Tag: Germany

A political proposal to impose road tolls on foreign car drivers has become a feature of the German election campaign, but the European Commission made clear yesterday (12 August) that it would not accept any measure which amounts to discrimination on the ground of nationality. EurActiv Germany contributed to this article.

Germany will reduce exemptions that big power-using firms have enjoyed from grid fees following EU criticism that they might amount to state aid and anger among consumers that industry was not sharing the cost of a shift to renewable energy.

The Troika interventions in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus have generated long-lasting political damage for the image of the EU that needs to be fixed or compensated: this requires promoting a European political game organised along national and party lines, write Yves Bertoncini and Valentin Kreilinger.

In the light of a weakening European Union and a less reliable NATO, Budapest is reassessing its position in Europe. A more centralised control of domestic politics and a more independent foreign policy are key parts of this strategy, writes Stratfor.

The European Union plans an investigation into Germany's renewable energy law due to concerns that exemptions for some firms from charges levied on power users breaches competition rules, a German magazine reported yesterday (14 July).

The floods that engulfed central Europe last month are expected to cost insurers about €3 billion and could be Germany's costliest natural disaster on record, reinsurer Munich Re said.

Using cash instead of debit and credit cards costs Germans around €150 per person each year, according to an academic study from Steinbeis University in Berlin on the ‘Cost of Cash’.

German environmental experts doubt that developing shale gas is economically profitable and worthwhile for the country's energy transition. They also question the technology of fracking and call for a European Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure to be adopted. EurActiv Germany reports.

Ukraine is taking “active steps” to win the sympathy of Germany, the country most strongly opposed to the signature of a landmark association agreement with the EU in the absence of a solution to the imprisonment of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, diplomats told EurActiv.

Germany's Bundestag has approved Croatia's entry to the European Union, clearing the last formal hurdle for the former Yugoslav republic to join the Union on 1 July.

The surviving member of a German neo-Nazi cell went on trial on Monday (6 May) for a series of racist killings that scandalised Germany and exposed the security services' inability or reluctance to recognise far-right crime.

Even if Germany had to write off the loans it extended to Southern European countries as part of the eurozone’s emergency rescue measures, the economic advantages of its membership would still be overwhelming, according to a recent study by the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

German chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrück won many converts at the Social Democrat’s recent party conference, bolstering the left’s election push, but the SPD’s turn in fortunes is likely to fade in the home straight, EurActiv Germany and EurActiv France report.

Russia urged Germany to punish a group of women who staged a bare-breasted protest against President Vladimir Putin on Monday (8 April) during a visit to a trade fair in Hanover with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Economic advisors to the German government more than halved their forecast for 2013 growth on Monday (25 March), blaming a sharp fourth-quarter contraction and weak prospects for foreign trade and investment.

Holding together and strengthening the European Monetary Union is vital, but we must take care we do not sacrifice the foundations of peace and fraternity on which the European Union was founded, writes MEP Jorgo Chatzimarkakis.

The Italian crisis not only threatens to return instability to the eurozone, but it also shows that Germany’s efforts to ensure new governments align with Berlin’s strategy are becoming increasingly difficult, writes Stratfor.

France and Germany could become the avant-garde of cross-border energy cooperation and could set the standards for all of Europe, writes Georg Zachmann.

No major announcement marked the 50th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty, perhaps unsurprisingly, but the adoption of two new texts shows the French and Germans are still making steps towards further cooperation. EurActiv France reports.

Despite tensions over the management of the eurozone debt crisis, the Franco-German relation has bright days ahead of itself, according to Thomas Klau, head of the Paris Office at the European Council on Foreign Relations. The two countries celebrate today (21 January) the 50 years of the signing of the Elysée Treaty.

Three-quarters of French and 70% of Germans want their countries to harmonise tax and fiscal policy, according to an opinion poll carried out for the German Embassy in Paris. EurActiv France reports.

The majority of eastern Germans regard their western compatriots as "arrogant" and mostly interested in money, according to a new survey that highlights distinct east-west identities.