News from Berlin
Well protected projectiles
A street in Wedding is blocked, and the police say they will reopen it in a week. The reason for it: an arms factory in the middle of a historic working-class district of Berlin. Behind the barriers on Scheringstraße lies the plant of the former automotive supplier Pierburg; it has become Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH and will manufacture artillery ammunition. More precisely, the factory is set to produce the casings for 155-millimeter artillery shells. A few hundred meters away in Volkspark Humboldthain, the Berlin Alliance Against Arms Production has set up a protest camp. A demonstration was planned for July 11, though it was prohibited from passing by the plant. Source: jungewelt
Governing Mayor Wegner will not run again
Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) will not stand for re-election but will remain in office until September. He is taking this step in response to months-long debate regarding false statements about his crisis management following a major power outage in January. “Yes, I made communication errors,” he admitted, noting that this was what frustrated him the most. That is why he had apologized to the people of Berlin. Wegner has served as Governing Mayor in a “black-red” coalition (CDU-SPD) since April 2023. He faced criticism shortly after the consequential arson attack on the power grid on January 3—which left 100,000 people without electricity, some for days. Source: tagesschau
Chancellery unable to confirm phone call during power outage
The Federal Chancellery and Berlin’s Mayor, Kai Wegner (CDU), present conflicting statements, regarding a phone call between Wegner and Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), during the weekend of the power outage in southwest Berlin. When asked, Berlin Senate spokesperson Christine Richter reaffirmed to rbb that there was a call between Merz and Wegner on Sunday, January 4, 2026, at 7:57 p.m. However, according to a government spokesperson, the Federal Chancellor points out that “as far as can be determined, no personal conversation took place with Berlin’s Mayor.” However, the spokesperson also noted “that a record of all conversations held or their content—including telephone calls—is not kept.” Source: rbb24
Greta Thunberg glues herself at the Brandenburg Gate
Around 40 activists glued themselves on July 13 to the ground at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to protest against the defense contractor Rheinmetall. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was among the participants. The action began shortly before. The group “Peacefully against Genocide” reported more than 30 participants. According to the group, the protest was directed against a Rheinmetall plant in Berlin’s Wedding district, the war in Gaza, and the use of German weapons in war zones. The group has been protesting in Berlin for several days. Police deployed approximately 70 officers to the site. Source: bz
News from Germany
Interior ministers in Germany are pushing to restrict EU citizens’ access to benefits
At the Conference of Interior Ministers (IMK) in Hamburg, in June, interior ministers representing Germany’s 16 federal states considered to limit EU citizens’ access to long-term unemployment benefit (Bürgergeld, now Grundsicherung) and child benefits (Kindergeld). More specifically, according to taz, ministers want eastern European EU citizens who have only been working in Germany for a short time to have limited access to long-term unemployment benefits. Currently, regardless of their nationality, all parents who legally reside in Germany are entitled to benefits to offset the cost of raising children-currently 259 euros per child. Source: iamexpat
Health policy reform forced through
Minister Nina Warken (CDU) reaches her goal: following the debate in the Bundestag on July 10, just before the summer recess, the “Black-Red” coalition majority forced through the so-called Statutory Health Insurance Contribution Rate Stabilization Act (BStabG). The minister has been relentlessly pushing for her Act to be passed before the summer. Urgent motions filed with the Federal Constitutional Court by the Greens and the Left Party failed the day before. Only the Bundesrat could still have intervened, however, the necessary two-thirds majority in the state chamber could not be secured. Ergo: the legislative amendment can now enter into force. The result: higher costs and stretched services which will hit the most vulnerable hardest. Source: jungewelt
Germany’s cities and municipalities in financial distress
On July 7, in front of the Bundestag, mayors from various German cities and municipalities protested, as they lack the funds to reliably provide essential local services. An increasing number of Germany’s approximately 10,700 municipalities are in debt. “We are here to draw attention to the urgent financial crisis facing our cities,” says Thorsten Berg (SPD), the Mayor of Oberhausen. The western German city, whose problems began with the decline of heavy industry, is among those with the highest debt levels nationwide, accumulating currently a debt of 800 million euros. Among the demands the mayors presented is an increase in the municipal share of the total tax revenue. Source: dw
Lidl’s Big Tech bet
Dieter Schwarz, Germany’s richest man, no longer wants to limit himself to building supermarkets (Lidl and Kaufland) around the world. Through the Schwarz Group, he now wants to expand into the digital realm as well. An important step is the building of the headquarters of the Schwarz Digits, which is scheduled to officially open on July 21, 2026, in Bad Friedrichshall – close to Heilbronn, where Schwarz lives. The company, who says its wants to generate some technological independence from the US or China, is also building a data center in the Spreewald. With an investment of eleven billion euros, it represents the largest single investment in the group’s history. Source: dw
