Russia declares DAAD an “undesirable organisation”

14.02.2026: Russia declares DAAD an “undesirable organisation” 

(d.de) – Russia has declared the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) an “undesirable organisation”, effectively banning it from operating in the country. The Russian Ministry of Justice made the designation on 10 February, the DAAD said on Friday. As a result, the DAAD office in Moscow will now be forced to close, as will the German Centre for Research and Innovation in Moscow, which is run by the DAAD. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul condemned the move “in the strongest terms” and called on Russia to reverse the decision immediately. He described it as a blow to academic freedom and warned that contacts with the outside world were increasingly being criminalised. 

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13.02.2026: Germany to purchase combat drones with NATO partners 

Brussels (dpa) - Together with European NATO partners, Germany plans to purchase large numbers of inexpensive combat drones. A declaration of intent to this end was signed on the sidelines of a NATO defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels. According to NATO sources, the drones will have a range of at least 500 kilometres.

In a defence scenario, they would be used among other things to overwhelm enemy defence systems. More expensive precision weapons could then be used to more reliably neutralise relevant military targets.

Speaking in Brussels, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius explained that it was about strengthening conventional European deterrent and defence capabilities within NATO, saying this was important in view of the current challenges.

Besides Germany, countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Poland and Sweden want to be involved in the purchase.

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12.02.2026: Wadephul: Central Asia urged to halt circumvention of sanctions on Russia

Berlin (dpa) – Germany’s Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, has called on the governments of Central Asian states to take tougher action against the circumvention of sanctions imposed on Russia. “Attempts to evade sanctions support Russia’s war of aggression and pose a direct threat to the European Union,” Wadephul said at meetings with colleagues from Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

For this reason, added the minister, he had urged the Central Asian foreign ministers “to intensify their efforts to tackle sanction evasion and coordinate closely with the European Union in doing so.” Germany and the European Union were looking to expand economic cooperation with Central Asia for mutual benefit, said Wadephul, adding that the federal government was particularly interested in critical raw materials and rare earths.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier likewise previously received the politicians from the Central Asian states.

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11.02.2026: Klöckner in Israel: “I come as a friend”

Jerusalem (dpa) – Shortly before her inaugural visit to Israel, Bundestag President Julia Klöckner underlined the unique quality of bilateral relations between Israel and Germany. “There is something that binds our two countries which we do not share with any other country in the world,” Klöckner said. “I come a friend of Israel,” she added, saying this also allowed her to address critical issues.

Klöckner stressed: “Israel has a right to exist and a right to defend itself.” For Germany, she said, the country was “a very important anchor in the Middle East – as a constitutional state and as a democracy”. 

In the evening, Klöckner met Israel’s Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. Today, the two visited the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, which commemorates the murder of around six million Jews by the Nazis. 

Klöckner will also be attending a session of the Israeli parliament, and a meeting with opposition leader Jair Lapid is planned. 

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10.02.2026: Bundestag President Klöckner travelling to Israel

Berlin (dpa) – Bundestag President Julia Klöckner is travelling to Israel today for a three-day inaugural visit. She was invited by her Israeli counterpart Amir Ohana. According to the Bundestag, talks will centre around bilateral relations, the situation in the region, the geopolitical situation and questions of cybersecurity to protect the parliaments. “The massive rise in anti-Semitism in Germany is shameful and not acceptable,” she said ahead of her departure. Among other things, meetings with the German-Israeli friendship group in the Knesset are planned. Klöckner also plans to visit Yad Vashem to commemorate the six million or so Jews murdered by the Nazis.

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09.02.2026: “Polarstern” embarks on new Antarctic expedition

Bremerhaven/Punta Arenas (Chile) (dpa) – The German research vessel “Polarstern”, operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), set sail from Punta Arenas in Chile at the weekend for an expedition to the Antarctic. Until early April, an international team of researchers will be exploring the northwestern part of the Weddell Sea, announced an AWI spokeswoman. Apparently, the summer sea ice has been declining sharply there in recent years, presumably because of warmer surface water.

The expedition is entitled “Summer Weddell Sea Outflow Study” (SWOS). “The aim of SWOS is to investigate why sea ice in the Antarctic has declined so sharpy in recent years and how this is impacting the ecosystem,” said Christian Haas from the AWI. Modern and conventional measurement systems will be deployed, including helicopters to measure sea ice thickness, as well as various trawls and bottom sampling and observation devices.

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06.02.2026: Chancellor Merz: “We don’t place the Gulf states under general suspicion”

Riyadh (dpa) – Germany’s Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants to take ties with Saudi Arabia to “a new level”. His two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, which marked the start of his tour of the Gulf region, was described by the German delegation afterwards as “warm and open”. Reportedly, the talks focused particularly on expanding economic relations. Saudi Arabia was the first stop on the chancellor’s three-day tour. He travelled on to Qatar on Wednesday. There too, Merz stressed the strategic importance of the relations between the two countries. “In a time of global economic upheaval, geopolitical uncertainties and technological transformation, Germany and Qatar are consciously focusing on dialogue, diversification and investments in the future.”

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05.02.2026: Germany and Australia strengthen strategic Critical Minerals Alliance

During a meeting in Canberra, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong emphasised the close bilateral ties between their countries. Ahead of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, which will be celebrated in 2027, the two top diplomats agreed to further increase cooperation between Europe and the Indo-Pacific region and make a joint commitment to security, freedom and prosperity.

First and foremost, the strategic partnership is to be stepped up in defence, cybersecurity and renewable energies. Cooperation on critical minerals such as lithium is also to be expanded. “Many important raw materials, such as lithium, are extracted here and we have great interest in expanding our cooperation in raw materials, particularly when it comes to strategically important minerals,” said Wadephul. Australia is home to the world’s largest hard-rock lithium mine - which is of key importance to Germany’s energy transition and industry.

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04.02.2026: Chancellor Merz visits Gulf region

Berlin (dpa) - Germany’s Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz is setting off today for his first trip to the economically strong and strategically important Gulf region. Saudi Arabia will be his first stop, after which he will travel on to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Merz wants to step up Germany’s partnerships with all three countries in a changing world. Cooperation with these oil- and gas-rich countries is to be intensified in the energy sector in particular. The Iran conflict will doubtless be addressed during the talks, too. Ahead of Merz, Economics Minister Katherina Reiche had already travelled to Saudi Arabia.

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03.02.2026: Wadephul establishes relations with South Pacific island of Niue

Auckland/Kerikeri (dpa) - With 1,700 inhabitants and covering an area of around 260 square kilometres, the small South Pacific island of Niue is situated some 4,500 kilometres east of the Australian coast, between Fiji and the Cook Islands. And around 2,400 kilometres north-east of New Zealand. On Tuesday, Germany formally established bilateral relations with the island in the Pacific.

During a visit to the New Zealand city of Auckland, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Niue Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi jointly signed a declaration to this effect. A ceremony of this kind is also a rare occurrence for the German minister.

“It’s a special experience that I can take part in this ceremony today,” said Wadephul. He said that the recognition of Niue “shows the appreciation that Germany has for this country, the importance we attach to the right of peoples to self-determination and the importance we attach to the Pacific islands”.

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02.02.2026: Germany and Singapore seek to deepen their partnership

Singapore (dpa) - In view of US President Donald Trump’s power politics, Germany and Singapore are keen to step up their joint commitment to rules-based international cooperation. “We are currently experiencing geopolitical shifts and uncertainties. International cooperation and multilateral institutions are being called into question,” Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in Singapore at a meeting with his counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan. Wadephul raised the topic of a possible free trade agreement between the EU and the ASEAN group of countries. 

He said that Germany and Singapore knew only too well that “we owe our freedom, our security and our prosperity to a stable international order with dependable rules”. He added that this applied both to relations between states and to free and fair trade. 

The EU signed its first free trade deal with an Asian state - namely Singapore - in 2019. He explained that this could give rise to further agreements that the EU would also like to conclude in the Indo-Pacific region. Wadephul also met with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. 

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30.01.2026: Wadephul refers to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as the “henchmen of the regime”

Brussels (dpa) – The EU has designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation, due to its action against anti-government protests. The EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas reported that the decision had been made against the background of the events of the past few weeks, ending years of division on the issue.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described the step as a political message that had been overdue and referred to the Revolutionary Guard as the “henchmen of the regime”.

“It is they who attack their own population with immeasurable brutality, who have quite literally executed their own people for daring to raise their voices on the streets,” Mr Wadephul said. He added that they were responsible for the destabilising role that Iran played in the region and were behind attempted attacks here in Germany and Europe.

The elite forces have been playing a key role in the brutal suppression of protests. The human rights organisation HRANA reports that more than 6,200 deaths had been confirmed to date, while the EU Foreign Ministers recently stated that there could be up to 30,000 victims.

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29.01.2026: German automotive manufacturers defend their top position in Europe

Brussels/Munich (dpa) – 140 years ago in Mannheim, on 29 January 1886, Carl Benz paved the way for modern motor cars with his patent document DRP 37435. On today’s anniversary it is obvious that the industry is doing very well in Europe: German automotive manufacturers were able to defend and even increase their market shares in the past year. The VW, BMW and Mercedes groups accounted for a combined market share of 39.9 percent, according to the figures issued by the European manufacturers’ association Acea. That corresponds to an increase of 1.2 percentage points compared to the year before. VW in particular was able to considerably grow its market share. BMW’s share also rose, while the share accounted for by Mercedes remained stable.

Total car sales in the EU went up 1.8 percent in 2025 to 10.8 million vehicles. While this is the highest number of this decade to date, it is still considerably lower than the pre-Covid figure of 13 million cars sold in 2019, according to an analysis conducted by the consultancy firm EY. In that year, German corporations had a market share of 37.1 percent, 2.8 percentage points less than in 2025.

The market share of fully electric cars rose from 13.6 to 17.4 percent. A significant decrease can meanwhile be observed in the category of purely petrol-powered vehicles, whose market share dropped from 33.3 down to 26.6 percent. This means that hybrid cars, excluding plug-in hybrids, now account for the greatest market share of 34.5 percent. This corresponds to a year-on-year increase of 3.6 percentage points.

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28.01.2026: Pistorius: Nato mission in Greenland well on track

Berlin (dpa) – The German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is confident that a joint Nato mission can be realised in Greenland, possibly with involvement of the USA. At an event held by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Berlin, Mr Pistorius said that the talks were going well at the military level. He added that no decision in favour of the mission had been made to date, as negotiations were ongoing.

Boris Pistorius explained that Nato was well on track towards realising the proposed Arctic Sentry surveillance mission as a joint operation. The goal of the mission is to reinforce the alliance’s presence in the Arctic as a strategically important connection between Europe and North America. Mr Pistorius welcomed the fact that the USA had recently indicated a willingness to refrain from threatening Greenland further and that an understanding had been reached concerning the aim to jointly protect the island.

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27.01.2026: EU and India agree on trade deal

New Delhi (dpa) – The EU and India have concluded their negotiations concerning the establishment of a huge new free trade area. This was announced by the President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. During his recent visit to India in mid-January, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz had actively promoted the free trade agreement.

The removal of trade barriers and customs duties is intended to stimulate the flow of goods and services between the EU and India. The goal is to promote growth and the creation of jobs, and to reduce dependency on other states at the same time. Against the background of the USA’s aggressive tariff and trade policy and China’s growing thirst for power, the agreement is also considered a step of great geopolitical relevance.

The German automotive industry in particular could benefit from the agreement, according to information issued by the EU, as India has been charging high tariffs of up to 110 percent on cars imported from the EU. Planning now provides for these tariffs to be gradually lowered to 10 percent for at least 250,000 vehicles per year, and for tariffs on car parts to be eliminated entirely within five to ten years. It was further reported that tariffs on machinery (up to 44 percent), chemicals (up to 22 percent) and pharmaceuticals (up to 11 percent) will be largely eliminated, too.

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26.01.2026: Wadephul calls on Europeans to show unity

Berlin (dpa) – German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has called on Europeans to stand united in light of frictions surrounding US President Donald Trump and ongoing hybrid attacks by Russia in the Baltic Sea region. “In this phase of geopolitical upheaval, we Europeans must present a confident and united front and act accordingly,” Wadephul said ahead of his visit to EU and NATO partners Latvia and Sweden. What matters, he said, is “that we do not allow ourselves to be divided – because that is precisely the aim of those who have an interest in the disintegration of our defence alliance and the European Union”.

Trump somewhat eased tensions over Greenland last week when he said he did not intend to pursue a violent solution after all. He again affronted NATO partners at the weekend, however – this time with disparaging remarks about their deployment in Afghanistan.

Wadephul is to deliver a speech as guest of honour at the Latvian Ambassadors’ Conference in the Latvian capital of Riga. In addition, talks are scheduled with his counterpart Baiba Braže. In the afternoon, Wadephul plans to meet his Swedish counterpart Maria Stenergard in the Swedish capital Stockholm. Sweden did not join NATO until March 2024 after around 200 years of military non-alignment.

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23.01.2026: Klingbeil calls for talks on nuclear protection

Berlin (dpa) – Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance Lars Klingbeil has spoken out in favour of a strategic dialogue with France on nuclear protection for Europe. France had offered to make its nuclear umbrella more available for European security, Klingbeil said. “We should engage in this discussion,” he urged.

According to Klingbeil, NATO’s nuclear deterrence and Germany’s participation in US nuclear sharing are not in question. The transatlantic pillar of security must be preserved, said the minister, adding that

Germany would remain bound by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and would not acquire nuclear weapons of its own. Nevertheless it was right to accept France’s offer of talks, said Klingbeil, noting that a strategic dialogue between Germany and France was appropriate given the current security situation.

Germany is not a nuclear power, but in connection with NATO’s nuclear-sharing arrangements it contributes to deterrence and provides combat aircraft for this purpose. US nuclear weapons are stationed in Germany and could be deployed in the event of defence.

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22.01.2026: Merz in Davos: power alone is not enough 

Davos (dpa) – Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned on the international stage against relying solely on strength and power in geopolitical cooperation. “A world in which only power counts is a dangerous place,” he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, adding that this applied “first to small states, then to middle powers, and ultimately to the great powers.” The greatest strength, Merz said, arose from the ability to build partnerships and alliances based on mutual trust and respect.

Recent tensions over Greenland involving US President Donald Trump have fuelled concerns about the future of NATO. Trump has repeatedly laid claim to the island, which belongs to NATO ally Denmark.

By contrast, Merz stressed: “We Europeans, we Germans know how precious the trust is on which NATO is built. In an age of great powers, the United States will also depend on this trust. It is their decisive competitive advantage – and ours. Autocracies may have subjects. Democracies have partners and reliable friends.”

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21.01.2026: Wadephul: expanding partnerships in Africa

Berlin (dpa) – Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul wants to expand partnerships with key countries in Africa. “In times of trade restrictions and protectionist tendencies it is essential for us as an export nation to take a broader approach and to create even more closely-knit networks,” Mr Wadephul said before departing on a two-day trip to Africa on which he will be visiting Kenya and Ethiopia. 

The Foreign Minister stated that Germany had a great deal to offer for African countries. “Our country stands for international cooperation, economic openness and political reliability.” 

Johann Wadephul said that Africa was increasingly becoming a centre of gravity in our multipolar world, and that this was why the Federal Government would like to strengthen its cooperation with the African Union (AU). Among other things, Mr Wadephul will be meeting President William Ruto and the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi for talks in Kenya’s capital city Nairobi today. 

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20.01.2026: Joining forces to strengthen start-up companies

Berlin (dpa) – Germany and France want to encourage young, rapidly growing companies to stay in Europe and to prevent them from moving to the USA. It was essential to create better conditions for start-up companies, Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said at an event in Berlin that was also attended by the French Minister of Finance Roland Lescure. Mr Klingbeil pointed out that young companies needed to have access to sufficient capital and had to be enabled to grow in the EU. An expert report has been drawn up that includes recommendations for specific measures as well as a proposal for a uniform EU-wide legal form for companies.

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19.01.2026: Wadephul on Greenland: “tariffs are the wrong type of response”

Berlin/Brussels/Washington (dpa) – Germany and the other affected European states do not want to accept the new tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump over the Greenland conflict. “Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” a joint statement issued by Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom reads. The states would ensure that their sovereignty is upheld, the statement continues. Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul expects that the tariff agreement whose terms are highly favourable for the USA will not be ratified by the European Parliament for the time being. Speaking to the broadcaster ARD, Johann Wadephul also said that he would not rule out counter tariffs. If the USA took further steps, there would “have to be a European response,” he pointed out, adding that there would be in-depth discussions with Washington. Mr Wadephul explained that tariffs were generally “the wrong type of response among allies” and “poison for transatlantic relations”.

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16.01.2026: NATO begins major exercise in Germany

Emden (dpa, d.de) – NATO has begun deploying thousands of servicemen and women, along with equipment and military vehicles from across Europe to Germany for the major exercise “Steadfast Dart 26”. Germany will act as host nation for the deployment over the coming weeks and also as the central hub for transfers. In addition to sea transport, further elements of NATO’s “Allied Reaction Force”, a rapid intervention force, are due to arrive in Germany by road convoys and air transport.

“Steadfast Dart 26” is NATO’s largest exercise this year. The alliance is training to move servicemen and women, along with equipment and vehicles, as swiftly and in a coordinated manner as possible within NATO territory. In doing so, it aims to demonstrate its ability to defend against attacks on alliance territory. The exercise involves around 10,000 servicemen and women from eleven NATO member countries: Italy, Greece, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Turkey, France, Belgium and the United Kingdom. It includes forces from the army, air force and navy, as well as space and cyber units. 

According to NATO, the major exercise will take place across several sites in Central Europe, but the most important elements are scheduled to occur in Germany. As host nation, Germany will provide food, accommodation, fuel, medical services, technical support, legal advice and security for the allied troops.

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