EU president-elect Ursula von der Leyen chose the Scorpions' smash hit "Wind of Change", which has become an anthem for the fall of the Berlin Wall, for her official departure ceremony in Berlin on Thursday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's favoured successor and the head of her CDU party will become the country's next Defence Minister in a surprise move, after Ursula von der Leyen was elected European Commission president.
German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen was narrowly elected president of the European Commission on Tuesday after winning over sceptical lawmakers.
Passionately pro-European, disciplined and
ambitious, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen might have seen her
political star fade in Berlin but is now aiming for the top job in Brussels.
A planned €10.2 billion increase in defence spending agreed by ministers on Wednesday won't be enough to modernize the German army, soldiers have warned.
Hanover Medical School on Wednesday said Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen plagiarized parts of her thesis, but allowed her to keep her doctorate because there was no "deliberate deception".
German lawmakers must decide on Friday whether to send German airmen and sailors to join European allies and the US in the war against Isis. These are the big questions they need to answer.
Only 29 out of Germany's 66 Tornado jets – the type slated to see action on reconnaissance flights over Syria – are airworthy, a Defence Ministry report showed on Wednesday.
Germany will send up to 650 soldiers to Mali, Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday, to provide some relief to France in its global fight against Isis jihadists.
Germany will provide "help and support" to France, Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday as Paris called for military assistance from fellow EU nations.
Germany's defence minister Sunday sought to quash speculation in the wake of the Paris attacks that radicals bent on violence could slip into Europe among a flood of asylum seekers arriving on the continent.
Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday that the government will scrap the G36, the Bundeswehr's (German army) standard rifle, following revelations about serious defects in its accuracy.
Some German soldiers will be carrying different weapons within a year as the Defence Ministry scrambles to replace standard rifle which loses accuracy under hot temperatures.
Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen was the unexpected star at the opening ceremony of the International Equestrian Federation's European Championship on Tuesday evening, taking part in a display put on by the Germany's state stud farms.
Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen visited Mali on Tuesday on the day that the Bundeswehr (German army) takes over control of the EU-training mission in the troubled west African state.
The Defence Ministry has decided to spend several billion Euros on a next-generation air defence system developed jointly in Europe and the USA, media reported on Monday.
Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen is struggling to maintain her credibility as critics have blamed her for lobbying and cover-ups within the ministry over the army's faulty G36 rifles.
The German parliament wants to up the ante in its mandate on Iraq in the fight against the terrorist political group Islamic Stata (Isis) and send armed members of the German national army (Bundeswehr) into the war zone, various media outlets reported on Thursday.
Germany's military hopes to become the most attractive employer in the country with better pay and more part-time work in a series of reforms agreed by ministers on Wednesday.
Germany's defence budget is too small to fund Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen's plan to make the military a more family-friendly and attractive employer, according to reports.
Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen may have to put her plans to expand the mandate of her ministry on hold after an external audit she commissioned shows that the German military isn't prepared to handle more tasks.
