Skip next section German interior minister seeks direct deal with Taliban
07/03/2025July 3, 2025
German interior minister seeks direct deal with Taliban
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has called for a direct agreement with to receive Afghan migrants from Germany.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan’s government in August 2021 following the NATO withdrawal. Since then, , which it did not recognize as legitimate.
Last year, who were convicted of crimes to Afghanistan. The deportation took place reportedly after secret negotiations with mediator Qatar.
What did Dobrindt say?
“My idea is that we make agreements directly with Afghanistan to enable repatriations,” Dobrindt said in an interview with the German magazine Focus.
“We still need third parties to conduct talks with Afghanistan. This cannot remain a permanent solution,” he added.
Dobrindt is a politician from the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU.
Why now?
Amid the rise of the far right in Germany, migration was in the February general election.
Merz has vowed to deport people to Afghanistan and Syria, and suspend asylum admission programs for German agencies’ former local staff in Afghanistan.
Dobrindt said Germany was also for a deal on deporting criminals of Syrian nationality.
https://p.dw.com/p/4wsTD
Skip next section Coalition fails to reach agreement on electricity tax reduction
07/03/2025July 3, 2025
Coalition fails to reach agreement on electricity tax reduction
A committee of failed to reach an agreement on reducing the electricity tax for private households and small and medium-sized businesses.
The reduction was one of the pledges listed in the coalition agreement between the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).
An SPD lawmaker said it remained a goal for the coalition and that it would be debated further.
The lawmaker, Matthias Miersch, told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that the relief already agreed for larger industries was more important, as jobs in those sectors were at stake.
The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts expressed frustration (ZDH), saying many businesses had been prepared for the planned electricity tax reduction.
https://p.dw.com/p/4wsbe
Skip next section Majority of Germans against rule allowing young teens to drink
07/03/2025July 3, 2025
Majority of Germans against rule allowing young teens to drink
A Forsa survey commissioned by commercial health insurance company KKH showed that 65% of Germans were in favor of abolishing .
Under the supervised drinking rule, teens as young as 14-year-olds could buy and consume beer and wine if they are with a legal guardian.
According to the poll, 52% also support raising the legal age for drinking beer and wine from 16 to 18.
The survey included more than 1,000 participants aged 18 to 70 from across Germany.
Health Minister Nina Warken has voiced support for an initiative by ministers from German states calling for a ban supervised drinking.
https://p.dw.com/p/4wrxq
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage07/03/2025July 3, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Morgen! We’re watching the news in Germany today from Bonn, where the weather has cooled down again after an intense heat wave.
Today, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to speak at a banking conference in Berlin, and the foreign minister is meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
We’ll also highlight in this blog some explainers and analyses from our colleagues across DW.
https://p.dw.com/p/4wrst
The post Germany updates: Berlin seeks deportation deal with Taliban appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
