Germany updates: Bundestag remembers Srebrenica massacre

07/11/2025July 11, 2025

Bundestag remembers the Srebrenica massacre

The German parliament held a special session in memory of the Srebrenica massacre that took place thirty years ago on Friday.

Some 8,000 Muslims were murdered by Bosnian Serbs in an act, recognized by several international courts as a genocide, that started on July 11, 1995.

Julia Klöckner, president of the Bundestag, said that "Srebrenica was the worst war crime on European soil since World War II."

She said that the massacre was the result of UN peacekeeping forces doing nothing to protect those seeking refuge.

"With brutal violence, the attackers separated families and deported women, children and the elderly," she stated. "They kept men and boys behind in order to systematically murder them in the days that followed." 

07/11/2025July 11, 2025

Australia: Missing German backpacker found alive

The 26-year-old German backpacker was last seen on June 29 in Beacon, north east of PerthImage: WESTERN AUSTRALIA POLICE/AAP/dpa/picture alliance

A German backpacker who went missing in western Australia almost two weeks ago has been found alive, Australian media reported on Friday.

Australian police must first confirm the 26-year-old Carolina Wilga's identity, Australia's Sydney Morning Herald reported.

A passerby ran into Wilga on a path in the bush, Australian media reported. 

Her reappearance follows a large-scale search that dragged on for days.

Read more on when Wilga went missing and how she was found here.

07/11/2025July 11, 2025

Vote on all three Federal Constitutional Court judges postponed

The Bundestag vote for appointing three new Federal Constitutional Court judges has been postponed.

This comes after the conservative bloc, made from Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU), requested to postpone the vote on the appointment of Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf due to plagiarism suspicions.

The Union's move to postpone the vote on one candidate triggered outrage from the Greens and SPD who said it undermined the court's legitimacy.

As a result, the Green party asked for the vote on all three judges to be postponed.

07/11/2025July 11, 2025

Greens call for suspension of judges vote

The Green party has called for the vote on the appointment of three new Federal Constitutional Court judges to be postponed after the conservative ruling bloc moved to delay the vote on one candidate put forward by the Social Democrats (SPD).

Green party heads Britta Hasselmann and Katharina Dröge said it is unacceptable and disrespectful that the vote for Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf alone will be postponed. 

The conservative bloc called for the postponement of the vote on Brosius-Gersdorf, who many conservatives considered controversial for her liberal stance on abortion, with plagiarism suspicions against her.

"That a nominees can be openly defamed and dragged through the mud like this is shameful," Hasselmann said. "It’s about the integrity of our highest court."

07/11/2025July 11, 2025

Wine makers in Germany fear negative effect from US tariffs

German winemakers predict major negative consequences should the US decide to apply tariffs, led by President Donald Trump.

"If the threatened US punitive tariffs come into full effect after the end of the moratorium, it would cause disruptions in international wine markets," the German Wine Institute (DWI) said.

According to DWI spokesperson Ernst Büscher, the 25% tariffs that were introduced during Trump's first, resulted in losses of more than 20% in revenue for German wine makers.

With 11% of the total volume of Germany's wine exports (equivalent to 118 million liters), the US is the most important export market for German wines, with exporters using the period of reduced tariffs to ship as much wine as possible to the other side of the Atlantic.

While German vineyards are exploring alternative markets, Büscher said it can take several years to establish relationships with importers, retailers or restaurants.

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07/11/2025July 11, 2025

Banning the AfD triggers conflict in Germany's coalition

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has said he rejects the idea of banning the far-right, populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

In an interview with German outlet Welt, Dobrindt — of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Union list — labeled banning the party as "the fundamentally wrong way."

He said such a process could take years, during which time it could get even more difficult to tackle their rising support.

Dobrindt also warned that banning the party would lead to the reinforcement of the party's victim role, saying he didn't want to "do this favor for the AfD."

Several members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the second party in Germany's coalition, have expressed support for a ban.

Most recently, Matthias Miersch, head of the SPD in the Bundestag, spoke out in favor of a ban. 

07/11/2025July 11, 2025

Bundestag to vote on new Constitutional Court judges

There are three seats that need to be filled in the Federal Consitutional CourtImage: Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images/imago images

The Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, is expected to decide on the appointment of three new judges to the Federal Constitutional Court.

The conservative bloc, made from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and sister Bavarian party Christian Social Union (CSU), has proposed Federal Labour Court judge Günter Spinner.

The Social Democratic party (SPD), the conservatives' coalition partner, has nominated law professors Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf and Ann-Katrin Kaufhold.

A two-thirds majority is needed for judges to be elected to the high court. The far-right AfD has said it would support Spinner, but not the SPD candidates.

The conservative may be reliant on AfD votes to get its candidate through as it has so far rejected talks with the Left Party. However, votes are secret so it will not necessarily be clear if the AfD votes are what gets Spinner across the line.

As for the SPD candidates, the CDU has expressed doubts over Brosius-Gersdorf's appointment, citing alleged plagiarism. They had already viewed her as too liberal on the topic of abortion and her advocating for mandatory vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Germany's conservatives would therefore like to postpone the vote on Brosius-Gersdorf's appointment. 

Based in the southern German city of Karlsruhe, the Federal Constitutional Court ensures compliance with the country's constitution, known as Basic Law.

07/11/2025July 11, 2025

Tax reliefs for businesses on the upper house's agenda

The Bundesrat is made up of law makers representing Germany's 16 statesImage: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa/picture alliance

Germany's upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, is set to vote on tax breaks running into the billions of euros as the government seeks to support companies and boost investment.

The package includes more options for businesses to account for the depreciation in the value of their machinery, a move intended to increase investment, while also promising to gradually reduce Germany's corporate tax rate from 15% to 10% by 2032. 

The tax cut could result in costs at the federal, state and local levels of up to €48 billion ($56 billion). The federal government has agreed to cover the loss in taxes for German states, some of which are heavily in debt, until 2029.

The Bundesrat is also expected to vote on extending rate controls in some residential areas until the end of 2029. The current measures, only in place in limited areas, limit rents to 10% above the local average.

Both measures being voted on on Friday were part of the coalition agreement between the center-right Union bloc and the center-left Social Democrats.

07/11/2025July 11, 2025

Welcome to our coverage

Good morning and thank you for joining us today as we bring you the latest news, explainers and analysis from Germany.

Several key votes are set to take place today. The German upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, is set to vote on a corporate tax cut as well as rent control measures.

Meanwhile, the lower house, the Bundestag, is set to vote on new judges to be appointed to the constitutional court.

A split is also emerging between Germany's ruling coalition over calls to ban the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Follow our blog for all this and more!