Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts

Monday, February 22, 2016

Crowd cheer fire at hotel being converted into refugee shelter in Saxony.


The Guardian
22-2-2016
Suspected arson comes three days after protesters blocked bus carrying asylum seekers in east German state


A fire that destroyed a hotel being converted into a shelter for refugees in Saxony was cheered and celebrated by onlookers, German police have said.

The blaze at the building in Bautzen, eastern Saxony, began in the early hours of Sunday morning. Police are treating the incident as suspected arson. No one was injured.

Locals had cheered as the building caught fire, police said. “Some people reacted to the arson with derogatory comments and undisguised joy.”

Friday, February 19, 2016

Greece threatens to veto Britain-EU deal if states close borders to refugees

Europe’s negotiations about the UK’s membership and about the refugee crisis become entangled at Brussels summit

The Guardian

Greece is threatening to veto a new deal for Britain in the European Union if other member states close their borders to refugees.

The future of Britain’s EU membership has become entangled with the refugee crisis at a summit in Brussels, where the bloc’s leaders had been meeting to discuss the two issues separately.

EU leaders are grappling with how to deal with the biggest influx of refugees since the second world war, after more than one million people arrived in Europe in 2015. The movement of people has called into question the EU’s border-free Schengen zone and has thrown EU asylum rules into chaos. On Friday, Austria introduced daily limits on the number of migrants entering the country, triggering fears of further border closures.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Merkel unmoved by refugee crisis criticism

Deutsche Welle

Germany will stick to its multifaceted response to Europe's refugee crisis, including aid delivered via Turkey, Chancellor Angela Merkel has told parliament. She's also backed the idea of a no-fly zone in northern Syria.

Merkel, in an address to Germany's Bundestag on the eve of a two-day Brussels summit, said Europe should work to improve the lives of refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan as the way to meet "our goal" of reducing migrant flows into Europe.
She described as "intolerable" the situation for besieged civilians in and around northern Syria's war-torn hub of Aleppo, saying "nothing should be left undone" in trying to establish a no-fly zone to save "many human lives."

NATO and Europe’s Refugee Crisis

By THE EDITORIAL BOARDFEB. 16, 2016
The New York Times

The announcement last Thursday that NATO would send ships to patrol the Aegean in an effort to break up the smuggling rings ferrying desperate refugees and migrants from Turkey to Greece is, at this point, more a symbolic show of solidarity than anything else. Even so, it reflects a heightened sense of urgency about the refugee crisis and sends a strong signal that the Western alliance stands ready to help Europe cope with it.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Visegrad Group opposes Germany's refugee policy

Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic - known as the Visegrad Group - are set to discuss border protection and the refugee crisis. They might help Macedonia close its Greek border to migrants.

Deutsche Welle

The four Eastern European countries known for their restrictive asylum policy are set to call for the closure of the so-called Balkan route to migrants traveling to Western Europe, German weekly magazine Der Spiegel reported.
The Visegrad countries - Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic - invited representatives of Bulgaria and Macedonia to their summit in Prague on Monday. Leaders of the Visegrad states are expected to agree on helping Macedonia to block the migrants' path at its border with Greece, according to diplomats quoted by Der Spiegel.
"As long as a coherent European strategy is lacking, it is legitimate for the countries along the Balkan route to protect their borders," Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak told the German magazine. "We will help them with that."

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

40 percent of Germans demand Merkel's resignation over refugee policy, poll says

Unhappy with her government's refugee policy, four out of 10 Germans want Chancellor Merkel to resign, a new poll has shown. The news came just after the ruling grand coalition unveiled its new asylum package.
Deutsche Welle
2-2-2016

While 39.9 percent of Germans surveyed by the pollster Insa for "Focus" magazine said Chancellor Angela Merkel's refugee policy is grounds for her to step down, 45.2 percent of the more than 2,000 people polled said they did not believe she should leave office. The remaining 15 percent did not state an opinion.
Merkel has long enjoyed high popularity ratings among Germans but that support has dwindled in recent months, particularly as the numbers of asylum seekers entering Germany from the Middle East and North Africa has increased.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Greece Seeks German Know-How to Tackle Tax Evasion


By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ATHENS, Greece — Jan 16, 2016, 4:04 PM ET

Greece has turned to a German state government to seek help in combating tax evasion.

Greek tax officials, initially numbering about 50, will be trained by the tax authorities of North Rhine-Westphalia, a state noted for its success in persuading German citizens to repatriate capital they had whisked abroad to avoid taxation. Their efforts have resulted in 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion) in extra revenue since 2010.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Putin: US and NATO want to 'sit on the throne in Europe alone'


Deutsche Welle
11-1-2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended his policies in Ukraine and Crimea and slammed NATO expansion and the United States. He also said he trusts German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed western sanctions against his country as "geo-political" rather than aimed at solving the crisis in Ukraine and criticized NATO expansion and the United States for trying to impose its will, in a wide-ranging interview published Monday in the popular German daily newspaper "Bild."

Friday, January 8, 2016

Police Report of Cologne New Year’s Eve Details Chaos, Overwhelmed Force

Angela Merkel signals willingness to toughen deportation procedures

The Wall Street Journal


By RUTH BENDER
Updated Jan. 7, 2016 4:18 p.m. ET
142 COMMENTS
A detailed account of the mass assaults in Germany’s fourth-largest city on New Year’s Eve emerged Thursday, drawing a picture of chaos and aggression that left police overstretched and attackers enjoying virtual free rein.

An internal federal police report dated Jan. 4 and seen by The Wall Street Journal described scenes in Cologne of crying women fleeing sexual molestation from crowds of men, passersby trying to rescue young girls from being raped, and groups of intoxicated men throwing bottles and fireworks at a police force no longer in control of the situation.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Merkel Points Tsipras Toward Deal With Greece’s Creditors

 Patrick DonahueJonathan StearnsAnthony Czuczka
7:57 PM EET
March 23, 2015

(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel encouraged Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to follow the path set out by Greece’s creditors, saying his country belongs in Europe and she wants its economy to succeed.

Deadlines Near as Greece and Germany Seek a Consensus on Debt

By ALISON SMALEMARCH 23, 2015

The New York Times

BERLIN — With time running ever shorter for an accord to ease Greece’s debt crisis and cash crunch, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany met on Monday and sought at least to take the sting out of venomous exchanges between Athens and Berlin in recent weeks.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

The Greece Issue Breeds Brinkmanship in the Eurozone

By THE EDITORIAL BOARDMARCH 20, 2015

The New York Times

Nobody expected that the discussions between Greece and the rest of the eurozone about a new loan agreement would go smoothly. But things seem to be going even worse than expected, with both sides sniping at each other and refusing to engage in meaningful negotiations.

In Germany vs. Greece, who owes who?

By Anthony Faiola March 22 at 3:30 AM


BERLIN — In the Greek resort town of Nafplio, German tourists Ludwig Zaccaro and Nina Lange shocked the local mayor last week by walking into City Hall with a reparations check. The couple had seen a figure in the news claiming Germany owned Greece more than $74 billion for Nazi crimes during World War II — a figure they boiled down to $936 per German citizen.

“We thought, Germany should start by paying its own debts before demanding the Greeks pay theirs,” said Lange, a 55-year-old social worker.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Germany and Greece should look to Goethe to resolve their standoff

The Guardian
Paul Mason

Two hundred years ago Germany’s great poet and statesman performed a U-turn that some would like to see Angela Merkel copy

On a quiet street in central Athens stands the bronze, modernist facade of the Goethe Institut, which has been teaching German and spreading enlightenment about German culture since 1952. Last week, the Greek government threatened to seize the building, together with holiday homes and other German assets. Greece is claiming €341bn (£240bn) in second world war reparations from Germany – and if the government does not confiscate the Goethe Institut, there are numerous people in Athens ready to do it “from below”.

Germany Won’t Negotiate With Greece Over Compensation for Nazi Atrocities

Athens should focus on tackling current problems, says spokesman

By ANDREA THOMAS
Updated March 11, 2015 2:02 p.m. ET

The Wall Street Journal

BERLIN—Berlin on Wednesday rejected mounting calls from Athens that Germany should pay compensation for Nazi atrocities in Greece, further souring the mood between the eurozone’s main paymaster and Greece’s cash-strapped government.

After a Greek government minister suggested Athens could seize German assets, a German government spokesman dismissed the threat as groundless and urged Athens to focus on a more pressing issue: Fulfilling the conditions for the release of much-needed financial aid.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Germany Urges Greece to Honor Commitment

Angela Merkel’s spokesman insists that crisis isn't a ‘private feud’ between Athens and Berlin

The Wall Street Journal

By ANDREA THOMAS
Updated March 13, 2015 11:26 a.m. ET

BERLINGermany wants Greece to stay in the eurozone, but it is now in the hands of the government in Athens to honor its commitment to overhaul its economy, senior German government officials have said.

Schaeuble's Right, The Most Likely Cause Of Grexit Is A Mistake, Human Error

Forbes
By Tim Worstall

This is something that I’ve been saying for some time now, that if Greece really does leave the euro then the most likely cause of it doing so will be that someone has made a mistake. Now, I believe that Greece should leave (in common with many economists): but just about every European politician believes that it should not. And most Greek politicians believe that it should not leave, as is also the express wish of most Greek citizens. Given that it is the politicians actually running things here then there seems to be no good reason why Greece either should or will leave.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Germany used legal tricks to avoid WW2 reparations: Greece

BY LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS
ATHENS Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:04pm EDT

(Reuters) - Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accused Germany on Tuesday of using legal tricks to avoid paying reparations for the Nazi occupation of Greece and said he would support parliamentary efforts to review the matter.

His comments are likely to heighten tensions between Athens and Berlin as Greece's new, leftist government struggles to persuade its euro zone partners to renegotiate the terms of a 240 billion euro ($260 billion) bailout.

Germany's Merkel narrowly avoided bigger revolt on Greece - sources

BY MATTHIAS SOBOLEWSKI AND STEPHEN BROWN
BERLIN Tue Mar 10, 2015 6:04pm EDT


(Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel narrowly averted a far bigger rebellion last month on Greece's bailout extension among her conservatives, many more of whom would have voted 'Nein' but for her finance minister's powers of persuasion, lawmakers said.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

A new low for German-Greek relations?

Yesterday's threat by Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos of the Independent Greeks to 'flood' Europe with refugees including potential IS members has arguably brought German-Greek relations to a new low.

Pawel Swidlicki,  Policy Analyst
http://openeurope.org.uk/blog/new-low-german-greek-relations/
9 March 2015

Since it came to power, the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks coalition has effectively written the textbook of how not to negotiate in Europe. Irrespective of whether one agrees with them on substance, they spend too much political capital on pointless posturing and divisive rhetoric. However, despite the lack of success so far, it appears that some in Athens are now seeking to ramp up the rhetoric as opposed to dialing it down.