3 h. ago Europe Ukraine latest: EU leaders hold emergency talks on increasing military spending for Ukraine

European Union leaders are holding emergency talks on ways to quickly increase their military budgets after the Trump administration signaled that Europe must take care of its own security and also suspended assistance to Ukraine

Events

4 h. ago Germany bond rout worst since fall of Berlin Wall as Merz promises to boost defences

Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz (pictured) outlined plans to exclude military spending from the country's stringent 'debt brake' rule to free up cash.

Politics

6 h. ago The US embrace of Russia is an existential threat to the EU. Germany must step up to save it | Catherine De Vries

To counter the crisis caused by Trump, Friedrich Merz has little choice but to abandon decades of military and economic cautionIn February 1945, three world leaders – Winston Churchill, Franklin D Roosevelt and Josef Stalin – met in Crimea for the Yalta conference, to discuss the new world order they would implement after the soon-to-end second world war.Smaller nations were given no say in deciding their fate. The Soviet sphere of influence would infest eastern Europe for decades and US foreign policy dominated the second half of the 20th century. Churchill resisted the end of the UK’s global empire and independence for Britain’s colonies came piecemeal; they were let go with bitterness.Catherine De Vries is professor of political science at Bocconi University in Milan Continue reading...

Events

14 h. ago Germany's incoming Chancellor pledges to do 'whatever it takes' to boost the nation's defences and moves to lift 'debt brake'

Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz (pictured) outlined plans to exclude military spending from the country's stringent 'debt brake' rule to free up cash.

Politics

18 h. ago European markets soar as Germany moves to lift ‘debt brake’ and raise defence spending

Berlin’s ‘big bazooka’ proposal sends industrial stocks surging but fiscal sea change also hikes borrowing costsBusiness live – German debt ‘bazooka’ rallies stocks and euroEuropean financial markets have rallied sharply and German borrowing costs have soared after the country’s prospective leaders announced a historic deal to loosen its “debt brake” rule to boost spending on defence.The yield – in effect the interest rate – on 30-year German government bonds rose by about 25 basis points to 3.08% in its biggest daily increase since October 1998. Continue reading...

Economics

19 h. ago ‘A risky bet’: Friedrich Merz criticised over plan to lift Germany’s debt rules

Chancellor-in-waiting accused of taking part in ‘debt orgy’ after proposing loosening rules to boost defenceGermany’s chancellor-in-waiting, Friedrich Merz, is facing a barrage of criticism from opposition politicians over his radical proposals to loosen rules on running up debt to allow for higher defence spending and boost the economy.The CDU/CSU leader’s proposals for a multibillion-euro package, agreed with his potential coalition partners the Social Democrats, have been described as everything from a “bazooka” to “an extremely risky bet” by economists. He himself has called them vital “in light of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent”. Continue reading...

Events

24 h. ago European markets soar as Germany lifts ‘debt brake’ to raise defence spending

Berlin’s ‘big bazooka’ move sends industrial stocks surging but fiscal sea change also hikes borrowing costsBusiness live – German debt ‘bazooka’ rallies stocks and euroEuropean financial markets have rallied sharply and German borrowing costs have soared after the country’s prospective leaders announced a historic deal to loosen its “debt brake” rule to boost spending on defence.The yield – in effect the interest rate – on 30-year German government bonds rose by 16 basis points, after having earlier jumped by as much as 25 basis points to 3.07% in its biggest increase since October 1998. Continue reading...

Economics

27 h. ago German borrowing costs soar after Merz deal to boost military and infrastructure spending

Proposal to relax borrowing rules described as ‘sea change’ for debt issuance

Economics

30 h. ago German borrowing costs soar as Merz moves to ease debt brake

Proposal to relax borrowing rules described as ‘sea change’ for debt issuance

Economics

41 h. ago Germany’s future coalition partners to relax debt rules to boost defence budget

Conservative alliance and Social Democrats to propose exempting spending of more than 1% of GDP on defenceThe prospective partners in Germany’s next government have said they will seek to loosen rules on running up debt to allow for higher defence spending.They said they will also seek to set up a huge €500bn ($533bn ) fund to finance spending on Germany’s infrastructure over the next 10 years. Continue reading...

Economics

43 h. ago Germany's likely next governing parties seek looser debt rules for more defense spending

The prospective partners in Germany’s next government say they will seek to loosen the nation’s rules on running up debt to allow for higher defense spending

Economics

2 d. ago Ukraine's Zelenskyy says end of war with Russia is 'very, very far away'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a deal to end the war between Ukraine and Russia “is still very, very far away."

Events

6 d. ago Mirroring the far right on immigration backfired for Germany’s political centre | Johannes Hillje

Even the Greens hardened their rhetoric and lost votes as a result. The message is clear: the new government must offer hope, not hatredGermany’s next government will be a coalition of the political centre led by the conservative Friedrich Merz. That may sound like stability. Traditionally, a government made up of the two big centrist parties, the Social Democrats (SPD) and Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU), has been called the grand coalition. But it is no longer grand and offers only an illusion of stability.The SPD achieved its worst result in a national election since the second world war, with 16.4% of the vote. The CDU scored its second-worst result, with 28.5%. If you include the Greens and the Liberals, the parties that occupy the political ground from centre-left to centre-right won just over 60% of the votes cast.Johannes Hillje is a Berlin-based political consultant and a fellow at Das Progressive Zentrum, an independent thinktank Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago The EU beat COVID and ditched Russian energy. Now it must learn to live without US security help

The European Union is getting good at adapting to unprecedented circumstances

Events

7 d. ago It’s the liberal German dilemma: Merz is anathema, but he might stand up to Trump | John Kampfner

Amid the gloom, the truth is dawning: the country faces hard political choices, and needs a more muscular approach to defence Donald Trump and his lieutenants have done Germans an enormous favour. Perilously late in the day, the US president and special envoy to the Kremlin has alerted Germany and the rest of Europe that there is one fault line, and one alone, between democracy and autocracy. All other political issues facing the country pale into insignificance.It seems that Friedrich Merz gets it, even if many in his country still don’t. Since winning Sunday’s election, the Christian Democrat (CDU) chancellor-elect has used every opportunity to warn of the dangers of the Trumpian new world order. He has not sought to provide reassurance, something that Germans tend to crave from their politicians. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Big Tech MUST pay to use artists' work for AI, MPs tell ministers

The Government's proposal to give AI developers an exception to copyright law was dealt a blow yesterday after the Commons culture and tech select committees criticised the plan.

Politics

7 d. ago The Guardian view on Spain: a progressive beacon in dark times | Editorial

Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist-led government has welcomed immigration and boosted public spending, with stellar resultsCoverage of this week’s seismic election result in Germany focused on the disturbing rise of the far right, and chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz’s warning that Europe can no longer rely on the United States for its security. But for European progressives, there was also a third depressing takeaway: the comprehensive rejection of Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic party, which recorded its worst postwar result.Across the continent, centre-left parties have been exiled from the corridors of power, while the radical right has fuelled anxieties over immigration and economic stagnation to extend its influence. There is, however, one startling outlier to this dismal trend. Last year, Spain recorded the highest growth of any major country, at 3.2%. This was achieved under a Socialist-led coalition government that has welcomed high levels of immigration as a driver o...

Politics

8 d. ago Trump faces Truth Social backlash over AI video of Gaza with topless Netanyahu and bearded bellydancers

Users of president’s own social media site criticise video showing reimagined Gaza featuring Trump and Israeli PM sipping cocktailsDonald Trump is facing a backlash on his Truth Social platform after sharing an AI-created video of him sipping cocktails with a topless Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza, in a future imagining of the Palestinian territory devastated by Israel’s war.The video presented a computer-generated vision of Trump’s property development plan for Gaza, under which he said he wants to “clean out” the population of about 2 million people. Named the “Riviera of the Middle East” plan, the proposal has been criticised as a blueprint for ethnic cleansing. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Germany can turbocharge Europe’s renewal – if it will only seize this moment | Timothy Garton Ash

Three times in the postwar era Germany made strategic choices that benefited Europe – with the US at its side. Now it must do it in opposition to TrumpThree times in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, its chancellors have made strategic choices that opened the door to a better future for Europe. Today there’s not just an opportunity but an urgent need for a fourth such historic moment. If the country’s new coalition government under Friedrich Merz manages to seize the chance of this crisis, both Germany and Europe will go forward. If it fails, then by the end of the 2020s both may have fallen backwards farther and faster than most of us could have imagined in our worst nightmares.The big difference with those three earlier pivotal moments is this: in 1949, 1969 and 1989 the Federal Republic’s policy was fundamentally aligned with that of the United States. This time, Germany has to build up a stronger, free, democratic and Ukraine-supporting Europe against the current p...

Politics

8 d. ago Voices: Should the UK and Europe step away from Nato – and US influence? Join The Independent Debate

As Trump’s approach to negotiations with Putin over the war in Ukraine raises security concerns, Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting, Friedrich Merz, has urged Europe to reduce its reliance on Nato and the US

Politics