Bus drivers called to strike in Hesse this week
Passengers throughout the German state of Hesse are likely to face travel disruption on Wednesday.
Trade union Verdi has called for bus drivers of several companies to take part in warning strikes ahead of arbitration.
"We want to emphasise our demands once again before the arbitration," said Verdi negotiator Jochen Koppel.
Bus drivers from private companies in Hesse already went on strike before and after the long Whitsun weekend, leading to almost complete cancellations of bus services in many cities. According to Koppel, the strikes on Wednesday are to begin with the early shift from 3.30 am and continue until the end of the late shift on Thursday night.
The bus routes in Vellmar, Baunatal and Hofgeismar (all Kassel), Büdingen (Wetterau), Homberg (Efze) and Melsungen (both Schwalm-Eder), Offenbach, Fulda, Oberursel (Hochtaunus), Hanau, Gelnhausen, Bad Homburg and Weiterstadt (Darmstadt-Dieburg) are likely to be affected again.
In Frankfurt buses will also be stopped, but tram services and the underground will be running.
In the major cities of Kassel and Darmstadt and in large parts of Wiesbaden, however, bus services are likely to run largely as normal, as most drivers there are covered by other collective agreements.
Macron calls the far-right rise an 'ill wind' for Europe
France's President Emmanuel Macron on Monday raised the alarm over the "ill wind" of the rise of the far right in European politics, during a state visit to Germany ahead of key EU elections.
Macron noted a "fascination with authoritarian regimes" in Europe, singling out Viktor Orban's government in Hungary for criticism.
"Everywhere in our democracies these ideas thrive, pushed by the extremes and in particular the far right," Macron said in a speech in the eastern city of Dresden, a bastion of support for Germany's far right.
"This ill wind is blowing in Europe, so let us wake up," he said in front of the city's famous Frauenkirche church.
Macron's trip comes two weeks ahead of European Union elections in which polls are indicating his centrist coalition is trailing the far right. It could even struggle to reach a third-place finish.
In Germany too, all three parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition are polling behind the far-right AfD in surveys, despite a series of scandals embroiling the anti-immigration party.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday joined France President Emmanuel Macron in warning that Europe was "mortal" in the face of Russian aggression.
"We can't take for granted the foundations on which we have built our European way of living and our role in the world," the two leaders wrote in a joint op-ed for the Financial Times daily.
"Our Europe is mortal, and we must rise to the challenge," they wrote in the piece.
Macron also put his name to Scholz's idea of a "Zeitenwende", used by the chancellor to describe an historic shift in Germany's attitude to defence, which has seen it massively boost military spending following the invasion of Ukraine.
German business morale stagnates, denting recovery hopes
German business sentiment stagnated in May after several months of improvement, a survey showed Monday, denting hopes that Europe's biggest economy is on course for a strong recovery.
The Ifo institute's closely-watched confidence barometer, based on a survey of around 9,000 companies, came in at 89.3 points.
It was the same reading as in April, and lower than a forecast of 90.3 from analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet.
Prior to May, the survey had risen for three consecutive months, fuelling hopes the economy would stage a strong rebound after shrinking last year as it faced myriad headwinds.
Despite the unchanged reading, Ifo president Clemens Fuest struck an upbeat note.
"Germany's economy is working its way out of the crisis step by step," he said in a statement.
Far-right AfD make gains in Thuringia - but fails to overtake CDU
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) made gains at local elections in Thuringia - but did not achieve a breakthrough.
A total of 13 district councillors and 94 mayors were elected on Sunday. Hundreds of local parliaments were also replaced. The AfD failed to win the district council elections in the first round, but could become the strongest force in some of the district councils.
Results on Monday showed that the conservative CDU was just ahead with 27.6 percent of the vote. The AfD managed 26.4 percent. It is possible that the result will shift, as the count in the state capital of Erfurt has not yet been completed.
While the AfD improved by almost 10 points compared to 2019, the CDU kept its share of the vote largely stable at this stage of the count. The Left, SPD and Greens, who form the state government in Thuringia, suffered losses. In the Sonneberg district, where the AfD won its first district administrator last year, the party was clearly in the lead shortly before the end of the count.
The local elections come ahead of a key state vote in September, where controversial local AfD leader Björn Höcke plans to run for state premier.
Creditors to vote for restructuring plan for Galeria
Insolvency administrator Stefan Denkhaus has recommended that the creditors of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof vote on Tuesday for the plan to restructure the department store chain.
The creditors' meeting will meet on Tuesday at Messe Essen to vote on the insolvency plan drawn up by Denkhaus, which is intended to bring the company back on the road to success. The result should be known in the afternoon.
If the plan involves the closure of 16 out of the 92 department store branches. Additionally 1,400 of the approximately 12,800 employees would lose their jobs.
With reporting by DPA
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