Germany updates: Afghan family sues government — report

Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz has defended tighter border security imposed under a crackdown on irregular migration.

Measures include more checks at Germany's frontiers with neighboring EU nations to identify and reject undocumented migrants.

Germany has reminded Russia that any failure to join the ceasefire offered by Ukraine would bring further sanctions on Moscow

"The clock is ticking," government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said, adding that if the ceasefire did not stand by the end of Monday, the European side would keep to its agreement to implement further sanctions.

If Moscow does not accept the demand, "preparations will be set in motion" for fresh sanctions, he said.

However, the Kremlin on Monday said it would not accept "ultimatums" set by European leaders to enter a ceasefire with Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that giving ultimatums to Russia was "unacceptable" and wouldn't work. "You cannot talk to Russia in this language," he told reporters.

France on Monday said leaders at a meeting on Ukraine this weekend had asked the European Commission to put together new "massive" sanctions targeting Russia's oil and financial sector if there was no Russian agreement.

The EU is already working on a 17th sanctions package that it is seeking to adopt by the next foreign ministers meeting on May 20.
 

Germany's new finance minister, Social Democrat Lars Klingbeil, speaking in Brussels before meeting EU counterparts on Monday, said, "I am very optimistic and confident that we will be able to find a common path with the Commission" on Germany's compliance with EU fiscal rules.

Klingbeil said increased spending in Germany — approved by Berlin's Bundestag parliament in March — will help drive European growth. He listed lower energy costs, bureaucratic reforms and dealing with skilled worker shortages as declared policy aims.

Much of Germany's new spending would go toward defense investment, which Klingbeil said would certainly be welcomed by Berlin's European partners.

"The signal is always very clear. Everyone thinks it is right for Germany to take on more responsibility, to invest more in infrastructure, in security, and therefore, also in the economic strength of our country and the continent," he said.
 
In a social media post on X, Klingbeil pitched "opportunity for massive investment," promising to, "undertake structural reforms, lower energy prices, and cut bureaucracy to protect jobs."

There have been concerns about the legality of Germany's national debt-spending decision within EU law.

Klingbeil said the Finance Ministry's 2025 draft budget, to be presented in June, will answer all remaining deficit-limit questions.

Ukraine's ambassador to Germany has praised newly-appointed Chancellor Friedrich Merz for maintaining secrecy around German weapons deliveries to Kyiv, describing the move as a deliberate act of "strategic ambiguity" designed to obscure Ukraine's capabilities from Russia.

"A good chess player thinks several moves ahead. What he doesn't do is predict these moves to his opponent," Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev told the dpa news agency, welcoming Merz's change of course.

Following his inauguration last week, Merz reached an agreement with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to halt the detailed publication of military aid to Ukraine, including specific quantities of arms.

The policy marks a return to early-war practices, when former Chancellor Olaf Scholz initially withheld such data during the first months of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. However, Scholz's administration later shifted course under public pressure, beginning to publish detailed shipment lists online from June 2022. The most recent update was posted on May 6 — the day Merz's new government took office.

Ironically, Merz had previously criticized the secrecy when he was opposition leader.

However, former Ukrainian ambassador Andriy Melnyk was sharply critical of Merz's change of course. He called the secrecy a "very strange" approach that "brought back bad memories" of Scholz's center-left-led administration, which he accused of using confidentiality to obscure hesitancy in arms support.

After talks with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Israeli President Isaac Herzog paid a short visit to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Although Herzog and Merz did not make any public remarks, the Israeli president had earlier wished Merz and his new government success.

A 33-year-old woman has suffered bite injuries from a tiger as she was cleaing its open-air enclosure at a small zoo in the city of Delbrück, German media reported on Monday, citing police and fire brigade sources.

Broadcaster WDR reported that the woman was badly hurt but not in danger of her life.

Police told the dpa news agency that the carer probably forgot to close an open access door when cleaning the enclosure. Police and fire officials said she was bitten in the shoulder and hand.

She was said to have been transported by helicopter to a hospital in the city of Bielefeld, some 35 km (22 miles) to the north.

Delbrück is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, about 130 kilometers northeast of the state capital, Düsseldorf.
 

New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz plans to travel to Rome on Sunday to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV, who was elected as the leader of the Catholic Church last week as successor to the late Pope Francis.

The announcement was made on Monday by government spokesman Stefan Kornelius.

Merz did not attend Francis' funeral, which took place before the Christian Democrat (CDU) politician was officially elected as German leader. Former Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats represented Germany on the occasion.

The inaugural Mass for the new pope is to take place in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Sunday morning.  

German President Frank Walter Steinmeier met with his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog in Berlin on Monday as the two countries prepared to mark 60 years since establishing diplomatic relations.

Solidifying ties on May 12, 1965, was seen as a major milestone in Germany's journey to addressing the crimes of the Holocaust.

"Our own history should also give others hope, especially in these times," Stienmeier said.

"Peace is possible, reconciliation is possible."

Steinmeier will also travel to Israel as part of the commemorations being held during a time when the Israeli government has come under fierce criticism over the civilian toll of its war against Hamas in Gaza.

Read our in-depth coverage of the meeting: Germany and Israel mark anniversary in shadow of war

Although Western allies were tentatively backing possible direct truce talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Germany's new Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that they should still be ready to exert maximum pressure on Russia.

"First the weapons must be silent, then talks can begin," Wadephul said, referring to a 30-day truce suggested by Zelenskyy that Moscow has until the weekend to respond to.

In the meantime, he said, "the West should not underestimate Moscow."

He called on allies to get on board with the delivery of German-made Taurus missiles to Kyiv. More powerful and more precise, the government of former Chancellor Olaf Scholz had refused to send any Taurus equipment over fears Germany could get dragged further into the conflict. 

An Afghan family residing in Pakistan, whose names were not given due to fears of reprisal from the Taliban, told German public broadcaster ARD that they have filed a lawsuit against the government.

The family is suing, they said, because they have been waiting for over 18 months for a visa they are legally entitled to.

The main plaintiff, assigned the pseudonym Aisha by ARD, is a writer and scientist who is well known to Berlin due to her function in the Afghan government before the Taliban swept back to power in 2021.

In October 2023, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) agreed to take in Aisha and 13 of her relatives, including many small children. After many months of sending documents and security interviews, Aisha says they were told they were approved in March.

However, they were never given an appointment to go pick up their visas, and repeated attempts at obtaining one were rebuffed, she says.

Aisha and her family also face the looming threat of deportation from Pakistan, where their visas have already run out. Because Germany has no diplomatic ties with the Taliban, Afghans must travel to Islamabad to apply for German visas.

According to ARD, some 2,500 Afghans are waiting on similar procedures. Newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz made curbing immigration a cornerstone of his campaign. He has already ordered tighter controls at the country's borders and has begun turning away some asylum seekers.

He has also signaled a desire to completely stop the federal program assisting Afghans fleeing Taliban repression. Many of his policies have come under hefty criticism, amid concerns that they may violate both German and EU law.

Immigration is once again in the headlines as Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, begins his first full week in office.

His top diplomat, Johann Wadephul, has also hit the ground running ahead of possible ceasefire talks in Ukraine.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog began marking 60 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries. 

This blog will keep you updated with all that's happening in Germany and its newly-elected government.