The Local Germany

Cabinet extends Afghanistan mission

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 09:28:00 +0100

The German cabinet voted in favour of extending the country’s unpopular military mission in Afghanistan by one year on Wednesday, with the new plan stipulating that troop withdrawal must begin at the end of 2011.

Ministers sabotage Merkel’s austerity drive

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:04:00 +0200

Several of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet ministers are reportedly threatening to sink her centre-right coalition’s proposed austerity package only weeks after they agreed to make deep spending cuts.

Germany to take on less debt than projected

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:39:00 +0200

The German federal government won’t have to take on nearly as much debt in this year as previously feared, a media report said on Tuesday.

Mutti Merkel fed up with coalition bickering

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:22:00 +0200

The normally staid world of German politics has been enlivened recently by some colourful name-calling within Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition. But now she has had enough.

Austerity package sparks heated debate

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:44:00 +0200

The government’s plan for deep spending cuts sparked fierce debate on Tuesday, with some in the coalition defending the package while social justice advocates, unions and German cities slammed the plan as unjust.

Axe falls on welfare and family benefits

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:58:00 +0200

Reductions in social benefits will spearhead the deepest spending cuts in modern German history, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Monday. But education and research will be spared the axe and income and sales taxes will not be increased.

D-Day arrives for Germany's budget

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:10:00 +0200

Germans are set to find out by lunchtime Monday the results of the cabinet’s brainstorming session on how to slash government spending by €51 billion over the next six years.

Merkel gets pay rise of €4,000 a year

Fri, 07 May 2010 10:47:00 +0200

Chancellor Angela Merkel will be paid an extra €334 per month - or just over €4,000 a year - after the federal government approved its own pay rise, sparking anger from taxpayers, German media reported Friday.

Germany and Israel set for joint cabinet meeting

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 10:35:00 +0100

A joint meeting in Berlin of the German and Israeli cabinets that was postponed in November will now take place on January 18, an Israeli government official said on Sunday.

Illness delays joint Israeli-German cabinet talks

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:16:00 +0100

A joint meeting in Berlin of the German and Israeli cabinets planned for Monday has been postponed because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a viral infection, his office said on Sunday.

Israeli ministers due to arrive for historic meeting in Germany

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:45:00 +0100

The German and Israeli cabinets will hold their first joint-meeting on German soil in Berlin on Monday, signalling deeper reconciliation between the two countries 65 years after the Holocaust.

Artists to get faster unemployment benefits

Thu, 21 May 2009 11:14:00 +0200

Germany’s cabinet approved a new rule on Wednesday to provide unemployment benefits to artists more quickly than other professions because the nature of their work is often based on short-term projects.

Berlin mulls tracking data on foreign visitors

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:38:00 +0100

German residents who have frequent guests from outside the EU could find themselves monitored by the government if a newly proposed measure to combat visa abuse is passed, daily Frankfurter Rundschau reported on Wednesday.

Germany doubles police instructors in Afghanistan

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:19:00 +0200

Germany will double its contribution to an EU police training mission in Afghanistan, the cabinet in Berlin announced on Wednesday.

Steinbrück bets 6 bottles of wine on balanced budget by 2011

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:19:00 +0200

German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück said on Wednesday he bets six bottles of red wine that the federal budget will be “in the black” by 2011.

One in eight Germans live in poverty

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:15:00 +0200

The German cabinet has approved new national poverty figures that show the country's divide between rich and poor continues to grow, news agency DPA reported on Wednesday.

German cabinet approves contentious bills for terror data

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:40:00 +0200

Germany on Wednesday approved a disputed plan to share more information on terror suspects with the United States in a deal that Washington hopes will be a model for cooperation with other countries.