Germany updates: Merz, De Wever wary of Russian fund seizure

The German government exported a record €12.83 billion ($14.94 billion) worth of weapons in 2024, €800 million more than in 2023, according to an arms exports report seen by the Politico news magazine.

The vast majority of German arms exports (€11.26 billion) went to non-NATO and non-EU countries, including €8.15 billion to Ukraine. Among the weapons sent to Kyiv in its ongoing battle against the Russian invasion were 306 armored vehicles, 316 missile systems, 78 tanks and eleven large-caliber artillery systems.

In contrast, only €1.58 billion ($1.84 billion) worth of German weaponry was exported to NATO or EU allies — a significant drop-off from the €6 billion in 2023.

According to the report, 62 arms export requests were rejected by Germany, 17 more than the previous year. Among the countries with the most rejections were Pakistan, Thailand and Malaysia.

A court in Berlin has sentenced a Syrian teenager, who was 14 at the time of the crimes, for contributing to a foiled "Islamic State"-inspired plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna. 

The boy, identified as Mohammad A., was given a suspended 18-month sentence for preparing a serious act of violence and supporting a terrorist act of violence abroad. 

Judges found that the defendant sent an acquaintance in Austria a video with bomb-building instructions and organized contact with an Islamic State member, among other things. The court said he had been "radicalized by IS propaganda on the internet" and supported the group's ambitions at the time.

Three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna, part of her "Eras" tour, were canceled on August 7 in response to the plot, thwarted with the help of US intelligence. 

Authorities in Austria have arrested and are in the process of prosecuting three suspects, all of them teenagers at the time of the plot.

Austrian intelligence services say the main suspect is an Austrian citizen with North Macedonian roots who has confessed that he intended to carry out an attack using explosives and knives.

The court in Berlin said the defendant had made a "comprehensive confession" at his trial, which was held behind closed doors because of his age. The verdict can be appealed.

Friedrich Merz and his Belgian counterpart Prime Minister Bart De Wever both spoke out against seizing frozen Russian central bank assets in Europe during their press conference in Berlin on Tuesday. 

More than €200 billion of Russian central bank assets are held in the Belgian-based Euroclear.

These funds have been frozen in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the interest payments are being used to assist Ukraine, but European governments have stopped short of seizing the funds themselves, as some including Kyiv urge them to.

"I know that there are governments who dream of being able to seize this money," De Wever told reporters, speaking in German. "But I would like to warn against this, it is not so simple legally." 

De Wever argued that if governments ignored the immunity granted to Russian central bank funds in this instance, it would lead to other countries withdrwaing their capital from the EU in fear that it was no longer safe. 

Merz, with a background in corporate law, issued a similarly cautious message. 

"I see the impacts on capital markets, if one were to seize central bank assets like this," he said. "In this regard, I share the concerns of the Belgian prime minister on this topic, especially since the Belgian state would be liable — as the headquarters of Euroclear — if this money were to be accessed unlawfully." 

German media report that some of a group of roughly 2,000 Afghans who fled the Taliban and were expecting visas to enter Germany will be able to travel from Pakistan in the near future. 

The government in Berlin had resisted their entry in recent months, saying it wanted to review all past cases individually — even those approved by the previous federal government — before granting people entry. 

But amid several court challenges to this move, where plaintiffs argued the government had already made a binding promise, newspaper die Welt and public broadcaster ARD both report that an unspecified number of the hopefuls will receive permission to fly to Germany.

It's not clear how many might be granted entry or when they might fly, ARD said they would take commercial flights via Dubai and Istanbul "in the coming days." 

The Foreign Ministry in Berlin was likely facing the prospect of fines from German courts in the case of non-compliance.

Germany played a large part in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, contributing the second most troops behind the US to the peacekeeping mission after the Taliban was initially pushed out of power. 

Following the overnight western withdrawal and the equally rapid return to power of the Taliban in 2021, a debate ensued over how to help Afghans who might have assisted German troops or NGOs or other entities, and whose lives might be at risk as a result.

When taking office after elections early this year, new Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called for security checks for each individual granted entry.

Earlier this month, the German government said a large number of the people awaiting visas had been returned to Afghanistan by Pakistan.

Fish consumption in Germany has continued to decline even though prices have held steady, according to preliminary data from the Fish Information Center (FIZ) in Hamburg.

Per capita consumption fell from 13.4 to 12.8 kilograms (about 29.5 to 28.2 pounds) in 2024, down from the year before. The Agriculture Ministry gave an even lower figure of 12.1 kilograms.

FIZ managing director Stefan Meyer said the difference was due to a special effect in late 2023, when producers stockpiled whitefish such as Alaska pollock and counted it in 2024.

Average fish prices remained at €12.10 ($14.10) per kilogram, unchanged from 2023. Smoked fish was the most expensive, while canned fish was the cheapest.

More than 20 hours after a massive fire broke out in Hamburg’s port, firefighters have extinguished the largest blaze on the site, officials said Tuesday.

Around 120 firefighters remain at the scene, where smoldering hotspots still need to be extinguished and the risk of explosions from gas cylinders persists.

Six people were injured in the fire, which began Monday afternoon in the Veddel district. One victim is in critical condition, another seriously hurt, and three firefighters are among the injured. Flying debris also struck a driver on the nearby A1 highway.

Investigators said the blaze started with a burning car inside a warehouse, where stored gas cylinders exploded and were hurled hundreds of meters, sparking further fires nearby.

At the peak of the blaze, about 320 firefighters were deployed.

US tech giant Apple can no longer market its Apple Watch as "CO2-neutral" in Germany after a Frankfurt court ruled that the company misled consumers.

Judges found Apple's claim that the device was its "first CO2-neutral product" violated competition law, siding with environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH). The ruling can be appealed.

Apple had pointed to a Paraguay reforestation project to offset emissions, but the court noted that 75% of the leased land is not secured beyond 2029. "There is no secure future for the continuation of the forest project," the statement said.

DUH welcomed the verdict, calling it a win against greenwashing. "The supposed storage of CO2 in commercial eucalyptus plantations is limited to just a few years, the contractual guarantees for the future are not sufficient and the ecological integrity of monoculture areas is not guaranteed," said DUH head Juergen Resch, adding that monoculture projects lack ecological integrity.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany will not follow partners such as Canada and France in recognizing a Palestinian state.

"We will not join this initiative," Merz told a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Berlin. "We do not consider the conditions for state recognition to be fulfilled in any way at present."

Germany maintains that recognition should come only as one of the final steps in a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians live peacefully side by side.

Carney announced in July that Canada will recognize Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September. French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged the same, while Britain has threatened Israel with recognition unless certain conditions are met. Carney said the decision was driven by a worsening outlook for a two-state solution.

More than half of Germans now support recognizing a Palestinian state, a recent poll showed.

Germany and Canada agreed Tuesday to step up cooperation on mining critical raw materials, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Prime Minister Mark Carney signing a memorandum of understanding in Berlin.

"This is a good step towards strengthening our economies," Merz said after the talks. Carney pointed to Canada's large deposits of lithium and rare earths, calling them a key asset.

The move comes after Beijing imposed export controls in April on seven rare earths, intensifying concerns over China’s dominance in minerals vital for electric motors and laptops.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has called border pushbacks a "highly effective measure," telling the news magazine Stern that more than 10,000 migrants have been turned away since May 8, including about 550 people seeking asylum.

He said more than 30,000 people have been stopped at Germany’s borders since checks were introduced in September 2024. "The number of illegal migrants has since been halved through all our measures," Dobrindt said, adding that Germany has fallen to third place among EU destinations.

Responding to a court ruling that labeled forced returns of asylum seekers unlawful, Dobrindt argued politics must remain capable of change. "If in a democracy no options for change are seen, it paves the way for radical parties," he said. The conservative Bavarian politician insisted his actions stay within European and German legal frameworks.

Germany's industrial workforce has been shrinking in the ongoing economic downturn, according to a new analysis.

The research showed that the auto industry alone has cut about 51,500 jobs within a year — nearly 7% of its workforce. No other sector has seen losses on this scale, accounting and professional services EY said.

Overall, industrial employment stood at 5.42 million by the end of June, down 114,000 jobs, or 2.1%, compared with a year earlier. Since 2019, the sector has shed about 245,000 positions. Industrial revenue fell 2.1% in the second quarter, marking the eighth decline in a row.

Auto manufacturers face falling sales, competition from China, and the costly shift to electric cars. EY's Jan Brorhilker said shrinking demand in China, US tariffs under Donald Trump, and weak European markets are forcing German automakers and suppliers to cut back.

Other industries are also struggling. Machinery makers shed about 17,000 jobs, while metal production lost 12,000. Chemical and pharmaceutical sectors were less affected.

Major firms including Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Bosch, Continental, ZF, and Porsche have launched cost-cutting programs. Brorhilker warned the trend will continue, hitting young engineers especially hard, and said unemployment among graduates is likely to rise — something Germany has not seen in years.

Donations have been pouring in for a 20-year-old US national injured in a knife attack on a tram in Dresden, with more than $40,000 (€34,400) raised by early Tuesday to cover his medical costs.

Police said the man was slashed in the face Saturday night after he stepped in to stop two men harassing women. He is still in hospital, but his injuries are not life-threatening.

The victim, a trained paramedic and rescue assistant, now faces a long recovery physically, emotionally, and financially, according to the GoFundMe page set up by his brother’s girlfriend.

Police detained a 21-year-old Syrian national in connection with the case, but prosecutors ordered his release, saying he was not the attacker.

A German court is set to decide whether US tech giant Apple misled consumers by advertising some of its smartwatches as "carbon neutral."

Since 2023, Apple has marketed three watch models in Germany with the label, saying most emissions are avoided during production and transport and the rest offset through nature projects.

Environmental Action Germany (DUH) has challenged the claims as false and filed a cease-and-desist request. If granted by the Frankfurt Regional Court, Apple would be forced to halt the ads.

In a June hearing, the court voiced doubts about Apple's assurances after the company admitted only 25% of the land in a Paraguay reforestation project had been secured long-term, with some plots leased only until 2029. Judges said consumers would expect guarantees lasting until at least 2045 or 2050.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is meeting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Berlin, as Ottawa seeks closer ties with Europe amid US President Donald Trump's global tariff war.

Talks with Carney will focus on deepening bilateral ties plus foreign and economic policy. Carney visited Kyiv on Sunday for Ukraine’s Independence Day.

The chancellor is also set to meet Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever in a visit to center on bilateral cooperation, European affairs, and international security. De Wever and Merz are due to brief reporters at 1:30 p.m.

Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn.

You join us as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces a busy diplomatic day. He is meeting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for talks on trade, foreign policy, and economic ties. Later, Merz welcomes Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever on his first official visit. 

Meanwhile, a Frankfurt court is set to decide whether US tech firm Apple misled customers by advertising some of its watches as "carbon neutral."

Stay tuned for more throughout the day!