Thursday's top story: Government leaders agree to further talks with social partners
A summit meeting between the Federal Government and social partners, including trade union leaders and employers, stretched on for three hours on Wednesday.
The leaders of the black-red coalition discussed plans for reforms to Germany's social and welfare benefits.Â
The government leaders want to launch major reforms before the summer break. However, initial plans have been met with pushback from Germany's trade unions as well as from many large employers.
According to government spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, the meeting in the Chancellery was about the labour market, the stability of social insurance, bureaucracy reduction and tax policy. It had already been agreed in advance that no decisions would be made.
The participants in the discussion agreed that Germany is facing major challenges, and that the social systems must be reformed and the bureaucratic burden reduced.
Further measures to secure jobs and increase the attractiveness of Germany as a business location are to be taken "quickly and decisively", the group said. Among other things, lower energy costs and tax relief for employees has been suggested.
But the only major announcement following the meeting was that the coalition leaders and their social partners would like to meet again.
"Good solutions are created in dialogue," Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote on X.
READ ALSO: Taxes to health insurance - What reforms is Germany eyeing this spring?
Stuttgart 21 delayed to 2031 after major cable errors
Germany’s long-delayed Stuttgart 21 rail project faces a further setback, with full completion now unlikely until 2031, after a construction error involving kilometres of incorrectly installed cables.
An investigation by SWR revealed that Deutsche Bahn laid large sections of unsuitable cabling and cable ducts while rushing to meet earlier deadlines. Much of the infrastructure must now be replaced, contributing to a delay of several years beyond the original timetable.
The problems stem in part from the project’s ambitious digital signalling system, which combines traditional infrastructure with new European Train Control System (ETCS) technology. Insiders say cables were installed before planning was complete, resulting in incompatibility with the final system.
While Deutsche Bahn has declined to comment in detail, it has commissioned a revised timetable for the project. Experts suggest the cable issue is only one factor, alongside defects in platforms and emergency systems.
Originally scheduled to open in 2026, Stuttgart 21 has faced persistent criticism over delays, costs and management, with the latest setback further fuelling public frustration.
German industry moves to build new fighter jet after FCAS collapse
A German-led consortium of aerospace and defence companies is preparing to develop a new sixth-generation fighter jet following the collapse of the Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme.
Airbus and seven partner firms are expected to formally launch the “Team Gen 6” alliance at the International Aerospace Exhibition in Berlin. The group, which includes major German companies alongside European missile maker MBDA, says it has the expertise and capacity to deliver the project.
The move comes after Berlin and Paris abandoned the FCAS initiative amid disagreements between Airbus and France’s Dassault over leadership and design requirements. The project had been seen as a cornerstone of European defence cooperation.
READ ALSO:Â Germany and France abandon joint fighter jet project
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said ending FCAS removes a key obstacle and opens the way for alternative approaches, while retaining some of its core digital technologies.
The government has not yet committed to the new project, with other options under consideration, including further purchases of US-made F‑35 jets or joining international programmes.
Petition urges comedian Hape Kerkeling to become Germany’s next president
An online petition is calling for German comedian and television personality Hape Kerkeling to be nominated as the country’s next federal president, ahead of a vote due in January 2027.
The appeal, which has attracted more than 20,000 supporters, has been submitted to leaders of Germany’s main political parties, urging them to back Kerkeling as a cross-party candidate. In Germany, the largely ceremonial but influential head of state is elected by a special federal assembly rather than by the public.
Supporters argue that Kerkeling, one of Germany’s best-known entertainers, demonstrated the qualities required for the role in a recent speech marking the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp. In it, he reflected on his grandfather’s imprisonment under the Nazi regime and called for a strong commitment to democratic values.
While Kerkeling has responded with apparent humour, saying he “rules nothing out”, such petitions rarely influence political decision-making. The current president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is due to step down after a decade in office.
German model missing for 11 years named in Epstein files
A German model missing for almost 11 years is named in the Epstein files, heightening her family's fears about her fate, German news weekly Der Spiegel reported Wednesday.
The woman, only identified as "Michele", left her family home in September 2015 when she was 22 and has not been heard of since, the report said.
She had long been in contact with a model recruiter named Daniel Siad, who had links to the late convicted sex offender.
She had spent time in Dubai and other international locations, said Der Spiegel and public broadcaster ZDF.
Siad is under investigation in France, accused of aiding Epstein to traffic and abuse women. He denies the accusations.
Epstein died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving minors.
Der Spiegel said Siad's name frequently comes up in the Epstein files, in emails in which he sent Epstein photos of women and their bodily measurements, praising their beauty.
The model's mother is quoted as saying in the article that she fears the worst.
"I think she's no longer alive," she is quoted as saying. "That something was done to her."
With reporting by DPA, AFP and Tom Pugh.
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