Germans don’t like what Euro 2024 has exposed about their country Since Berlin became the capital again 25 years ago, German ingenuity, once applied to solving problems, has been applied to finding excuses. No wonder national team manager Julian Nagelsmann decided to give the whole country a pep talkSat Jul 13 2024 - 06:00
Controversial film about Hitler and Goebbels collapses the distance of decadesLeader and Seducer confronts audiences with the crimes of their bystander ancestors as Germany’s current political climate becomes unsettledFri Jul 12 2024 - 16:00
Shortfall in German defence spending exposes unresolved security tensionsAdmission by minister for defence comes as Olaf Scholz prepares to tell Nato summit Germany is meeting obligation to spend at least two 2% of GDP on defenceMon Jul 08 2024 - 20:31
Hungarian PM Viktor Orban launches right-wing alliance to resist ‘Brussels elite’Fidesz party combines with Austria’s Freedom Party and Czech ANO protest group as Hungary assumes six-month EU presidencyMon Jul 01 2024 - 21:52
Neutral but fully armed: Switzerland looks to its own defenceSwitzerland still has compulsory military and civil service for young people, while the 26 Swiss cantons have considerable civil defence competencesFri Jun 21 2024 - 14:00
Regional support for German extremists surges to parliamentary majority Two parties with anti-immigrant policies are making gains in eastern statesThu Jun 20 2024 - 19:00
Austrian heiress gives away €25m fortuneInheritance part of estimated €4.2bn BASF fortune left by grandmother on death in 2022Wed Jun 19 2024 - 19:39
German foreign minister warns Berlin austerity rules a risk to Ukraine and EuropeBudget row has ballooned into another existential standoff for Germany’s three government partiesMon Jun 17 2024 - 17:20
Taoiseach warns against ‘instability’ in advance of meeting on EU’s top jobsCoalition yet to agree on another term for Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission presidentSun Jun 16 2024 - 20:02
World leaders call for just peace in Ukraine, but Russia’s absence weighs heavily As delegates gathered in Switzerland, Vladimir Putin offered a ceasefire proposalSun Jun 16 2024 - 19:36
Taoiseach hails Ukraine peace summit as ‘an important start’ as talks conclude in SwitzerlandRussia and China stayed away from summit while countries including Saudi Arabia, South Africa, India, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and the Holy See declined to sign the concluding communiquéSun Jun 16 2024 - 15:09
Peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow must respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, says TaoiseachUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejects Russian claims that Swiss peace talks are a waste of timeSat Jun 15 2024 - 19:10
Taoiseach rules out early general election despite push within Government parties for October voteHarris said the electorate had not voted for change in recent local and European elections and wanted him to ‘get stuck in and do the job’Sat Jun 15 2024 - 16:30
Ukraine quandary: Questions of war and peace hang over Zelenskiy’s Switzerland summitAsked what is the point of peace talks when Russia is not attending, Swiss foreign minister says the only alternative is ‘to lean back and do nothing’Fri Jun 14 2024 - 17:10
Euro 2024: Can Germany repeat the glorious football parties of yesteryear? The 2006 World Cup surprised everyone with what it was really like to be a football fan in the country; can lightning strike twice?Wed Jun 12 2024 - 13:52
Zelenskiy vows to pursue peace diplomacy ‘on our terms’Ukraine president spoke to German MPs in advance of ‘summit of peace’ in SwitzerlandTue Jun 11 2024 - 18:32
Divisions of old West and East Germany are re-emerging German voters went out of their way to express no confidence in the ‘traffic light’ coalitionTue Jun 11 2024 - 06:00
Von der Leyen’s chance of second term as European Commission president boosted by EPP performanceCentre-right European People’s Party upbeat about prospects for von der Leyen retaining roleMon Jun 10 2024 - 20:51
Ursula von der Leyen leaves door open to a second term with far-right backing European election: Talks will not be influenced by snap elections in France, commission president saysMon Jun 10 2024 - 19:10
European Election: Far-right advances in Germany as coalition parties lose outAlternative für Deutschland set to finish in second place with 17 seats in parliamentSun Jun 09 2024 - 21:37
‘Let us wake up’: Macron warns of far-right on German trip as he and Scholz wrangle over hard issuesThree days prove not enough to overcome big differences between Paris and Berlin on how EU’s two biggest countries should tackle matters including security and climateTue May 28 2024 - 20:14
A ‘heroine of truth’: Nazi-hunting couple who tracked down Klaus Barbie honoured by MacronAwards for Beate and Serge Klarsfeld come at a time of rising animosity in Germany towards German Jews and migrantsTue May 28 2024 - 09:35
Germany’s next chancellor? Where did it all go right for Friedrich Merz?Germany is gearing up for elections in 2025, and the CDU leader plans to come out on topSun May 26 2024 - 17:37
Series of shocks leaves Germany struggling to redefine itself in a moral mazeMany questions linger as Germany marks the 75th anniversary of the Basic Law - das Grundgesetz - signed on May 23rd, 1949Sat May 25 2024 - 06:00
‘A symbolic foray with no practical effects’: European media reaction to Irish recognition of PalestinePopular publications describe move as ‘noble and comprehensible intention’ and a ‘seal of approval for terror’Thu May 23 2024 - 21:27
AfD in freefall over European lead candidateEuropean Parliament expels MEPs following Maximilian Krah’s remarks about Nazi SS membersThu May 23 2024 - 19:04
Treason trial starts in three German cities of alleged leaders of planned coupMunich, Frankfurt and Stuttgart begin cases against nine members of the ‘citizens of the Reich’ alliance claimed to have plotted armed takeover of powerTue May 21 2024 - 19:43
Persecution narrative pays off for Germany’s AfDNegative headlines may have helped the far-right party solidify its hard-core voter baseTue May 21 2024 - 18:10
‘I believe this man is the attacker’: Irish woman accuses Madeleine McCann suspect in rape caseHazel Behan tells German court of ‘very unusual’ email from Christian Brückner’s defence lawyer before trialFri May 17 2024 - 05:00
Irish woman says she will ‘never forget’ eyes of alleged rapist and chief suspect in Madeleine McCann caseHazel Behan (40) told court she feared for her life during ‘hateful, aggressive’ assault in Portugal 20 years agoThu May 16 2024 - 14:06
German economy ‘sluggish but stabilising’, economic advisers tell governmentEconomists slash growth forecast for 2024 from 0.7% to just 0.2% in spring report and say proper growth will only return next yearWed May 15 2024 - 19:10
Irish woman gives evidence of brutal rape 20 years ago allegedly by chief suspect in Madeleine McCann disappearanceHazel Behan, from Mullingar, testified on Wednesday at trial of German man Christian Brückner (47) on rape and indecent assault charges in Portugal between 2000 and 2017Wed May 15 2024 - 17:08
Cruise control: Idealism trumps realism in German foreign policyA tendency for wishful thinking, particularly in relation to Russia, has left European neighbours shaking their headsTue May 07 2024 - 05:54
Germany’s May Day marches marred by rising tensions over Gaza conflict Union leaders call for pushback against ‘incitement and hate’ as police halt march of extreme-left demonstrators chanting forbidden slogansWed May 01 2024 - 21:15
EU enlargement anniversary overshadowed by concerns about RussiaIn a sign of the times around Europe, economic benefits of EU membership have yielded to more earnest discussions about securityWed May 01 2024 - 20:01
German coup accused knew plot would ‘involve violence’, trial toldHigh treason trial of nine accused of membership of paramilitary group planning violent coup begins in StuttgartMon Apr 29 2024 - 16:41
Germany’s alleged coup: An aristocrat, an astrologer and an army officer go on trial for high treason High-profile raids in late 2022 scuppered the alleged coup against the German stateSun Apr 28 2024 - 15:00
‘I could rent an apartment, but why?’ The teenager who lives on Germany’s high-speed trainsLasse Stolley has become a minor celebrity thanks to his unusual life aboard the country’s train networkSun Apr 28 2024 - 08:11
Poles in Ireland: ‘You’re always going to be a blow-in, no matter how long you live in a place’As the 20th anniversary of Poland joining the EU approaches, Poles reflect on their experiences hereSat Apr 27 2024 - 06:00
Poland’s foreign minister warns of Nato members who lack the courage to face down PutinSikorski says new Donald Tusk government ready to ‘return to the group of countries creating Europe rather than defending themselves against Europe’Thu Apr 25 2024 - 17:57
Who speaks for Jews in Germany? Tensions within diverse Jewish communities increase following October 7thTue Apr 23 2024 - 19:52
Losing its religion: Catholic Poland looks to Irish example as it moves towards secularismModernity is causing a drop-off in people identifying as Catholic, but the Polish clergy also bears some responsibilityTue Apr 23 2024 - 05:00
Germany-Israel relations cool after ill-tempered exchange between Netanyahu and BaerbockIsraeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejects German foreign minister’s warnings about ongoing aid blockades leading to a slide towards famine in GazaFri Apr 19 2024 - 18:23
Leading far-right politician goes on trial in Germany charged with using Nazi sloganCase centres on Björn Höcke’s use of slogan ‘everything for Germany’Thu Apr 18 2024 - 18:52
Poland arrests man suspected of aiding Russian plot to assassinate ZelenskiyGerman authorities question two other men accused of spying for MoscowThu Apr 18 2024 - 18:47
Holy Ground: German church embraces Taylor Swift’s music to lure young people to booked-out servicesHead of Lutheran church in Heidelberg 'blown away' by response to worship featuring songs by top-selling pop artistWed Apr 17 2024 - 19:59
Germany should decriminalise abortion, says government commissionGroup presents proposals to permit abortion until the 12th week of pregnancyMon Apr 15 2024 - 15:26
My friend Amy Winehouse: ‘It makes me sad that she died alone in that big house in Camden’As a Winehouse biopic hits cinemas, the Irishman behind defining photographs of late singer tells story of their friendshipSun Apr 14 2024 - 05:00
Bodnar battles to pull Poland back from ‘rule-of-law collapse’The new justice minister is leading an unprecedented democratic experimentFri Apr 12 2024 - 14:20
ICJ case has German media doing rhetorical cartwheels while support for Israel wobblesMedia outlets in Germany are glossing over the proceedings in The Hague, where Nicaragua accuses Berlin of being complicit in genocideWed Apr 10 2024 - 20:54