,000 euros per month - Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland. In the coalition deal signed by the conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD) raising the minimum wage to 15 euros an hour in 2026 was framed as something "achievable", and was pushed by the SPD in the talks, but it appears that target will not be reached even by 2027. "In the long term, the minimum wage must provide protection against poverty and keep pace with overall wage developments," said Dagmar Schmidt, deputy chairwoman of the SPD parliamentary group at the Bundestag, welcoming the proposal while recognising that it fell short of what the SPD had hoped for. UNEMPLOYMENT ON THE RISE The commission's proposals come at a challenging moment for Germany after two years of economic contraction, when the weakness is taking its toll with a lag on the labour market and the number of unemployed people approaches the 3 million mark for the first time in a decade. "After years of economic stagnation, which has already left visible marks on the labour market, the time is likely over when minimum wage increases passed the labour market more or less without a trace," said Hagen Lesch, a labour expert at IW, an economic institute that promotes free enterprise, competition and open markets. Companies in Germany are growing more cautious in their personnel planning, the Ifo employment barometer showed on Friday before the minimum wage announcement. "Despite an improved mood in the economy, the labour market has not yet achieved the turnaround," said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at Ifo. "There is still a lack of orders for new staff to be hired." Jobs data show the number of unemployed people has risen by nearly a third since 2022, especially in helper occupations, which are mostly affected by the minimum wage. "A minimum wage of 14.60 euros threatens to exacerbate this development and could particularly push low-skilled workers out of the labour market," DMB president Marc S. Tenbieg said. ($1 = 0.8535 euros)
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
German Coalition Risks Conflict Over Contentious Minimum Wage
An independent commission agreed Germany's statutory minimum wage should be increased in two steps to €14.60 ($17.11) in 2027, in a move that could stoke discord in Chancellor Friedrich Merz's ruling coalition. In their blueprint for government, Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc and his Social Democrat partners agreed that a minimum wage of €15 an hour was achievable already next year — a key SPD demand.
