The German government has decided to send 14 Leopard tanks to Ukraine and permit the re-export of others from other countries. On January 25, the German parliament debated on the issue on demand of the oppositional fractions of the CDU/CSU. The parliament debated the issue as an extraordinary item on agenda upon demand from the oppositional CDU/CSU. The main opposition ...
By Gökhan Dağtekin It has long been a matter of dispute whether Germany would allow the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The German government’s authorization is required for Ukraine to receive the Leopard 2 tanks that Germany has in its inventory or that Germany has previously exported to other European countries. Avoiding Russia-NATO war There was enormous pressure ...
By Işıkgün Akfırat German Defense Minister Lambrecht has resigned after being criticized for blocking aid to Ukraine. The resignation comes just before a summit of Western defense ministers to be held at the largest US military base in Europe. It is considered to have been forced in order to break the resistance of the Olaf Scholz government to sending tanks ...
By Gökhan Dağtekin This week Germany experienced one of the largest security operations in its history. The German state and mainstream media accused the group “Reichsbürger” (Reich citizens) of plotting to seize power by attacking the Bundestag (German Federal Parliament). Chief Public Prosecutor Peter Frank has stated that the members of the group are determined and therefore the threat is ...
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited China on November 4 and met with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Kuchiang. “Reducing one-sided dependencies”, “regulating economic relations on the basis of reciprocity”, “free and fair trade” were among the topics that came to the fore during Scholz’s visit accompanied by a delegation of Germany’s leading companies. His government partners in the ...
By Ali Mercan, reporting from Frankfurt / Main Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy of ‘assuring Europe’s security together with Russia’ is a continuation of the state tradition identified with chancellors such as Helmut Schmidt, Gerhard Schröder and Helmut Kohl. An intense Transatlantic offensive has been launched against Russia, which has stopped NATO’s eastward expansion in Ukraine. Former German Chancellor ...
The 2000s were the years when the Social Democrat parties in Europe began to melt down. They were incapable of providing solutions to the raging neoliberal attacks of the globalization. With the financial crisis of 2008, which started in the US and spread across Europe, this meltdown accelerated. The leading Social Democratic parties in Europe, the German Social Democratic Party ...
Germany’s governing Social Democrat Party (SPD) has its headquarters in Berlin in the Willy-Brandt-Haus. The website of the building describes it as “not a party castle but an open house, open for political and cultural encounters” (all translations by YS.). This is a clear reference to Willy Brandt’s legendary Ostpolitik – and is used today by those opposing the German ...
The tensions in Germany following the government’s turn around in energy politics are increasing. On August 14, the minister of interior, Nancy Faeser stated in an interview that Germany had “to be prepared for possible attacks on gas terminals”. The minister gave the interview to Bild Am Sonntag, Germany’s most selling newspaper, on past Monday. In the interview, Faeser spoke ...
Russia’s military operation against Ukraine triggered a wave of militarization in many European countries. Increased military spending and investment, discussions on conscription, attempts to join NATO and much more. French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement on June 13, stating that France and Europe had switched to a “war economy”, can be read as the naming of these latest developments. That is the ...