German chancellor Olaf Scholz brings down government and issues spending promise to voters
Snap election expected to take place in late February
Paris-Berlin express: New rail link throws down gauntlet to airlines
Good prices, low emissions and unlimited luggage allowance of fast train between European powerhouse cities give planes a run for their money
Germany awaits political duel between Scholz and Merz
Scholz will use his last Bundestag address to defend his government’s record, matching higher spending on security with more generous welfare
Polish PM Donald Tusk emerges to take leading role on Ukraine
As Poland prepares to inherit European Union presidency, its prime minister is in the EU spotlight
Third-century ‘sensation’: Tiny silver scroll the oldest written proof of Christianity north of Alps
Scroll was held in silver amulet worn by man buried outside Frankfurt between 230 and 270 AD
EU’s Schengen free travel area not so free as Germany imposes more border checks
Founding member states are chipping away at the original idea - some would say ideal - of Schengen
Volkswagen blues: Carmaker struggles to build a business for an EV future
Management, unions and owners face off at Wolfsburg plant in VW heartland against background of financial and reputational hangover from ‘dieselgate’
Volkswagen workers strike in latest unrest at carmaking giant
Two-hour stoppages can slow production on hundreds of cars at a time
‘It is a right that was violently taken away’: The Jews who want to be German again
Jews whose family members fled the Nazis in the 1930s have reclaimed their German citizenship
Pressure builds for Germany to drop ‘debt brake’
Brake back in spotlight after Angela Merkel came out in favour of reforming the spending rule
Left-conservative BSW of Sahra Wagenknecht agrees coalition deals in two eastern German states
Sahra Wagenknecht's party will share power in Brandenburg and Thuringia after attracting support with demands on Ukraine and immigration
Freedom. Memoirs 1954-2021 by Angela Merkel: A disappointing, dreary dud
All tell, little show, this memoir is strong on what happened but less so on why - and it gets worse as it continues.
Old habits die hard as Angela Merkel keeps tight hold on information in memoir
Reluctance to elaborate on the personal and political was key to the chancellor’s political longevity. It is a trait she struggles to escape in her book Freedom
Olaf Scholz wins SPD candidacy battle but may yet lose election war
Defence minister Boris Pistorious looks set to become the party’s most influential figure
Angela Merkel saw Donald Trump as spellbound by autocratic leaders
In her new memoir the German former chancellor writes that Trump seemed to find Vladimir Putin ‘very fascinating’