Germany: 1,600 asylum requests by people rejected at border

Sales in Germany over the Christmas period this year have been disappointing, according to a survey by the HDE German Trade Association.

Two-thirds of businesses surveyed said they were dissatisfied with their Christmas sales, compared to 23% who were satisfied.

Some 71% of the 300 respondents said customer numbers were down this year compared to 2024. Sales also fell on the last Saturday before Christmas.

HDE chief executive Stefan Genth pointed to a low level of turnover and consumer caution.

He said retailers were pinning their hopes on a sales surge before Christmas Eve and in the run-up to the New Year.

The president of Germany's Central Council of Jews has warned that antisemitism is becoming normalized in the country.

In an interview with the dpa news agency following the Bondi Beach attack in Sydney, in which two men killed 15 people attending a Jewish celebration, Josef Schuster said data shows that antisemitism is consolidating "at a high, far too high, level."

"Much worse, my feeling is that our society is experiencing a habituation and normalization effect regarding antisemitism. That must not happen," Schuster added.

He said that the "degree of habituation to antisemitism" had become so high that it is "widely accepted that Jewish life is only possible under immense protective efforts" and that political measures to tackle it were often exhausted.

"These conditions are intolerable," he said.

Schuster pointed out that antisemitism had "surged explosively" since the start of the conflict in Gaza in 2023. He said the recent relative easing of hostilities in Gaza had not resulted in a decline. 

He said he was "very grateful" to German authorities for the security arrangements protecting Jewish communities, and called on politicians and civil society to work towards eliminating hatred of Jews.

"Only then is the vision of Jewish life without a protective shield conceivable," Schuster said.

German authorities issued more than 100,000 family reunification visas this year.

According to figures from the Foreign Ministry reported by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, 101,756 visas were issued by the end of November.

The numbers continue a downward trend observed in recent years. In 2023, a record of more than 130,000 family reunification visas were issued, falling to 120,000 in 2024.

The continued decline comes after the federal government in July suspended family reunification for people with subsidiary protection for two years. This primarily affects Syrian war refugees.

According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), subsidiary protection applies when a person from abroad does not qualify for refugee protection or asylum, but they still face "serious harm" such as the death penalty or torture in their country of origin.

Most applicants were Turkish (14,907) and Syrian (13,148), followed by Indians (9,286), people from Kosovo (7,143) and Albania (4,426).

The most common type of visa was for spouses of foreigners living in Germany, with 44,426 issued through November.

A third of cases (37,227) were visas issued for children to join their parents. Around 3,500 were for parents to move to be with their children.

The German-British Chamber of Commerce (AHK) has welcomed the UK's re-admission to the European Union's Erasmus program, following a hiatus due to Brexit.

Ulrich Hoppe, head of the German-British Chamber of Commerce (AHK), said in an interview to German DPA news agency the move will allow young people "to gather valuable academic and professional experience across the English Channel."

The UK left the Erasmus program in January 2020, as one of many consequences of its EU exit.

The Erasmus program is an EU educational initiative which allows students from across the EU to study in other member-countries of the bloc. Before Brexit, British students were therefore allowed to study in other EU countries and vice versa.

On December 20, 2024, six people were killed at the Christmas market in central Magdeburg — five women and a nine-year-old boy — and more than 300 were injured, some seriously, when a man drove a vehicle into the crowd.

A year on, the perpetrator's precise motives remain unclear, while residents continue to carry the shock and grief.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner said those causing trouble ahead of New Year's Eve will face the consequences.

"Anyone causing a disturbance or committing a crime will feel the force of the law," he told German DPA news agency in an interview.

While emphasizing people should enjoy the New Year's celebrations, Wegner warned that those committing criminal offences will be faced by a determined police operation.

"We will do everything to ensure that the night will be peaceful and happy, as we ring in the New Year," the German capital's conservative mayor said.

Some 1,600 people who had been denied entry into Germany at the border have later sought asylum in the country, German authorities have said.

The number of asylum applications from people who had been refused entry since the intensification of the country's border checks earlier this year reached 1,582 between May 7 and October 31, the German DPA news agency reported, citing a response to a parliamentary inquiry by the Greens.

The government did not say where the asylum seekers applied from.

This comes as Germany's conservative-led government looks to curb immigration, as promised in its campaign ahead of the 2025 election.

Border checks are normally not conducted within the Schengen area, a border-free zone including most European Union countries as well as a few countries not in the bloc.

But since coming to power in May, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has intensified already placed border checks, and ordered authorities to turn away all asylum seekers except some vulnerable groups.

We are resuming our coverage in this weekend edition of our Germany blog!

Stay tuned as we continue to bring you the latest news, videos and analyses on all things Germany.

From fake "Muslim raids" to myths about canceled Christmas lights, DW Fact Check exposes how holiday traditions are being targeted — and how news of a foiled Bavarian terror plot amplifies fear.

 

Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the victims and relatives of last year's attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg that the federal government stands by those affected "today and in the future."

Merz was attending a memorial service at St. John's Church in the eastern German city on Saturday evening.

"We stand by your side, today and in the future. And if there is a lack of support, then we are still called upon today to correct this and improve it," the leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) said.

But Merz added that "anger and fury are also permissible in the face of cruel crimes, like this one was."

The service was held one year after the attack, when a man drove a car into the city's Christmas market. Five women and a nine-year-old boy were killed, and more than 300 were injured. 

Merz called for "unconditional sympathy for one another when injustice occurs, standing together when violence erupts, and persistently supporting those who experience violence."

Elon Musk's company Tesla presented its humanoid robot Optimus to the public in Berlin on Saturday.

At a Christmas market in the Mall of Berlin, Optimus picked up small popcorn boxes, filled them and handed them out to visitors.

It was not clear whether Optimus was being controlled remotely or whether it was acting autonomously.

According to reports, some of the robots are remotely controlled during these public demonstrations.

Tesla's sales of its electric cars are expected to decline again this year. 

But CEO Musk has said Tesla's future is in self-driving so-called "robotaxis" and humanoid robots like Optimus.

Tesla has so far only introduced a few dozen cars to the city of Austin, Texas, with a supervisor in the passenger seat.

Google's sister company Waymo has more than 2,500 driverless vehicles in use in several US cities.

Earlier this year, Musk declared the future would see a "world without poverty" thanks to self-driving cars and robots.

The first commemorative service in Magdeburg saw a chaplain, a doctor and a victim of last year's Christmas market attack speak at the city's St. John's Church (Johanniskirche).

All three hightlighted how the people of the capital of the Saxony-Anhalt state came together to help each other on the night of December 20, 2024 after a car drove into crowds of people at a Christmas market.

"One thing it showed us: we are there for each other, we stick together and stand up for ourselves," a woman who was among the victims of the attack said. "Despite the terrible crime, we will not let our Christmas be taken from us."

Despite the horror of what unfolded on the evening of the attack, the woman added that the city was fortunate that people were quick to help, including passers-by, firefighters, nurses, care workers and doctors.

"My personal thanks go to all the rescuers," she added.

Germany’s Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig has said she wants to introduce a new law that would make renting more affordable.

Hubig cited rental agreements which allow rent to rise automatically when everyday prices go up as having heavily impacted renters, especially since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022.

A new law that would limit rent increases to no more than 3.5% per year, even if prices rise faster, is being considered as a way to curb unaffordable rises, Hubig told the Neuen Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft on Saturday. 

The intention is for this law to take effect by 2027 and apply to all rental agreements, whether they already exist or are newly signed.

Additionally, the Social Democratic minister (SPD) Hubig intends to change the law on short-term rentals as some apartments are rented for short periods to avoid normal rent limits.

Under her new proposal, short-term rentals would be limited to six months and if someone stays past that period, the apartment would have to follow the same rent rules as a normal long-term rental.

According to a YouGov survey that was conducted on behalf of the German DPA news agency, over 50% of Germans are supportive of reducing immigration linked to asylum seekers.

Those surveyed were asked whether they shared Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt's goal of reducing the immigration of asylum seekers.

The results showed 53% said they "fully" supported the goal, with a further 23% "somewhat" supportive of the goal.

It also showed that 15% completely or somewhat rejected Dobrindt's course, with 9% not feeling confident in answering the question or not giving an answer.

Immigration controls had already been put in place by Dobrindt's predecessor, Nancy Faeser, but since taking over the office in May, he had intensified rejecting asylum applications and ordered officers to turn away people at the border 

Exceptions were afforded to pregnant women, sick people and other people belonging to vulnerable groups. 

Of those surveyed, only 8% said they see a "significant change of course" following Dobrindt's measures, while 42% said they see no change.

Over 2,100 eligible voters participated in the survey, conducted between December 12 and 15.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday evening to mark a year since the attack at a Magdeburg Christmas market, which left six people dead.

The service will begin at 17:30 CET (1630 GMT) at St John's Church, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz among the officials joining the bereaved families of those affected by the incident on December 20, 2024. 

At the time the attack took place, 19:02 CET, bells will be rung, to remember the victims. Earlier in the day, at 11:00 CET, a religious memorial service will take place at the church. 

Along with the six people who were killed,  including a nine-year-old boy, more than 300 people were injured when a man drove a rental car at high speed through the Christmas market.

Since November, the alleged perpetrator has been on trial at the Magdeburg Regional Court.

You can read here how locals from the eastern city of Magdeburg are coping with their grief one year on from the attack.