Germany updates: Border checks cost over €80 million

The German government says a proposal by which state benefits paid out to asylum-seekers would be issued as partially repayable, interest-free loans is "worthy of consideration."

The proposal has been tabled by two Social Democrat (SPD) councilors from the eastern German state of Thuringia, who suggest that adult asylum-seekers, recognized refugees and migrants from non-EU countries should have to pay back state benefits.

"We need to see a real desire for reform from the government in Berlin, not just adjustments to an increasingly dysfunctional system," councilor Matthias Jendricke told Stern magazine. "Those who come to our country without having previously paid into the welfare state should only receive benefits as interest-free loans."

His colleague Marko Wolfram suggested that repayments could be reduced for those who quickly find work, pass German language tests or whose children do well in school — all as incentives to integration, he said.

Philipp Amthor of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), who acts as parliamentary secretary for the Digitalization Ministry, thinks the suggestion is "worthy of consideration."

He said it posed "a number of legal questions" but "the basic idea is interesting. It's about placing the focus not just on welfare payments but on creative incentives for integration and work, which helps everyone."

Back in Thuringia, State Interior Minister and regional SPD chief Georg Maier said it was "important and necessary" to consider ways to integrate refugees into the labor market more quickly, but criticized his party colleagues' proposal as "poorly thought through."

"Integration requires workable concepts, not risky experiments with welfare benefits," he said.

Tareq Alaows, a spokesman for the refugee aid organization Pro Asyl ("Pro-Asylum"), said the "anti-social" suggestion "disregards fundamental rights" and "misunderstands [the] reality" for refugees.

"Those living in insecurity and debt will have a worse chance of finding long-term employment," he said.

Pakistani authorities detained Afghans in Islamabad in its latest crackdown on refugees from the country, including some who were set for relocation to Germany, police confirmed on Thursday.

The arrests have drawn reactions from Berlin, with some of those sent to deportation centers already approved for relocation under Germany's admissions program as they flee the Taliban.

Read the whole article about Pakistan detaining Afghans waiting for Germany relocations

The renaming of a Berlin boulevard to Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Strasse, after Germany's first known African-born scholar, highlights a long struggle to erase symbols of a brutal colonial past.

Read the full story to find out the long history behind the Berlin street and its name change.

German Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder has reportedly fired Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz, according to German media reports. 

Lutz, who is 61 years old, is expected to stay in office until a successor is named by the government. Lutz has been in his position since 2017.

Deutsche Bahn is owned by the German state. During Lutz's tenure, Deutsche Bahn has seen failing marks when it comes to punctuality, with trains frequently canceled.

Prior to taking office in May, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for reforms to Deutsche Bahn. His government has since earmarked €150 billion ($174 billion) in investments in the train company.  

Read the whole story of Lutz's departure from Deutsche Bahn here.

The Brandenburg domestic intelligence agency has justified its classification of the state branch of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as "confirmed far-right extremist" in a 140-page report.

The assessment, published Thursday, states that anti-constitutional statements and actions shape the overall character of the AfD in Brandenburg. State Interior Minister Rene Wilke said in Potsdam that the party was clearly on a course to destroy the democratic state and its institutions.

Brandenburg's AfD had been monitored as a suspected far-right extremist case since 2020. Wilke warned that further radicalization could push the party toward a ban procedure, noting it had significantly shifted the limits of acceptable political discourse in recent years.

The report cites major violations of core democratic and rule-of-law principles, saying such breaches have increased in recent times.

AfD rhetoric on migration was described as deliberately apocalyptic to stoke fear and social tension. Anti-constitutional remarks within the party have gone largely unchallenged and, more recently, have been actively promoted by the state leadership, the report said.

The upgraded classification allows authorities to more easily use intelligence methods such as surveillance. How AfD members in public service are treated will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, officials said.

At first glance, Bayern Munich's decision to end its commercial deal with Rwanda appears to be a rare moment of football morality.

But dig a little deeper and the club's motivations seem not so straightforward.

Read the full story on why Germany's Bayern Munich cut its commercial ties with Rwanda.

70 years ago, a German tabloid newspaper created the Lilli doll, a fantasy figure for men based on a cartoon character, which eventually inspired another iconic doll — Barbie.

Read the full story about how a German doll inspired Barbie.

German industrial group ThyssenKrupp is dampening its financial outlook amid weaker demand along with uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump's tariff policy. The company announced its quarterly results on Thursday. 

"The past quarter was characterized by enormous macroeconomic uncertainty," ThyssenKrupp CEO Miguel Lopez said.

"We are very much feeling the weak market environment in key customer industries such as the automotive, engineering and construction industries," Lopez said.  

ThyssenKrupp announced a heavy net loss from the April-to-June quarter of €278 million ($325 million), almost five times higher than the same period last year.    

However, ThyssenKrupp's marine company which manufactures submarines and warships is seeing a spike in sales amid higher German defense spending due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, will be spun off and listed on the stock exchange later in 2025.   

German newspaper Die Zeit on Thursday published a report revealing new details on German arms exports to Israel during the previous government of center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Israel began its military operation in Gaza more than 22 months ago, after Hamas carried out terror attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

As the war against Hamas in Gaza has progressed, the Israeli military has been accused of war crimes. According to Die Zeit, the German government greenlit powerful Matador rocket launchers to Israel in the second half of 2024 amid controversy regarding Israel's military actions in Gaza.

In its report, Die Zeit lays out the secretive decision-making process the Scholz government undertook when sending arms abroad. 

The German Federal Security Council, which discusses arms exports, meets in bug-proof meeting rooms. Anyone who reveals the contents of the meetings to others besides the participants is committing a criminal act. 

These meetings of the Federal Security Council are attended by the chancellor, the head of the chancellery, and important ministers, such as the foreign and defense ministers. According to the Die Zeit report, Scholz's security policy adviser Jens Plötner played an influential role in the meetings when Scholz was in office.

In 2024, Germany approved some €160 million in arms to Israel. 

  

The report in Die Zeit comes after current chancellor, Friedrich Merz, announced last week that his government would halt weapons to Israel which could be used in the Gaza Strip.

Germany faces another day of high temperatures on Thursday, after scorching heat on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

In parts of southwestern Germany, temperatures as high as 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) are expected, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).  

In the major western city of Cologne, high temperatures of 33 C are expected.

Parts of northern Germany will see less brutal temperatures, with Hamburg expecting a high of 26 degrees.  

Temperatures are also peaking in other parts of Europe. On the island of Cyprus, temperatures are expected to be as high as 45 degrees Celsius. 

Germany's heightened border checks with its neighboring countries have cost the government at least €80.5 million ($93.4 million) so far, the German Funke Media Group of newspapers reported on Thursday based on German Interior Ministry data.    

The border checks began on September 16, 2024 under previous center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government. These checks have continued under his successor, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took office on May 6.    

According to the Funke Media Group reports, the most expensive part of the border checks is the compensation for police officers who are performing the inspections. The cost of overtime work for the officers from September 2024 to June 2025 was €37.9 million.

On a quarterly basis, the border checks cost between €24 to €29.1 million.  

The German Interior Ministry said from April to June of this year, €2.6 million was spent on "working at inconvenient times." The officers at the checkpoints are working 24/7, which means they have to be paid for more costly night and Sunday shifts.  

Around €8 million was spent on hotels and catering for officers employed in the border checks from April to June. The operation of the border stations cost a little under €2 million during that same time frame.   

German border checks spark controversy

Border checks within Europe's free movement Schengen Area are only expected to be temporary.

Germany has implemented the checks to combat irregular migration and crime, with Merz's government seeking to use the checks to turn back migrants at the German borders. As many as 14,000 German federal officers are employed at the border checkpoints across the country. 

Germany borders several major European economies, such as France, Poland and the Netherlands. The border checks have made life more complicated for daily commuters who go back and forth between Germany and other European countries for work or to study.     

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, a member of the conservative Bavaria-based Christian Social Union (CSU) party, wants to extend the border checks beyond September.  

Members of the opposition socialist Left Party and environmentalist Green Party have criticized Germany's European border checks as "illegal" and have called for them to end.    

Guten Tag from the Bonn online news team and welcome to our daily blog covering current affairs in Germany. 

Today we are taking a look at how much it costs the German government to carry out border checks with its neighboring countries, such as Poland, Austria and France. The move, which was implemented last September, has caused headaches for commuters and sparked criticism from the political opposition.  

We are also observing another day of hot temperatures in Germany and Europe.

Stay tuned for not only the latest news pertaining to Germany, but also analysis, on-the-ground insight from DW correspondents and multimedia content on Europe's biggest economy.