Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Friedrich Merz and five others threaten to block EU budget proposal
- EU budget proposal slated to be approved by end of year by all 27 EU states
- Coalition talks are underway in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
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Skip next section Germany intends to block sale of Hamburg logistics firm to China’s Cosco09/29/2026September 29, 2026
Germany intends to block sale of Hamburg logistics firm to China’s Cosco
The German government intends to block the sale of logistics firm Zippel to Chinese state-owned group Cosco over security risks, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported.
The newspaper cited a restricted government memo that mentioned security and strategic risks that could come with the planned deal.
Cosco, which is one of the world’s largest container shipping companies, last year announced that it would like to acquire an 80% stake in Zippel. It already has a minority stake in Hamburg’s port terminal.
Zippel, a traditional German company based in Hamburg, the country’s largest port city, arranges transportation of freight and cargo.
A number of ministries have been in favor of blocking the deal.
A final decision has yet to be made.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5NRuJSkip next section CDU struggles: A trip to Sardinia and a beach chair at the chancellery09/29/2026September 29, 2026
CDU struggles: A trip to Sardinia and a beach chair at the chancellery
Jens Thurau in Berlin
The center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU)led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz‘s party has seen better days: Most recently, it suffered unprecedented defeats in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Berlin. At this time of voter disenchantment, two prominent CDU politicians have come under fire on social media: Jens Spahn and Philipp Amthor have been facing accusation of being out of touch and self-absorbed.
A few weeks ago, Spahn resigned from his powerful position as parliamentary group leader of the CDU and CSU bloc in the Bundestag after Spahn had announced that had become a parent with the help of a surrogate mother in the United States. He was accused of hypocrisy because surrogacy is banned in Germany and the CDU and Spahn himself had repeatedly voted to uphold this ban.
Spahn was then given a seat on the influential Budget Committee. He called in sick for a meeting, but at the same time the tabloid BILD published a photograph of him vacationing in Sardinia with his young son. Spahn immediately resigned that post as well.
The CDU’s Philipp Amthor has only recently become Minister of State for Federal-State Cooperation in the Chancellor’s Office. There, he placed a beach chair on the balcony of his new office and proudly showed it to a TV reporter. As a reminder: His party has just been voted out of the state parliament in his home state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on the Baltic Sea coast. But that didn’t seem to have dampened the minister’s good spirits.
Once again, social media reactions were fierce: This time with criticism of the young government official’s alleged arrogance. Amthor swiftly had the beach chair removed.
As the German saying goes, “Wer den Schaden hat, braucht für den Spott nicht zu Sorgen” (He who suffers the loss need not worry about the ridicule). That is seen to apply quite accurately to the CDU at the moment.
https://p.dw.com/p/5NRcHSkip next section NRW premier Hendrik Wüst’s trip to Turkey: What’s on the itinerary09/29/2026September 29, 2026
NRW premier Hendrik Wüst’s trip to Turkey: What’s on the itinerary
Michaela Kuefner in Ankara
Hendrik Wüst is and remains Germany’s “reserve chancellor.” Following his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the premier of the country’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), will meet with three additional ministers: Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, and Industry Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir. A travel itinerary befitting a true statesman.
Without a doubt, NRW — home to one-third of the three million people of Turkish descent in Germany and with a trade volume exceeding ten billion euros — is the most important German state for Turkey.
But the personnel debates within Chancellor Merz’s conservative CDU party, to which Wüst also belongs, are also drawing attention here. These meetings are proof that here, too, people are betting on Wüst as a future chancellor.
During his trip, Wüst also struck a self-critical tone regarding Germany’s history with racism and xenophobia. For too long, he said, Germany has viewed the many people of Turkish descent “occasionally as a problem”— the very same people who have helped Germany achieve its prosperity.
https://p.dw.com/p/5NRdUSkip next section Coalition talks underway in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania09/29/2026September 29, 2026
Coalition talks underway in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Coalition talks are underway in the Baltic state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The Social Democrats (SPD) are meant to meet with the Green Party to talk about forming a government. The SPD met with the socialist Left Party yesterday too.
A coalition between the Social Democrats, the Greens, and the Left Party is the only viable option in the state to keep the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) out of the math.
The AfD won the contest in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with 38.2% of the vote but has no option to govern the state since none of the other parties will work with it.
The SPD, which has long governed the state, finished second with 35.5% of the vote.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5NRQeSkip next section Merz threatens to withhold approval for EU budget, FT reports09/29/2026September 29, 2026
Merz threatens to withhold approval for EU budget, FT reports
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his counterparts from five other nations have threatened to withhold their approval to a seven-year European Union budget proposal unless it were slashed by billions of euros as they’ve demanded for.
Merz and leaders from the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Finland have signed a letter to make clear their wish to have the proposed budget trimmed by billions of euros or see it blocked, according to the Financial Times.
The budget for 2028-2034 was outlined by the European Commission last year and needs to be approved by all EU countries.
The proposed budget was set at nearly €2 trillion ($2.33 trillion) and parties involved are hoping to reach an agreement by the end of 2026.
The proposed amount is significantly higher than the current one set at between 2021 and 2027.
Merz earlier this month said cuts should apply across all policy areas and rejected relying on further joint EU borrowing to bridge the gap.
“Excessive debt threatens our sovereignty and our capacity to act,” Merz said earlier this month, adding that governments had the “admittedly painful task” of setting priorities.
The German leader has called for the bloc’s next budget to shift spending toward competitiveness and defense, arguing that a “20th-century budget” could not address current challenges.
The EU budget is funded primarily through contributions from member states, either in the form of national contributions calculated on the basis of gross national income or as a percentage linked to national VAT revenues.
As the EU’s largest economy, Germany contributes the largest amount in absolute terms.
https://p.dw.com/p/5NRT5Skip next section Welcome to our blog09/29/2026September 29, 2026
Welcome to our blog
Guten Morgen and welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Germany blog.
We’re looking at sharp disagreements over the proposed European Union budget that member states want to see approved by the end of this year.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his counterparts from five nations have threatened to withhold their approval unless they see the proposal trimmed by billions of euros.
Meanwhile, coalition talks continue in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania where the Social Democrats, the Green Party and the Left Party are hoping to form a government.
https://p.dw.com/p/5NRVgShow more posts
