Germany news: Merz plays down US military withdrawal plans

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met with senior figures of his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party at a Chabad Jewish community center in Berlin on Monday.

He spoke of the responsibility to protect Jewish life in Germany, saying: "Jewish life is part of Germany."

The comments came after recent reports of several instances in which antisemitic graffiti, including death threats, were found painted on walls in the German capital.

"Germany has a historical responsibility to protect this life," Merz said.

Germany once had a large, thriving Jewish population, millions of whom were murdered by the Nazi regime during the Holocaust. Because of this, modern German governments have sought to protect Jews now living in Germany.

"Whoever attacks Jewish life in Germany is attacking our society and our democracy," the chancellor said.

Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal from the Chabad campus welcomed the decision to hold the CDU executive summit at the Jewish center. He called it "a clear commitment and symbol of encouragement for Jewish life in Germany and the whole world."

The German navy's FGS Fulda mine-hunter has left port in Kiel in northern Germany bound for the Mediterranean. 

It is moving into a forward deployment position in case it is needed to help a European mission to secure maritime transport in the Strait of Hormuz after a peace deal between the US and Iran is reached. 

Germany's US Embassy posted at length about Monday's deployment online, as Berlin seeks to placate Donald Trump following Chancellor Friedrich Merz's comments about the war last week and Trump's angry response. 

The embassy said the Fulda was pre-positioning so it could reach the Gulf as quickly as possible if called upon. It said Germany could contribute to sea-based mine countermeasures, command and logistics capabilities, and aerial reconnaissance.

"Any deployment requires three clear conditions: A sustainable end to hostilities; a mandate under international law; authorization from the German Parliament (Bundestag)," the embassy wrote. 

Additional German naval assets were expected to follow the Fulda in the coming weeks, the Embassy said. 

Two people were killed and several other injured after a car ploughed into a group of people in the eastern German city of Leipzig on Monday evening.

Police later said the driver had been arrested.

For the latest updates on the story, read DW's full report.

A German passenger aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship was among those who died following a suspected hantavirus outbreak, the German Foreign Office said on Monday afternoon.

In a statement provided to German news agency DPA, the Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of the German national.

The other two passengers who died were Dutch nationals, according to earlier reports.

Three other passengers have fallen ill but the hantavirus has only been conclusively detected in one individual.

The MV Hondius, which had been scheduled to sail from the southern tip of Argentina to the Canary Islands, is currently moored off the coast of Cape Verde with 149 people onboard.

Berlin's Pergamon Museum will partially reopen on June 4, 2027, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which runs many of Berlins museums, has announced.

The museum closed in late 2023 as it underwent extensive renovations. But some rooms, including the hall housing the ancient Pergamon Altar, have been closed since 2014.

Even after the museum reopens, some parts will remain closed as renovations continue. This includes the wing containing the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, or modern-day Iraq.

The entirety of the Pergamon Museum is not expected to reopen until 2037.

The world-famous museum remains controversial. Among other artifacts, Turkish authorities have demanded the repatriation of the Pergamon Altar, although the museum insists it was acquired legally.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has warned against a trade war with the US, calling on the Trump administration to honor the tariff agreement reached with the EU last summer.

"We don't ​want ‌an escalation, we want to agree on a ‌common path with the Americans, but ‌we ​in Europe are also prepared and closely coordinated," he said ahead of a meeting of EU finance ministers in ⁠Brussels.

Trump announced a plan to hike tariffs on cars and trucks from the EU to 25% on Friday. The current deal between the US and EU is a 15% tariff on EU imports.

The move comes amid a low point in relations between Brussels and Washington over numerous issues, including the tariffs, Trump's threats to take Greenland and his ire over the lack of European support for his war in Iran.

"We ​have seen in ​the Greenland question that it's ​good when we ‌Europeans are prepared and united," Klingbeil said.

A racist incident has been allegedly shouted during a regional league match between FSV Zwickau and FC Rot-Weiss Erfurt.

Erfurt player Raphael Assibey-Mensah said a fan shouted abuse at him and teammate Benny Boboy during the game.

Assibey-Mensah said the incident occurred after a foul, adding he confronted the individual but the shouting continued. He said such behavior had no place in modern society.

"Benny fouled a player and a man from the stands shouted 'Africans out!' I confronted him immediately, but he just kept yelling," said Assibey-Mensah. "We're not in 1947. The East has developed. Of course, there are still some who are underdeveloped."

Referee Johannes Schipke briefly halted the match for more than five minutes after being alerted, but the alleged offender was not identified.

Assibey-Mensah said he could clearly point out the individual and called for consequences, urging Zwickau to issue a stadium ban if the accusations are confirmed.

Zwickau board member Andre Beuchold said the club has handed video footage to police and is working to identify those responsible, adding that firm action would follow if the allegations are proven.

German startups have attracted more venture capital in the first quarter despite geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

State development bank KfW said companies raised €1.7 billion (nearly $2 billion) from investors, up 6% from the same period in 2025, with growth driven by a broad base of deals rather than a few large transactions.

International investors played a bigger role, with more than three-quarters of funding coming from abroad, particularly the United States. KfW chief economist Dirk Schumacher said the sustained foreign interest reflects continued confidence in Germany's tech and startup ecosystem despite ongoing risks.

Healthcare startups were the most successful at attracting capital, namely 18% of investment deals, followed by finance tech firms with just over 15%.

The boom in artificial intelligence also boosted investment. Startups focused on AI applications raised €967 million across 71 funding rounds, accounting for 58% of total market volume — well above the roughly 43% average seen in 2025.

A German court has ruled that travelers can claim compensation if hotel pool loungers are routinely reserved with towels.

The Hannover District Court said a tour operator must intervene in such cases or reduce the holiday price.

In the case, a traveler who booked a package holiday on the Greek island of Kos for €7,186 ($8,410) complained that loungers were being reserved from early morning without being used. The court found this significantly affected the holiday experience, especially as the pool was important for the family.

Judges ruled the issue constituted a travel defect, allowing a 15% daily reduction in the price over ten days — amounting to €986.70. The operator had already paid €350 but must now cover the remaining balance.

The court said the decision aligns with established case law, though it stressed the ruling applies to the specific circumstances of the case.

Caesarean-section births in Germany have reached a record level, accounting for one in three hospital deliveries.

The Federal Statistics Office says the rate rose to 33% in 2024, the highest since the reunification of East and West Germany.

A total of 654,600 women gave birth in hospitals, including 215,900 by C-section. The rate has more than doubled from 15% in 1991.

Regional differences remain significant. Hamburg recorded the highest rate at 36.4%, followed by Saarland and Hesse, while Saxony had the lowest at 27.4%, ahead of Brandenburg and Berlin.

Other assisted methods are far less common. Vacuum extraction was used in 6.7% of births and forceps in just 0.2%, while 60.1% of women gave birth naturally.

Germany's Greens, Social Democrats and Left have jointly pulled back from the social media platform X, citing growing concerns over misinformation.

In coordinated statements, the three main left-wing parties said the platform had "descended into chaos" and increasingly promoted disinformation, announcing under the hashtag #WirVerlassenX (We are leaving X) that they would no longer actively use their accounts.

The move affects official party profiles, parliamentary group accounts and many leading politicians' personal accounts, though the profiles are expected to be deactivated rather than deleted.

The platform, formerly known as Twitter, was acquired by Elon Musk in 2022 and later rebranded as X. Since then, critics have accused Musk of scaling back safeguards against misinformation in the name of free speech.

The parties said political debate requires platforms that inform and reach people, and signaled a shift toward alternative networks such as Bluesky.

The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas has said the timing of a US troop withdrawal from Germany came as a surprise.

She said the announcement underscores the need to strengthen Europe's role within NATO.

"There has been talk about a withdrawal of US troops for a long time," said Kallas as she arrived at a gathering of the European Political Community in Yerevan. "But of course the timing of it, this announcement, comes as a surprise," she added.

The move comes after comments by Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticizing US strategy in Iran, though Berlin has sought to downplay any direct link.

Kallas said it was up to President Donald Trump to explain the decision.

Germany will maintain border controls despite a drop in asylum applications, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has said.

He told the broadcaster ARD that the checks would remain in place for now, citing ongoing rejections at the border.

Dobrindt intensified controls in May 2025, building on measures introduced by his predecessor Nancy Faeser. He instructed federal police to turn back asylum seekers, with exceptions for vulnerable groups such as the sick and pregnant women.

He said Germany aims in the medium term to reform the European migration system so border checks can eventually be phased out, but added it was too early to say when that might happen.

The comments come as new asylum applications fell sharply. Germany recorded 6,144 first-time applications in April, down by about one-third from 9,108 a year earlier.

Dobrindt also said deportations of convicted criminals to Afghanistan would continue on a weekly basis, arguing the policy improves security and should not be questioned.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has insisted he will maintain close ties with Washington despite plans by Donald Trump to withdraw thousands of US troops.

Speaking on German television, Merz said he would not give up on transatlantic relations or cooperation with Trump, even as differences persist over the Iran war.

Merz said he was convinced that "the Americans are important partners for us, the most important in the North Atlantic Alliance."

He added that he must "accept" that the US president has a different opinion than the German government on issues such as the Iran nuclear deal. Nevertheless, Europe and the US have a "common interest" in "working together to end this conflict and then, for example, also the conflict, the war in Ukraine."

Regarding the announced troop withdrawal, Merz said: "It might be exaggerated a bit, but it's nothing new."

Trump has said the US would reduce troop levels in Germany by "well over 5,000," escalating an earlier announcement. Merz downplayed the move, saying this plan was not entirely new and had been framed more sharply.

Hello and Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn, where we are enjoying the sunny weather.

You join us as Chancellor Friedrich Merz seeks to downplay US President Donald Trump's assertions that he will cut a large number of troops from Europe.

The chancellor said that such comments were "nothing new."

Stick with us to find out more about this and more of the news coming out of Germany today.