Daily Briefing 26.10.2026, 14:17 (CET)

Germany's Merz congratulates Lula on election win

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday congratulated has congratulated Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his re-election. In addition, Merz pledged support for the Balkan...

Germany wants EU to extend exemption for small-scale herring fishing

Germany plans to push for an exemption for small-scale herring fishing in the western Baltic Sea to be extended, Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer said on Monday ahead of EU negotiations to...

Number of new German start-ups highest in 15 years, survey finds

Some 183,000 new businesses were established in Germany in 2025, up 7.7% on the year and the highest figure seen since 2010, according to figures published on Monday by the Mannheim-based Z...

Left slams minister's plans to block Berlin housing expropriations

Berlin mayoral hopeful Elif Eralp, whose far-left party won last month's regional elections in the German capital, on Monday described a bid by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt to block...

German public broadcaster ZDF posts €78 million deficit in 2025

German television public broadcaster ZDF posted a deficit of €78.6 million ($88 million) in 2025, according to results published on Monday.

German business confidence rises to highest level since early 2023

German business confidence continued to improve despite rising energy prices, pointing to further economic recovery, with the ifo business climate index rising by 0.3 points to 90.2 points ...

German chancellor, president embark on parallel Asia trips

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier are set to depart on separate trips to Asia on Monday, with both seeking to strengthen economic and diplomatic ties ac...

Germany's Helsing unveils in-house air defence system Contra

German defence technology company Helsing unveiled its Contra air defence system along with new guided missiles at an event in Berlin on Monday.

VW works council slams Audi chief's appearance at rally with Trump

Volkswagen works council chief Daniela Cavallo has sharply criticized Audi chief executive Gernot Döllner after the boss of the VW subsidiary appeared at a campaign event alongside US Presi...

German police: Strong wind pushed cruise liner into container ships

A strong gust of wind caused a cruise ship carrying more than 3,300 passengers and crew to collide with two container vessels while leaving the German North Sea port of Bremerhaven, police ...