Germany: Bundestag passes controversial healthcare reform

The heads of Germany's football association (DFB) are making their way to the US for talks with Jürgen Klopp.

The former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund boss is the leading candidate for the job as the German national team's coach, with Klopp already voicing interest in taking over Germany.

According to media reports, Klopp will be offered a contract through the 2030 World Cup. The technicalities of his move from his current employer, Red Bull, where he is head of global soccer, to the German national team still need to be agreed upon.

Former national team coach Julian Nagelsmann resigned a week ago after the team's round of 32 World Cup exit against Paraguay.

Germany's states would make the denial of the State of Israel's existence illegal on a federal level, the state of Hesse suggested.

According to the proposal submitted to the Bundesrat, Germany's upper house, questioning Israel's right to exist in public in a way that would suggest readiness for antisemitic violence would become a punishable offense.

The Bundesrat also added the rising number of antisemitic incidents as a reason behind the proposal.

The German government will now be able to express its views on the matter, before turning to the Bundestag, Germany's lower house, for votes.

German car maker Volkswagen is considering cutting up to 100,000 jobs worldwide as its sales continue to drop worldwide. 

According to VW, vehicle deliveries across all its brands fell nearly 9% between April and June compared to last year, due to collapsed sales in China.

The company, Europe's biggest car maker, has been under financial strains due to both competition from the electric car market in China and the US tariffs.

While VW say they're expected to lay off at least 50,000 jobs in Germany until 2030, reports say the number of jobs the company will cut is about 100,00 worldwide. 

Company CEO Oliver Blume said in April that the company cannot compete its Chinese competition with its "underutilised plants, especially given that Chinese makers are entering Europe at an ever-growing pace."

A man was nearly sucked out of the window mid-air in a Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany, witnesses and officials said.

Other passengers held him inside the plane, with the man suffering from friction burns but being otherwise in good condition, according to the authorities.

One witness told local radio in Greece that the man's body had been, in part, outside the aircraft, with both other people and his seatbelt preventing him from being sucked out of the plane altogether.

According to Greek media, the window was hit by a piece of debris that originated from one of the plane's engines.

Ryanair confirmed the incident, saying the flight had returned to Thessaloniki and that the passengers had been flown to their destination with an alternative aircraft.

Here are some of the meausres the German parliament approved to cut the costs of healthcare in the country:

• Patients will have to pay more for medications: between €7.50 ($8.60) and €15 instead of between €5 and €10 until now
• Partners of insured individuals will have to be insured themselves rather than receiving free coverage through their partner
• Reductions in covering several areas, such as homeopathic treatments, as well as teeth replacements
• A second opinion will be required ahead of carrying out certain operations to confirm their medical necessity

The Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, has passed a new list of measures to cut the country's healthcare costs.

The bill, which aims to save €16.3 billion ($18.63 billion), will now be sent to the Bundesrat. The Bundesrat is the upper house of parliament that represents Germany's 16 federal states. Should the bill fail to win a majority there, it could be sent to a mediation committee.

Protests against the measures have already taken place across Germany, and the package's approval is expected to trigger more such protests in the coming weeks.

The Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, presented a new law aimed at making it easier for victims of e-scooter accidents to receive compensation.

The new legislation is meant to secure stricter liability on e-scooter rental firms regardless of fault. 

"Anyone who makes money renting out e-scooters must also take responsibility for the damage caused by their vehicles," Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said.

This comes as a rising number of e-scooters are involved in traffic accidents, from about 5,900 in 2020 to 12,500 in 2024.

The new law only applies to "self-balancing vehicles" such as e-scooters and Segways.

Germany's annual inflation rate dropped to 2.3% in June, according to official data.

The drop was also due to lower oil prices resulting from the US-Iran agreement and the government's temporary fuel tax rebate.

In comparison, the inflation was 2.6% in May and 2.9% in April, with energy remaining a key aspect of inflation.

Household energy and fuel costs were 3.4% higher than June last year.

It is yet to be seen how the current escalation in the Middle East would affect prices.

Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will hold a meeting with his Slovenian counterpart Tone Kajzer in Berlin.

According to the Slovenian foreign ministry's website, the two are expected to discuss "topical European issues," before holding a press conference together.

This will be Kajzer's first visit abroad since taking office after Slovenia's elections in May, in which right-wing candidate Janez Jansa returned to the Prime Minister's office for the fourth time.

A 12-year-old girl brought to the arrest of a man who sexually harassed her in the German city of Stuttgart, SWR reported.

According to the report, the 44-year-old man kissed the girl on the cheek before offering her money in return to her performing a sexual act on him. The girl then offered to exchange numbers with the man, before going straight to police and bringing to his arrest.

Police told SWR that while it was not advised to talk to strangers, the girl's reaction to the situation was "sharp" in going directly to police.

Germany's lower house, the Bundestag, is expected to vote for passing a package of savings in the country's healthcare expenditure. 

The package, which will apply from the 2027 budget, will affect doctors' practices, hospitals, pharmacies and the pharmaceutical industry.

It includes higher co-payments for prescription medicines and tighter rules governing the free co-insurance of spouses under Germany's statutory health insurance system, among other measures. 

Attempts to delay the vote by asking the country's Constitutional Court to intervene through emergency applications, arguing parliament did not have enough time to scrutinize some last-minute changes made to the bill, was rejected. 

While the package is expected to pass in the Bundestag, it could still face opposition in the Bundesrat, Germany's upper house. 

The cost-saving measures have also triggered protests by health care staff in Germany.

Goten Morgen!

Today, we will be covering the latest legislation in Germany's lower house, the Bundestag, ahead of its summer break.

Among the proposals is a cost-cutting package for the country's public healthcare. 

Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will also hold a meeting with Slovenian counterpart Tone Kajzer in Berlin, with the two expected to discuss the war in Ukraine. 

Join us as bring you all the latest from across Germany!