Germany updates: SPD to vote on coalition agreement

Germany's federal prosecutor's office on Tuesday pressed espionage charges against the former aide of far-right AfD politician Maximilian Krah.

Krah is currently under investigation for allegedly receiving payments from Russian and Chinese sources. 

Jian G., a German citizen whose surname is given only as an initial in accordance with German privacy laws, is accused of passing on classified information concerning negotiations and decisions within the European Parliament.

He is suspected of illegally accessing more than 500 documents which the European Parliament, of which his boss Krah was a member between 2019 and 2025, had classified as "particularly sensitive."

G., who was arrested in the eastern German city of Dresden in April 2024, is also suspected of gathering information on senior AfD figures including party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla.

According to research by Spiegel magazine, G. gleaned assessments of their roles, status and positions from confidential conversations with Krah, whose Brussels office was searched on Tuesday – purely as a "witness measure," according to prosecutors, who have also accused a Chinese national of espionage.

Friedrich Merz has named Johann Wadephul as his choice for foreign minister when the new government takes office next week. 

DW Chief Political Editor Michaela Küfner spoke to Wadephul just after that announcement was made.

Wadephul said there would be a focus on Europe and also the transatlantic relationship.

"I think there will be a lot of continuity because Germany was always a country with a clear will to make Europe greater" Wadephul said.

"So, that will be the first thing for us. And the second one, of course, is the transatlantic relation to the United States of America, which is really a big problem for all Europeans right now," Wadephul said ahead of US President Donald Trump marking his eventful first 100 days in office.

On Ukraine Wadephul said that Germany's support for Kyiv would continue.

"I think it must be clear for everybody...  especially for Vladimir Putin, that we will stand with Ukraine," Wadephul said.

The incoming top diplomat said that government would reach out to the Trump administration to share the approach that "it is in their very interest to have a very strong Ukraine in the European Community."

Wadephul also reiterated German backing for NATO saying: "We see our security future only within the framework of NATO. That, of course, Europe has to contribute more on defense as before."

Wadephul said Germany will take on a "leadership position" in that regard and added that "we also want to hear from Washington that they appreciate our efforts and that they also stick to our common goals."

Germany's women football players would see their potential bonus earnings doubled if they win the European Championship in Switzerland in July.

The German Football Federation (DFB) announced each player will earn €120,000 ($136,500) if they win the trophy.

The bonus in the same tournament in 2021 was half as much when Germany came second to the hosts, England.

Reaching the last eight will net each player up to €45,000, while reaching the semi-finals would bring €65,000.

Taking part in the final would mean a €90,000 payment.

"There needs to be more performance incentives in women's football," DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said in a statement.

"The victory bonus, now doubled compared to the last European Championship, is therefore an important signal."

Team captain Giulia Gwinn said: "For us as a national team, sporting success is the top priority. That's why it was clear to us from the start that we would agree on a performance-based bonus system."

Gwinn added that the team and the federation had "found a good solution together."

German authorities said that a 19-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of planning an attack on a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle.

Prosecutors believe the suspect was motivated by right-wing extremist beliefs and had repeatedly stated plans to attack the place of worship in a Telegram chat group.

The district court in Halle issued an arrest warrant for the suspect on charges of planning a serious act of violence along with unauthorized possession of a firearm.

"During the arrest, in addition to electronic means of communication, which are still being analyzed, a functional long gun was also
seized," the public prosecutor's office said.

The suspect was arrested in Switzerland on February 14, extradited and handed over to the German authorities on April 22.

In October 2019, a neo-Nazi tried to storm the same synagogue as people marked Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism.

He failed to break through the entrance and went on to shoot and kill two people outside.

The 2019 attacker is serving a life sentence in prison for two counts of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder.

German authorities have released more details relating to the death of bestselling author Alexandra Fröhlich, who was found dead on her houseboat on the Elbe River in Hamburg last week.

Without naming Fröhlich, police said that a 58-year-old woman was found dead on her houseboat in Hamburg's Moorfleet district on Tuesday morning, April 22.

The investigation revealed that blunt force trauma was the cause of death.

Hamburg police told DW on Tuesday that the investigation was still ongoing.

Fröhlich was one of the most successful German novelists of recent years.

Read the full story here.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is making what is likely to be her last major trip as the country's top diplomat, traveling to Denmark's Bornholm island.

Ministers from the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8), along with counterparts from Germany, Poland, and France, are there to discuss security and cooperation in the Baltic Sea. 

"We will further increase security in the Baltic Sea region through increased NATO patrols, closer exchange of information and joint
exercises," Baerbock said ahead of the visit.

Johann Wadephul, who has been nominated by the Christian Democrats (CDU) as foreign minister to replace Baerbock, managed to put party politics aside and has praised the outgoing minister's stance on the Ukraine war.

"She has, surprisingly, represented our Ukraine policy with a very clear and firm position. For a Green politician, this would not have
been expected a few years ago," Wadephul told public television channel Phoenix on Monday. 

Germany's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) have until 11:59 p.m. (2159 GMT) on Tuesday to vote on the 144-page coalition agreement.

The result is expected to be made known on Wednesday as long as at least 20% of SPD's approximately 358,000 members have voted.

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) voted in favor of the plan on Monday and Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) also signed off on the agreement.

Incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz has already named his ministerial picks with the SPD choices to follow.

Johann Wadephul is set to become the next top diplomat, succeeding the Greens' Annalena Baerbock as foreign minister.

Responsibility for Germany's struggling economy is set to be handed to Katherina Reiche who is currently chief executive of Westenergie, a subsidiary of European energy giant E.ON.

Alexander Dobrindt of the CSU has been nominated to become Germany's new interior minister.

New figures show that consumer morale continued to improve in April with both income expectations and buying willingness increasing.

The indicator forecast, published by pollsters GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM), was minus 20.6 points for May, which was an improvement of 3.7 points from the month before.

This makes it the second consecutive rise in the survey involving around 2,000 participants.

The numbers come as Germany gets set for a new administration following months of relative limbo following the collapse of Olaf Scholz' government.

Before even taking office, incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz has taken measures to give the German economy a shot in the arm by voting to remove the debt break, paving the way for hundreds of billions of additional euros in national defense and infrastructure renovation.

You’re reading our coverage of news in Germany on Tuesday, 29 April. 

Today you can read about Germany's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) membership of 358,000 who have until 11:59 p.m. (2159 GMT) to vote on the 144-page coalition agreement with the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU). 

With a new coalition administration incoming, consumer confidence is on the upswing with hope of an economic revival.