Today in Germany: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Latest train strike underway, German leftist officially launches new political party, Chancellor pleads with EU countries for more support to Ukraine and more stories from around Germany.
Emergency rail timetable applies today amid three-day strike
It's official – Deutsche Bahn's (DB) emergency rail timetable will be in effect Wednesday as the labour courts deemed on late Tuesday evening that the planned train drivers' strike of the GDL union could carry on as planned.
The strike, which started at 2 am and is set to stretch until 6 pm Friday, affects DB's S-Bahn and regional services in most cities. Some trains will still be running, but DB and related local transport companies have warned customers to plan for alternative modes of transportation.
READ ALSO:
- Train strike - How will transport in Germany's five largest cities be affected?
- How passengers will be affected by Germany's latest train strike
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof files for insolvency again
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof (GKK), wants to start again with a new owner. Germany's last large department store group has filed for insolvency for the third time in three and a half years due to financial difficulties its owner Signa is dealing with. The company announced in Essen on Tuesday that talks with potential new investors had begun.
Having filed for insolvency at the Local Court of Essen, GKK's 15,000 plus employees have reason to worry about their jobs. It's not yet clear if more locations will have to close. However, according to the company, business in the stores will continue to run as usual for now.
Galeria CEO Olivier van den Bossche said, "The insolvencies of the Signa Group are massively damaging Galeria, hindering ongoing business and severely restricting future development opportunities due to high rents and expensive services."
In March of last year, the previous insolvency plan was approved. Signa had pledged €200 million for the restructuring, which was to be paid in several tranches until 2025, the first 50 million reportedly in February. It is still unclear whether GKK can expect the payment. The Austrian insolvency expert Karl-Heinz Götze from the creditor protection organisation KSV1870 said he didn't think the payment would come.
Former Left Party politician, Sahra Wagenknecht, announces her new political party
The 'Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) — Reason and Fairness,' will enter its first EU and German state elections this year, Wagenknecht said at a press conference this week.
Wagenknecht abandoned the Left Party in October, but has maintained her seat in Germany's Parliament until now. She claims her newly formed party will work to overcome the "incompetence and arrogance" of the current coalition government. She is joined by about 40 former Left Party members who will make up the initial core of the party.
READ ALSO: Why is a German populist left leader launching her own political party?
Sahra Wagenknecht (Die Linke) speaking at a press conference. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Soeren Stache
As of yet, the BSW has offered only a rough outline of the party's platform, but Wagenknecht has vocally supported the on-going farmers' protest and rallied against the so-called 'traffic light' coalition policies. She's also rejected sanctions against Russia and opposes NATO. Finally she disapproves of environmental policies such as the shift toward renewable energy.
Political observers have raised concerns that the emergence of BSW may ultimately be a boon to alt-right parties by splitting up the Left Party's voter base at a time when the AfD has been steadily gaining popularity.
Scholz is once again asking EU countries to give more support to Ukraine
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the Social Democrats, has urged other European countries to deliver more military aid to Ukraine. For his part, Scholz says Berlin's draft budget includes doubling its military aid up to €8 billion for Ukraine this year.
"The arms deliveries for Ukraine planned so far by the majority of EU member states are by all means too small," Scholz said at a press conference coordinated with Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden.
The Chancellor asked other EU member countries to detail the support they were planning for this year before the next summit of EU leaders on February 1st. Additionally, he expressed optimism for EU countries to overcome Hungary's objections to a €50 billion EU aid package.
This comes amid warnings that Ukraine's reserves have been running low, especially since the US and European nations have largely shifted their focus toward the Israel-Hamas war in recent months.
German prosecutors investigating suspected sabotage of an LNG pipeline
Holes were found at three sites along Germany's newest liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline. Now federal prosecutors have told public broadcaster NDR that they've launched an "investigation into the initial suspicion of anti-constitutional sabotage".
A pressure test conducted in November revealed that the pipeline had leaks, which were shown to be a series of ten-millimetre holes drilled at several locations. Gasunie, the company building the pipeline, has since reported the damage to police.
The 55 kilometre pipeline, which runs from Brunsbüttel to Hetlingen in Schleswig-Holstein, is designed to bring LNG imports inland from the port and is a significant part of Germany's ongoing efforts to replace former gas imports from Russia.
Identifying and patching the holes has created some delays in the completion of the pipeline project. But Gasonie's press spokesperson, Philipp Bergmann-Korn, told NDR that the supply of LNG is guaranteed despite the delay.
While the official investigation has not yet concluded, it's likely that the holes were put in place by activists in an attempt to delay a project that has been criticised for its extensive carbon emissions and climate impacts.
Without taking responsibility for the act, Ende Gelände responded to the news by tweeting, "Anyone who builds an LNG terminal, a highway or other fossil fuel infrastructure should know: we will not leave you alone." Ende Gelände is a German-based activist organisation known for engaging in civil disobedience against fossil fuel projects and companies.
German factory output registers sixth straight fall
German industrial production unexpectedly fell in November, official data showed on Tuesday, the sixth straight monthly drop and the latest sign of weakness for Europe's top economy.
Output slipped 0.7 percent on the previous month, after a revised fall of 0.3 percent in October, federal statistics agency Destatis said.
Analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet had forecast stagnation in November.
Key sectors including motor vehicles, electrical equipment and pharmaceuticals all registered declines, the economy ministry said.
Some areas saw growth, including mechanical engineering and energy-intensive sectors such as chemical and metal production, it said.
The ministry warned that a "rapid turnaround" in factory output was not expected, although it added it would likely recover over the course of the year.
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Emergency rail timetable applies today amid three-day strike
It's official – Deutsche Bahn's (DB) emergency rail timetable will be in effect Wednesday as the labour courts deemed on late Tuesday evening that the planned train drivers' strike of the GDL union could carry on as planned.
The strike, which started at 2 am and is set to stretch until 6 pm Friday, affects DB's S-Bahn and regional services in most cities. Some trains will still be running, but DB and related local transport companies have warned customers to plan for alternative modes of transportation.
READ ALSO:
- Train strike - How will transport in Germany's five largest cities be affected?
- How passengers will be affected by Germany's latest train strike
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof files for insolvency again
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof (GKK), wants to start again with a new owner. Germany's last large department store group has filed for insolvency for the third time in three and a half years due to financial difficulties its owner Signa is dealing with. The company announced in Essen on Tuesday that talks with potential new investors had begun.
Having filed for insolvency at the Local Court of Essen, GKK's 15,000 plus employees have reason to worry about their jobs. It's not yet clear if more locations will have to close. However, according to the company, business in the stores will continue to run as usual for now.
Galeria CEO Olivier van den Bossche said, "The insolvencies of the Signa Group are massively damaging Galeria, hindering ongoing business and severely restricting future development opportunities due to high rents and expensive services."
In March of last year, the previous insolvency plan was approved. Signa had pledged €200 million for the restructuring, which was to be paid in several tranches until 2025, the first 50 million reportedly in February. It is still unclear whether GKK can expect the payment. The Austrian insolvency expert Karl-Heinz Götze from the creditor protection organisation KSV1870 said he didn't think the payment would come.
Former Left Party politician, Sahra Wagenknecht, announces her new political party
The 'Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) — Reason and Fairness,' will enter its first EU and German state elections this year, Wagenknecht said at a press conference this week.
Wagenknecht abandoned the Left Party in October, but has maintained her seat in Germany's Parliament until now. She claims her newly formed party will work to overcome the "incompetence and arrogance" of the current coalition government. She is joined by about 40 former Left Party members who will make up the initial core of the party.
READ ALSO: Why is a German populist left leader launching her own political party?
As of yet, the BSW has offered only a rough outline of the party's platform, but Wagenknecht has vocally supported the on-going farmers' protest and rallied against the so-called 'traffic light' coalition policies. She's also rejected sanctions against Russia and opposes NATO. Finally she disapproves of environmental policies such as the shift toward renewable energy.
Political observers have raised concerns that the emergence of BSW may ultimately be a boon to alt-right parties by splitting up the Left Party's voter base at a time when the AfD has been steadily gaining popularity.
Scholz is once again asking EU countries to give more support to Ukraine
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the Social Democrats, has urged other European countries to deliver more military aid to Ukraine. For his part, Scholz says Berlin's draft budget includes doubling its military aid up to €8 billion for Ukraine this year.
"The arms deliveries for Ukraine planned so far by the majority of EU member states are by all means too small," Scholz said at a press conference coordinated with Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden.
The Chancellor asked other EU member countries to detail the support they were planning for this year before the next summit of EU leaders on February 1st. Additionally, he expressed optimism for EU countries to overcome Hungary's objections to a €50 billion EU aid package.
This comes amid warnings that Ukraine's reserves have been running low, especially since the US and European nations have largely shifted their focus toward the Israel-Hamas war in recent months.
German prosecutors investigating suspected sabotage of an LNG pipeline
Holes were found at three sites along Germany's newest liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline. Now federal prosecutors have told public broadcaster NDR that they've launched an "investigation into the initial suspicion of anti-constitutional sabotage".
A pressure test conducted in November revealed that the pipeline had leaks, which were shown to be a series of ten-millimetre holes drilled at several locations. Gasunie, the company building the pipeline, has since reported the damage to police.
The 55 kilometre pipeline, which runs from Brunsbüttel to Hetlingen in Schleswig-Holstein, is designed to bring LNG imports inland from the port and is a significant part of Germany's ongoing efforts to replace former gas imports from Russia.
Identifying and patching the holes has created some delays in the completion of the pipeline project. But Gasonie's press spokesperson, Philipp Bergmann-Korn, told NDR that the supply of LNG is guaranteed despite the delay.
While the official investigation has not yet concluded, it's likely that the holes were put in place by activists in an attempt to delay a project that has been criticised for its extensive carbon emissions and climate impacts.
Without taking responsibility for the act, Ende Gelände responded to the news by tweeting, "Anyone who builds an LNG terminal, a highway or other fossil fuel infrastructure should know: we will not leave you alone." Ende Gelände is a German-based activist organisation known for engaging in civil disobedience against fossil fuel projects and companies.
German factory output registers sixth straight fall
German industrial production unexpectedly fell in November, official data showed on Tuesday, the sixth straight monthly drop and the latest sign of weakness for Europe's top economy.
Output slipped 0.7 percent on the previous month, after a revised fall of 0.3 percent in October, federal statistics agency Destatis said.
Analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet had forecast stagnation in November.
Key sectors including motor vehicles, electrical equipment and pharmaceuticals all registered declines, the economy ministry said.
Some areas saw growth, including mechanical engineering and energy-intensive sectors such as chemical and metal production, it said.
The ministry warned that a "rapid turnaround" in factory output was not expected, although it added it would likely recover over the course of the year.
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