https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed European leaders sending their troops to Greenland has - writes political columnist John Lichfield - called Donald Trump's bluff when it comes to military conflict. Instead the continent faces the prospect of a long and brutal trade war. https://www.thelocal.de/20260120/opinion-this-is-a-1938-moment-for-europe-but-the-war-will-be-a-trade-war Tue, 20 Jan 2026 11:46:19 +0100 opinion-this-is-a-1938-moment-for-europe-but-the-war-will-be-a-trade-war Germany's potential future governing parties - the CDU/CSU and SPD - have reached a landmark agreement on new borrowing for boosting the economy. Here's what the deal could mean for the country. https://www.thelocal.de/20250305/explained-germanys-new-debt-deal-and-what-it-means-for-residents Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:53:02 +0100 explained-germanys-new-debt-deal-and-what-it-means-for-residents Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that his centre-right CDU/CSU and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) would propose an unprecedented package of billions of euros in extra spending on defence and infrastructure. https://www.thelocal.de/20250305/germanys-merz-vows-billions-in-new-debt-for-economy-and-defence Wed, 05 Mar 2025 09:31:53 +0100 germanys-merz-vows-billions-in-new-debt-for-economy-and-defence Germany on Tuesday said it had temporarily withdrawn some of its troops deployed as part of the anti-IS coalition in Iraq, in the latest fallout over the US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general. https://www.thelocal.de/20200107/germany-to-withdraw-some-troops-from-iraq Tue, 07 Jan 2020 09:53:43 +0100 germany-to-withdraw-some-troops-from-iraq Germany said Monday it would raise its NATO spending to more than €50 billion in 2020, days before leaders meet in London for the 70th anniversary of the transatlantic partnership. https://www.thelocal.de/20191118/germany-pledges-more-for-under-pressure-nato-ahead-of-summit Mon, 18 Nov 2019 17:09:36 +0100 germany-pledges-more-for-under-pressure-nato-ahead-of-summit The leaders of France and Germany on Tuesday laid out their commitment to a future joint European Army, an idea that has sparked angry reactions from US President Donald Trump. https://www.thelocal.de/20190122/m Tue, 22 Jan 2019 17:17:04 +0100 m NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned Europe against undermining transatlantic ties, at a forum in Berlin, following a defence spat between US President Donald Trump and French leader Emmanuel Macron. https://www.thelocal.de/20181112/eu-defence-efforts-musnt-hurt-transatlantic-bond-nato-chief Mon, 12 Nov 2018 17:41:45 +0100 eu-defence-efforts-musnt-hurt-transatlantic-bond-nato-chief A survey by YouGov has revealed that close to one in two Germans want all the US troops still stationed on German soil to leave. https://www.thelocal.de/20180711/almost-half-of-germans-want-us-army-to-leave-the-country Wed, 11 Jul 2018 17:58:43 +0200 almost-half-of-germans-want-us-army-to-leave-the-country France's President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday announced common plans on a plethora of EU reforms ahead of a crunch end-June summit that could determine the future of the bloc. https://www.thelocal.de/20180620/germany-france-eurozone-reform-ideas Wed, 20 Jun 2018 11:01:15 +0200 germany-france-eurozone-reform-ideas Germany has agreed a nine-year deal worth half a billion euros to lease Israeli military reconnaissance drones capable of carrying missiles, the aircraft's manufacturers said on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.de/20180614/german-military-to-get-its-first-ever-combat-capable-drones Thu, 14 Jun 2018 14:00:38 +0200 german-military-to-get-its-first-ever-combat-capable-drones German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier voiced concern on Sunday over a "substantial change" in trans-Atlantic ties, amid European tensions with US President Donald Trump over trade, defence and the Iran nuclear deal. https://www.thelocal.de/20180507/president-steinmeier-sees-substantial-change-in-trans-atlantic-ties Mon, 07 May 2018 10:25:02 +0200 president-steinmeier-sees-substantial-change-in-trans-atlantic-ties Bickering broke out within Chancellor Angela Merkel's hard-fought coalition on Wednesday, as German budget plans left the defence and international development ministries out in the cold. https://www.thelocal.de/20180502/germany-coalition-bickers-over-military-and-aid-spending Wed, 02 May 2018 18:02:35 +0200 germany-coalition-bickers-over-military-and-aid-spending French President Emmanuel Macron's vision for a stronger European Union may be in tatters as a growing rift emerges with Germany on everything from defence to his plans for deeper eurozone integration. https://www.thelocal.de/20180418/germany-hits-brakes-on-macrons-european-dreams Wed, 18 Apr 2018 10:50:05 +0200 germany-hits-brakes-on-macrons-european-dreams Germany's armed forces are being pushed beyond their limits as Berlin makes greater international commitments while failing to invest in and reform the military, according to a report published Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.de/20180220/underequipped-german-army-ever-less-ready-for-battle-damning-report-concludes Tue, 20 Feb 2018 15:32:05 +0100 underequipped-german-army-ever-less-ready-for-battle-damning-report-concludes The German army is supposed to take over the reins of the NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force at the start of 2019. But Die Welt reports that they don’t have the equipment for the job. https://www.thelocal.de/20180215/germany-not-very-ready-to-take-over-natos-very-ready-task-force Thu, 15 Feb 2018 12:20:25 +0100 germany-not-very-ready-to-take-over-natos-very-ready-task-force Germany's foreign minister on Tuesday urged Europe to define and defend its own interests, warning that Washington's retreat from the world stage may continue even after Donald Trump's presidency. https://www.thelocal.de/20171205/eu-needs-to-project-its-power-in-trump-era-in-order-to-survive-says-german-foreign-minister Tue, 05 Dec 2017 13:55:52 +0100 eu-needs-to-project-its-power-in-trump-era-in-order-to-survive-says-german-foreign-minister Germany on Wednesday moved four Tornado jets flying surveillance missions against the Islamic State group to Jordan after withdrawing them from Turkey amid a bilateral dispute, the defence ministry said. https://www.thelocal.de/20171005/germany-redeploys-anti-is-surveillance-jets-to-jordan Thu, 05 Oct 2017 10:44:47 +0200 germany-redeploys-anti-is-surveillance-jets-to-jordan German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has supported Social Democrat (SPD) leader Martin Schulz’s pledge that he will push for the removal of US nuclear warheads from Germany if elected Chancellor. https://www.thelocal.de/20170830/foreign-minister-joins-call-to-withdraw-us-nukes-from-germany Wed, 30 Aug 2017 11:51:09 +0200 foreign-minister-joins-call-to-withdraw-us-nukes-from-germany France and Germany agreed Thursday to begin work on a joint fighter jet, a major advance in their relations designed to underline their united front in the face of fracturing Western relations. https://www.thelocal.de/20170713/merkel-and-macron-put-defence-at-heart-of-blooming-ties Thu, 13 Jul 2017 19:54:06 +0200 merkel-and-macron-put-defence-at-heart-of-blooming-ties Germany has no choice but to pull its troops out of the key Turkish airbase of Incirlik, after failing to reach agreement with Ankara on visits by politicians, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Monday. https://www.thelocal.de/20170606/germany-will-have-to-pull-its-troops-from-key-base-in-turkey-gabriel Tue, 06 Jun 2017 10:46:25 +0200 germany-will-have-to-pull-its-troops-from-key-base-in-turkey-gabriel