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Skip next section Merz mulls processing asylum claims in non-EU countriesMay 17, 2025
Merz mulls processing asylum claims in non-EU countriesGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has made curbing irregular migration one of his policy priorities, has suggested that asylum claims could be processed in countries that are not part of the European Union.
Merz’s remarks came after his meeting in Rome with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose right-wing populist government has tried to discourage illegal migration to Italy by sending asylum seekers to Albania, a move that has been blocked by Italian courts.
Italy built migrant detention centers in Albania as part of a scheme to deter irregular migrants picked up in the Mediterranean from traveling to Italy.
While her government has had to shelve those plans because of the judicial opposition, Italy has instead started using the camps to house migrants whose asylum claims have been rejected before they are eventually deported.
Despite the controversy over and resistance to Meloni’s plans, Merz said Germany would consider a similar approach.
He acknowledged that while it is “certainly not the solution to the problem,” the approach could “help make the problem smaller.”
Merz also highlighted the urgent need to implement European asylum reform and improve the EU’s ability to tackle irregular migration.
“We will no longer be hitting the brakes when it comes to solving the problems in the European Union,” the chancellor said.
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Skip next section Merz wants more Italy involvement on UkraineMay 17, 2025
Merz wants more Italy involvement on UkraineSince taking office this month, Merz has sought to take a leading role in European politicsImage: Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture-allianceGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for Italy to play a bigger role in European diplomatic efforts to bring about peace in Ukraine.
Merz, who was confirmed as chancellor on May 6, made the remarks after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Saturday evening.
The German chancellor is in Rome to attend the inauguration of the new Pope Leo XIV on Sunday.
“We agreed that Italy must play a role here,” Merz said, adding that he would speak with other European partners in the coming days.
“We must not allow ourselves to be divided in the European Union. There are also no first or second class members,” the chancellor said.
Merz made a recent visit to Kyiv along with the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Poland, but Meloni was not included in the trip.
Media reports in Italy suggest that Meloni’s absence was something which French President Emmanuel Macron had insisted on.
Her predecessor, Mario Draghi, was included on a previous trip by European leaders to Kyiv.
While Meloni — who leads a right-wing, conservative coalition government — did not mention any names, she urged leaders to “abandon personal sensitivities that threaten to undermine the important and fundamental unity of the West.”
Merz, whose center-right CDU-CSU alliance governs in a coalition with the center-left SPD, said Italy was an “indispensable strategic partner.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4uWfv
Skip next section Lufthansa flight in 2024 goes 10 minutes without pilotMay 17, 2025
Lufthansa flight in 2024 goes 10 minutes without pilotA Lufthansa flight from Germany to Spain last year went without a pilot for 10 minutes after its co-pilot lost consciousness while the captain was in the restroom, the German news agency DPA reported on Saturday, citing a report from Spain’s accident investigation authority CIAIAC.
The Airbus A321, which was carrying 199 passengers and six crew members from Frankfurt to Seville, ended up making a safe but unplanned landing in Madrid after the incident so the sick co-pilot could be quickly brought to a hospital, according to the report.
During the health emergency, the plane’s autopilot ensured the jet was able to fly safely despite the fact that the unconscious co-pilot seemed to have unintentionally operated the controls.
The captain first unsuccessfully tried entering a regular code alerting anyone in the cockpit to open the door before resorting to an emergency code that would have allowed him to open it himself.
But shortly before the door would have opened automatically, the co-pilot managed to let the captain in despite his state, the DPA reported.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uWZn
Skip next section Consumers in Germany increasingly spurn US productsMay 17, 2025
Consumers in Germany increasingly spurn US products’Made in USA’ is now putting off a growing number of consumers in GermanyImage: Maurizio Gambarini/epa/picture allianceA growing number of people in Germany is looking for alternatives to US goods and services amid widespread rejection of the policies of President Donald Trump, a survey released on Saturday has shown.
The trend comes as the Trump administration seems to many in Germany and Europe to be turning its back both on the European continent and on democratic values once thought to be held in common with the US.
Among other things, the support given to Germany’s far-right AfD party by leading US figures is seen widely as symptomatic of a concerning political shift.
Altogether 34.3% of respondents said they were already using fewer US goods and services, with more than 17% saying they intended to reduce their consumption yet further, the Innofact poll said.
More than a third of respondents said they wanted to find or consider alternatives to US-made smartphones, while 30% of those surveyed were averse to using US computer hardware and wanted to limit or cease using social media services such as Instagram and X.
The messaging app WhatsApp, which, like Instagram, is owned by US tech giant Meta, appears however to have established itself as more vital to people’s lives, with just under 17% saying they could imagine using an alternative.
Indeed, 36.3% of respondents said they thought US services such as WhatApp and Amazon were now so integral to society that they are indispensable.
The survey, conducted online on behalf of the Verivox comparison portal, was participated in by a total of 1,015 people aged 18 to 79 from April 30 to May 2, 2025.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uWWw
Skip next section Büttner appointed secretary general of FDPMay 17, 2025
Büttner appointed secretary general of FDPEntrepreneur Nicole Büttner has been elected as the new secretary general of Germany’s neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP).
She received 80% of the votes cast at a party conference in Berlin. This is her first political role on a national level, despite having been a member of the FDP for 20 years.
After the FDP failed to reenter the Bundestag in February’s elections, gaining just 4.3% of the vote, the party has elected new leadership.
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Büttner is managing director of the Berlin-based AI company Merantix Momentum and is also a member of the board of the German Startups Association.
The new party chairman, Christian Dürr, nominated Büttner for the position and she replaces former Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, who withdrew from politics in February.
Dürr is succeeding former German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who left his role in the party leadership after the FDP’s electoral defeat.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uVyo
Skip next section In about-face, Austria backs Germany’s tougher border controlsMay 17, 2025
In about-face, Austria backs Germany’s tougher border controlsAustria’s interior minister has said he supports Germany’s tougher border control measures.
“We expressly welcome these controls as we can see that the number of illegal migrants is falling significantly,” Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said during a visit from German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt on Friday.
Karner also said Austria would deepen its cooperation with Germany in the future to allow for deportations to Syria and Afghanistan.
What is Germany’s new border policy? Last week, Germany’s new government ordered increased border checks with all neighboring countries, including Austria.
Germany also authorized turning away asylum-seekers at its borders, except for vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children.
German police conduct expanded border checksTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Germany argues that since it is surrounded only by EU member states (plus Switzerland), which are safe countries, any potential asylum applicants should have to present their case before they reach Germany.
This would respect EU legislation, known as the Dublin agreement, which says that asylum-seekers need to apply for protection in the first EU state they enter.
What will Austria do with those Germany turns back? Karner did not answer the question posed by two journalists as to what will actually happen to people sent back to Austria from Germany, according to Austria’s state broadcaster ORF. Like Germany, Austria is also surrounded by EU member states as well as Switzerland.
Earlier this year, Austria said it wouldn’t accept any migrants turned away from Germany and forced back across the border to Austria.
German police controls vehicles coming into Germany from AustriaImage: Michaela Stache/AFP https://p.dw.com/p/4uVfd
Skip next section Police officer in Berlin seriously injured in attack May 17, 2025
Police officer in Berlin seriously injured in attack In Berlin’s Neukölln district, a 28-year-old man stabbed a police officer in the neck, causing life-threatening injuries.
According to a post on X by the police, the man had tampered with a police vehicle in front of a station. When an officer approached him late Friday evening, he allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed the officer. The police stated that the man had previously tried to file a report at the station.
The officer is currently undergoing emergency surgery at a clinic, and his life is in danger, according to the post. The homicide squad has taken over the investigation.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uVUu
Skip next section Former minister Lindner bids farewell as his FDP picks new leaderMay 17, 2025
Former minister Lindner bids farewell as his FDP picks new leaderFormer German Finance Minister Christian Lindner bid farewell to his business-focused Free Democratic Party (FDP) by heavily criticizing Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s new government.
On Friday, Lindner stepped down as chairman of the pro-business party after leading it to a disastrous result in February’s national election, leaving the FDP without a seat in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament.
At a party conference, Lindner said the “majority of voters voted for less state and more freedom. What is now being delivered is more state and more debt.”
In March, Merz’s conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats, who were in talks to form a coalition, pushed through the outgoing Bundestag a debt reform to create a €500 billion ($558 billion) fund for infrastructure and to ease constitutionally enshrined borrowing rules to allow higher spending on defense.
“If the Merz government does not flank this new fiscal policy with reforms, then this decision on direction will first come back like a boomerang in economic terms and then at the ballot box in 2029,” Lindner added.
Scholz slams FDP’s ‘sabotage’To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
In November, Lindner was fired as finance minister, leading the FDP to withdraw from former Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition. This triggered the early election.
On Friday evening, Christian Dürr, the party’s former parliamentary leader, was chosen to replace Lindner as FDP chairman, receiving 82% of the vote.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uVUt
Skip next section Germany’s Merz to meet with Italy’s Meloni in RomeMay 17, 2025
Germany’s Merz to meet with Italy’s Meloni in RomeItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will receive German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Rome on Saturday.
Merz is traveling to the Italian capital on the occasion of the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday and will use the opportunity for a bilateral meeting with Meloni on the eve of the event in the Vatican.
How Merz aims to regain Germany’s standing on foreign issuesTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Merz is a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union party. Meloni is Italy’s first female prime minister since World War II and holds strong conservative views on issues such as migration.
Merz’s visit comes after a media report suggesting that the German government has downgraded the importance of diplomacy with Italy caused a stir in Rome.
On Thursday, the conservative German daily Die Welt reported that an early draft of the new German government’s coalition agreement listed Italy as an important partner and member of an expanded European axis, alongside France and Poland.
However, in the final agreement, Rome is no longer mentioned in this context. According to the newspaper, the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), Merz’s coalition partner, reportedly insisted on the change.
Lars Klingbeil, a member of the SPD who serves as vice chancellor and finance minister, will be accompanying Merz on the trip to Italy.
Several high-ranking Italian politicians have expressed outrage at the news.
However, a German Foreign Office spokesman denied the report, stating that Italy is welcome as a member of the Weimar Plus format. This is an extension of the Weimar Triangle diplomatic forum with representatives from Germany, France and Poland.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uVUX
Skip next section Welcome to our coverageMay 17, 2025
Welcome to our coverageGuten Tag and welcome to our coverage of political developments in Germany on Saturday, May 17, 2025.
Since officially taking office, Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has largely focused on setting up his foreign policy agenda.
On Saturday, he will travel to Rome to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
This blog will provide you the latest news, analysis, multimedia content and DW on-the-ground reporting in regards to events in Germany. Stay tuned for more!
https://p.dw.com/p/4uVUW
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