Germany news: Lawmakers lower fuel tax amid high gas prices

The German Football Federation (DFB) has confirmed that it is considering bidding to host the men's World Cup in future.

"As (president) Bernd Neuendorf said last November, Germany would provide the necessary infrastructure and the DFB would bring the appropriate organizational experience. That is why we are considering a World Cup bid insofar as future options are being examined and discussed," a DFB spokesman told the dpa news agency.

However, the DFB noted that FIFA, the world governing body, currently has no specific bidding process underway. Germany previously hosted the World Cup in 1974 and 2006. The country most recently held Euro 2024 for men and will host Euro 2029 for women.

The next World Cup will take place in June and July in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Morocco, Portugal, and Spain will host the tournament in 2030, and Saudi Arabia in 2034.

Tens of thousands of people across Germany took part in protests against the federal government’s climate and energy policies, according to Fridays for Future.

However, the police estimated that the demonstration in Munich had only 400 participants, 300 in Frankfurt am Main, and 100 in Cologne.

Meanwhile, around 350 climate activists gathered outside the CDU party headquarters in Berlin. Initially, the police estimated the number of participants to be around 200, while the organisers claimed that 1,000 people had joined the demonstration.

Homemade signs bore slogans such as "Stop the climate crisis — or our meadows will dry up." The demonstration then moved from the Konrad Adenauer House to the SPD party headquarters, the Willy Brandt House.

German prosecutors have launched an investigation into allegations of spying involving phishing attacks on lawmakers using the Signal messaging app.

The attacks allegedly targeted members of parliament (MPs) from several parties, including the speaker of parliament, as well as civil servants, diplomats, and journalists.

The German Federal Prosecutor's Office informed the news agencies that it opened the investigation based on initial suspicions of espionage. The office did not name Russia or provide additional information, but suspicion quickly fell on Moscow.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Germany — Kyiv's biggest provider of military aid — has been battling a surge of cyberattacks, as well as espionage and sabotage plots. Moscow denies being behind any such actions.

An unknown individual or individuals is attempting to extort German baby food manufacturer Hipp by poisoning jars of its products. 

Several glasses of Hipp baby food have been found to be tainted, and now toxicologists are seeking to ascertain just what elements have potentially been introduced into the supply chain and how much managed to slip past controls.

Investigators in Austria told reporters on Friday that they had identified one glass containing 15 milligrams of rat poison. Toxicologists will conduct tests to determine the potential lethality of the poison.

Tainted glasses have also been found in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Experts in Vienna and Berlin told the dpa news agency that it was impossible to know what impact the poison might have until the exact toxic substance has been identified.

The company said that supplies in Germany had been unaffected.

The Irish discount airline Ryanair has announced that it will slash service for Berlin BER airport by half and relocate all seven of its jets there to airports outside the country.

The company said the new policy will go into effect on October 24, and that it will still fly to Berlin even if it has no planes on the ground there.

Ryanair said it will reduce passenger numbers to and from BER by about half in 2027 — the carrier expects to serve 2.2 million passengers in the coming year, down from roughly 4.4 million now.

Ryanair is seeking to avoid paying taxes in Berlin as a result of the move. 

The airline claims that the taxes it pays to BER are exorbitant. However, airport management was surprised by the announcement and rejects the accusation.

The announcement came during negotiations between the two sides and with Ryanair boss Eddie Wilson threatening to pull out of more German airports if necessary.

In a statement, Wilson said, "German aviation is broken. The government admits that it is uncompetitive, yet there is no strategy to cut aviation taxes or high airport fees."

Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, and the upper house, the Bundesrat, on Friday passed legislation designed to temporarily relieve consumer strain over skyrocketing gas prices as a result of the US-Israeli war in Iran.

Economists have scoffed at the measure, pointing out that it fails to direct relief to poorer consumers.

The measure aims to lower the price for one liter of gasoline or diesel by €0.17. Earlier this month, prices for E10 gasoline went up to €2.18 per liter, while diesel prices spiked near €2.44 per liter — that's $9.64 per US gallon for E10 gas and $10.80 per US gallon for diesel.

Germany's ADAC automobile club put Thursday's average fuel prices at €2.07 for E10 gas ($9.16/gallon) and €2.15 per liter of diesel ($9.51/gallon)

The government says the move will mean €1.6 billion ($1.9 billion) in tax savings. Although the government aims to help small businesses and commuters, critics say big oil companies will likely not pass along savings.

In mid-April, Merz expressed hope that oil companies would pass savings along to customers.

On Friday, 453 Bundestag parliamentarians voted in favor of the measure, while 134 voted against.

Free Democrat (FDP) politician Wolfgang Kubicki has come under fire from outside his party and within for using crude language in attempting to disparage German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. 

Kubicki said during a German news podcast on Thursday that it was Merz himself who had prompted him to seek the role of Free FDP leader.

Referring to Merz declaring the FDP "politically dead" after it was crushed again in recent state elections, Kubicki said he immediately thought to himself, "I'll show you, you egg ass!"

Kubicki's descriptive phrase was his own creation, so it is unclear exactly what he meant. Nevertheless, the crude remarks drew rebuke from Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which accused him of lacking manners.

"Is this the new tone of the FDP, dear Mr. Kubicki? This won't do. Back in the day, the FDP still had style and decency," wrote the party on X.

Further, Kubicki was slammed by party colleague Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann for comments that he made about working with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. It has been accepted political practice in Germany to reject cooperation with radical political parties according to a so-called firewall policy.

Kubicki on Thursday called the practice into question, saying, "It's neither in the constitution, nor the law. I don't recognize firewalls." 

Strack-Zimmermann blasted the idea, saying the FDP's "task is to strengthen the political center and defend liberalism. Not to push the party to the right," adding, "Whoever leads the party to the right, leads the party to its demise."

Guten Morgen from DW's newsroom in Bonn. 

We will start today with a dust-up over crude words and a right-wing overture from the man seeking to become leader of the business-friendly FDP. Wolfgang Kubicki found himself under attack after attempting to insult Chancellor Friedrich Merz while at the same time declaring his willingness to work with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in parliament — until now a taboo in the Bundestag.

The Fridays for Future group has also called for nationwide strikes across Germany today after slamming Energy Minister Katherina Reiche, accusing her of being cozy with the gas industry and funneling profits to fossil fuel giants with environmentally unfriendly policy decisions. Protests are expected in some 60 municipalities.     

There is also trouble on the horizon for German seniors over pension funds and rising living costs, and workers at luxury sports car maker Porsche look likely to get stiffed on bonuses as investors still get payouts as the company flounders.