Germany

Electricity taxes could be reduced to almost zero, a move supported by different political actors , as sales of heat pumps are declining steadily due to high cost of electricity which fuels them

Wind energy expansion has slowed due to delays in obtaining transport permits for heavy wind turbines, with more than 15.000 applications pending, putting at risk the goal of 80% of energy from renewable sources by the end of the year

In 2022 visa offices of missions abroad processed a total of 1.490,473 visa applications, the bulk of which were national visas amounting to 393.083, a significant increase over 2021

The government approved the budget of its flagship Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) to accelerate the green transition by providing €212 billion to various building renovation, decarbonisation and industry projects between 2024 and 2027

The production of non-alcoholic beer in Germany has almost doubled in the last decade, according to new figures released on World Beer Day this week, while the consumption of alcoholic beer has seen a slight downward trend

An alarm was raised last night, first for the south-west of Berlin then extended to the outskirts, after a lioness escaped, sought by helicopters and drones in the south of the city

The federal government, together with the 16 states, has agreed on key points of hospital 'reforms' proposed by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, which will lead to unprecedented hospital closures and significantly worsen healthcare provision for workers

German intelligence services have reported an increase in hybrid security threats, with events such as espionage, illegal influence peddling, disinformation campaigns and cyber attacks becoming significantly more frequent in 2022

The country will not be able to immediately replace the tanks it is supplying to Ukraine, the country's defence minister said, as Russia claimed to have destroyed or captured some of them; the dispatch had begun after months of demands from Kiev

The country has asked the European Commission to investigate the flow of allegedly fraudulent biofuels into the EU, according to a spokesman for the German Environment Ministry

The Social Democratic Party has declared former chancellor and party leader Gerhard Schröder persona non grata at the upcoming party congress, even though recent attempts to expel him from the party ultimately failed

Biofuels producers claim that the new greenhouse gas emission reduction target for transport fuels under new EU rules could reduce the amount of crop-based biofuels used in German road transport if strictly enforced