Germany news: Merz sets out EU priorities after urging reforms

October 14, 2026

Social justice and Christian references: DW's Berlin bureau chief weighs in on Merz's speech

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's overriding message was one of justice, especially between generations. 

That was for the home crowd, trying to explain the governing coalition's reform plans of the social systems. Interestingly he also sprinkled in some Christian references, something he seems to be doing more recently. 

Most likely the German chancellor is trying to show more empathy and a more positive vision of the future. 

His own conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party colleagues have increasingly been demanding this after losses in three state elections this fall.  

October 14, 2026

Merz warns of growing injustice between generations

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned that Germany faces a growing gap in fairness between generations unless it undertakes major reforms of its social security systems.

"A justice gap has opened up between the generations in our country, and this gap will grow unless we act," Merz told the Bundestag.

He said children and young people risked being forced to shoulder a greater burden than could reasonably be justified under principles of fairness.

Merz acknowledged that successive governments had paid insufficient attention to the long-term consequences of their decisions, explicitly including governments led by his own center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

The chancellor said his government had developed a broad reform program covering pensions, care, the labor market, economic competitiveness and the modernization of the state.

He argued that justice should mean equal opportunities, fair rewards for achievement and fairness between generations, rather than redistribution at the expense of those contributing to the economy.

Merz said the reforms were necessary to preserve Germany's prosperity and ensure that younger generations were not left carrying an unfair share of the costs.

October 14, 2026

Merz accuses political extremes of seeking chaos

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has accused political forces on the far left and far right of deliberately dividing society, spreading disinformation and downplaying the threat posed by Russia.

Speaking in the Bundestag, Merz said he could not understand why politicians at both ends of the political spectrum continued to minimize Russian aggression.

"One gets the impression that you want chaos because you hope to gain political advantage from it," he told lawmakers.

Merz warned that extremism was increasingly making its presence felt in Germany's national and regional parliaments, as well as everyday life.

However, he acknowledged that extremist movements could draw support from legitimate dissatisfaction and feelings of injustice, arguing that constructive political action was the only effective response.

"Justice for us does not come through the exclusion of minorities," Merz said, calling for policies that promote equal opportunities and fairness between generations.

He contrasted what he described as the destructive politics of division and exclusion with the responsibility of democratic parties to address genuine grievances and govern for everyone in Germany.

Published October 14, 2026last updated October 14, 2026

WATCH: Merz addresses Bundestag before crucial EU summit

October 14, 2026

Merz says Ukraine aid does not come at welfare's expense

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has rejected accusations from the far right and far left that support for Ukraine comes at the expense of social spending.

"Not a single euro is missing from social spending," he told parliament, speaking ahead of an EU summit in Brussels.

Merz said an exemption from Germany's constitutional borrowing limits allows spending on defense and assistance for Ukraine to be financed through additional credit.

He accused the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the socialist Left Party of seeking to divide Germany

October 14, 2026

AfD and BSW join forces against Ukraine support

In the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the far-right Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) won recent elections in a landslide, a new alliance has flexed its muscle.

The AfD put forward a motion to halt arms deliveries to Ukraine and lift sanctions against Russia. Instead, they argue, peace talks with Russia should be initiated.

The Alliance for Social Justice and Economic Reason (BSW), which holds five seats in the state parliament, again teamed up with the AfD to ensure a majority for the motion. The BSW combines left-leaning economics with right-wing populist positions on immigration and relations with Russia.

AfD and BSW also called for an immediate halt to financial support for Ukraine, to the extent that it goes beyond humanitarian aid.

The motion by the AfD and BSW has no more than symbolic value, as decisions regarding sanctions against Russia and aid to Ukraine are made not by the federal states, but by the federal government and the European Union.

But the new alliance of AfD and BSW has a wider significance. It is seen by observers as a sign of longer-term and closer cooperation between the two parties, which originate from very different ideological camps. 

Although the AfD emerged as the clear winner of the state elections in September 2026, it lacks a majority to form a government. It has been searching for partners in the state legislature. So far, the BSW is the only party officially negotiating with the AfD on forming a government. 

Published October 14, 2026last updated October 14, 2026

Merz to set out EU priorities after urging reforms

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to outline Germany's priorities on Ukraine, European defense and economic competitiveness in a parliamentary address ahead of an EU summit in Brussels.

His government statement is scheduled for 14:05 local time (12:05 UTC), followed by a 90-minute debate. EU leaders meet on Thursday and Friday, with the Middle East, the bloc's next long-term budget and EU enlargement also on the agenda.

After the speech, the opposition Greens are set to put forward two motions calling for faster bloc enlargement and stronger measures to counter economic coercion and protect the bloc's market.

Merz's address follows a more domestic-focused speech on planned reforms at an employers' conference in Berlin on Tuesday. There, he said he would press ahead with changes to Germany's welfare system even at the expense of his own popularity, arguing that younger generations stood to benefit.

October 14, 2026

Energy prices push German inflation to 3.3%

Germany's annual inflation rate rose to 3.3% in September, its highest level since December 2023, as fuel and heating oil prices surged.

The Federal Statistical Office confirmed its preliminary estimate, up from 2.9% in August and 2.8% in July.

The increase was again driven by energy prices, said the office's president, Ruth Brand, highlighting higher costs at gas stations and for heating oil.

Energy prices rose 14.9% compared with September last year, their steepest annual increase since February 2023. That followed increases of 10.5% in August and 8.3% in July.

Motor fuel prices jumped 37.1%, while heating oil rose 74.9%. Firewood, wood pellets and other solid fuels became 15.6% more expensive.

However, electricity prices fell 5.5%, natural gas prices dropped 2.8% and district heating cost 1% less.

The office attributed those declines partly to government measures implemented since the start of the year.

October 14, 2026

Nord Stream sabotage trial draws protesters

The trial of a Ukrainian man accused of leading the operation that blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022 has begun in Hamburg.

The 50-year-old, identified under German privacy rules as Serhii K., faces charges including a war crime, causing explosions, destroying structures and disrupting public services.

DW correspondent Matthew Moore was there as court doors opened at 07:30 local time in Hamburg. 

A small pro-Ukraine protest held up a banner saying, "Russia is a terrorist". One participant from Germany told DW that they wanted to remind the world of "the war crimes taking place against the Ukrainian people."

Inside, a Ukrainian student also told DW that he and others had made the journey from Kyiv to show support for the defendant, Serhii K. 

"Serhii K is a hero." In the eyes of the German prosecutors, it is another matter. They accuse him of carrying out a war crime. If found guilty of his part in the gas pipeline bombing, K faces a lengthy prison sentence. 

Prosecutors allege that he planned the attack with other Ukrainian military personnel on behalf of unidentified Ukrainian state bodies. They say the aim was to prevent Russia from using gas export revenues to finance its war against Ukraine.

Serhii K., who was arrested in Italy last year, denies involvement. Ukraine's government has also denied any role in the attack.

October 14, 2026

Anti-nuclear activists block waste convoy

Police in the town of Dorsten, just north of the city of Essen, said that they had detained three people who were blocking the A31 motorway.

The group was attempting to stop trucks carrying radioactive waste.

After repelling down from a bridge above the highway, they unfurled a banner reading "stop this crap."

The incident was the latest in Germany's decades-long protest movement against nuclear weapons and atomic energy.

Although the last of the country's nuclear power stations went offline in 2023, transporting and storing the waste remains a divisive topic.

This particular convoy was headed for a facility in Ahaus, near the Dutch border. Authorities believe it could take until 2028 to safely store all the remaining waste from Germany's decommissioned atomic reactors.

October 14, 2026

Suicide rate increased significantly in 2025

The suicide rate in Germany has continued to climb, according to official statistics just released by the Federal Ministry of Health.

In 2025, at least 11,334 people killed themselves in Germany. That is a 9.3% increase on the previous year, and 15.6% higher than the average over the past decade.

This is higher than the number of deaths due to traffic accidents, AIDS, murder and manslaughter put together.

The data shows that this is partly due to more women (a 17.9% increase since 2021) taking their own lives, though most suicides are still carried out by men. The increase is also due to an increase in assisted suicides for the elderly and infirm, amounting to over 1,000 people.

In a 2020 decision, Germany's top court struck down a 2015 ban on organized assisted dying providers like Switzerland's Dignitas, and called on the Bundestag to create regulations for the practice. However, lawmakers have declined thus far to do so, putting assisted suicide in a legal gray area in Germany. Direct euthanasia by a single doctor remains illegal.

In August, the Health Ministry proposed reforms such as a national suicide prevention hotline, more support for local and state networks, as well as the creation of a federal office for suicide prevention.

However, medical groups and charities have both said that the proposed €1.4 million ($1.6 million) budget would come nowhere never covering such a scheme long-term.

Editor's note: If you are suffering from serious emotional strain or suicidal thoughts, do not hesitate to seek professional help. You can find information on where to find such help, no matter where you live in the world, at this website: https://www.befrienders.org/

October 14, 2026

Proposed sugar tax faces criticism

According to German media reports, the ruling coalition of Chancellor Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) has found a compromise for a planned tax increase on sugar.

The law would impact sugar drinks in particular, and is set to come into effect on July 1 of next year. There is reportedly going to be an exception for small-scale producers.

CDU state premier of Hesse, Boris Rhein, slammed the plan on Wednesday. Rhein told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper that this "expensive tax" (a phrase that rhymes in German) would simply result in companies passing on the extra expense to consumers.

Rhein accused the coalition of pretending the measure was about health when really it was so "the populace can continue to plug up holes in the federal budget at the cash register."

October 14, 2026

Nord Stream sabotage suspect goes on trial in Hamburg

The much anticipated trial of Serhii K., whose last name is withheld due to Germany's privacy laws, will begin in Hamburg today. 

K. is accused by investigators of leading a group comprising professional divers, an explosives expert, and a boat skipper who plotted to travel to the remote section of the Nord Stream gas pipelines off the Danish coast and blow them up.

The series of explosions ruptured Nord Stream 1, which Moscow had switched off a month earlier, and destroyed Nord Stream 2, which had yet to come into operation at the time.

A former Ukrainian military officer, K's case has led some investigators to point at Kyiv as orchestrating the entire plan, as the pipelines controversially delivered Russian natural gas to Europe.

The attack came seven months after Russia's fullscale invasion of Ukraine, when European countries were taking steps to drastically decrease their reliance on Russian fuel.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vehemently denied any official connection to the attack.

K. was apprehended in Italy in 2025 and extradited to Germany. His specific charges are: being an accomplice to a war crime by attacking civil energy infrastructure, disruption of public services, causing an explosion and destroying structures.

October 14, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

A hearty guten Morgen from the DW newsroom in Bonn.

It's a day for political and legal battles today, as a man suspected of being part of a conspiracy to blow up a major gas pipeline between Russia and Europe goes on trial.

Later, Chancellor Friedrich Merz will give a sweeping address on his future policies as government approval ratings sink to a record low.

All this and more is coming up in our Germany blog.