German Unemployment Surges Past 3 Million as March Numbers Rise 54,000 From Last Year
In March 2026, Germany’s total number of unemployed people rose by 54 000 compared with the same month a year earlier. Compared with February, the figure fell by 49 000, bringing the total to 3.021 million. The seasonally adjusted figure was unchanged from the previous month. The overall unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percentage point to 6.4 %. “The spring…
March 31, 2026
DAX Launches Flat With No Bottom in Sight
The DAX opened almost unchanged on Tuesday. By about 9:30 a.m. the benchmark was quoted at roughly 22,550 points, a 0.1 percent drop from the previous day’s close. Scout24, Deutsche Börse and SAP topped the list of gains, while Siemens Energy, Infineon and BASF were at the bottom of the losers. Chief market analyst Jochen Stanzl of Consorsbank noted that the index…
March 31, 2026
Netherlands Remains Germany’s Leading Egg Import Supplier
German egg trade data for 2025 show that the Netherlands remains by far the dominant supplier of fresh chicken eggs to Germany. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), 3.7 billion eggs-68.7 % of all imports-originated from the Netherlands, while Poland supplied 861 million eggs (15.9 %) and Belgium 190 million eggs (3.5 %). In total, Germany imported…
March 31, 2026
Warken Calls for Compromise on Health Insurance Savings Plan
Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) urged the governing coalition to demonstrate willingness to compromise on the planned savings measures for health insurers. “Of course the SPD will not agree with everything in one place, the Union faction may object to other points” Warken told RTL and ntv. “And everyone has to move a little”. She added that…
March 31, 2026
Germany’s Retail Sales Slip 0,6% in February
Retail sales in Germany fell by 0.6 % in real terms and 0.7 % nominally in February 2026 compared with January, after calendar‑ and season‑adjustment. Compared with February 2025, the same sector grew 0.7 % real and 1.6 % nominal, according to provisional figures released by Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis) on Tuesday. In January 2026, after revising the provisional…
March 31, 2026
90% of Industrial Firms Anticipate Iran War Disruptions
Around 90 % of industrial firms say the Iran war is expected to affect their businesses, according to the monthly Ifo economic survey that Munich’s Ifo institute released on Tuesday. Only nine % of companies claim they are currently unaffected. “The conflict impacts industry directly, but it also generates significant uncertainty” says Klaus Wohlrabe, head…
March 31, 2026
Friedrich Merz Faces Coalition Criticism Over 80 Percent Return Plan for Syrian Residents
The Chancellor’s comments about an 80‑percent return rate for Syrians living in Germany have drawn sharp criticism from coalition partners. CDU foreign policy spokesman Roderich Kiesewetter told “Handelsblatt” that such figures send a problematic signal in several ways. “It is politically disadvantageous to raise high expectations that right‑wing…
March 31, 2026
Deutsche Bahn Reports 100 % Staff Coverage Achieved in Control Centers, Mismatch Mostly Resolved
Deutsche Bahn says it has largely solved the long‑standing staffing shortages in its signal control centers. According to the company’s statement to the “Tagesspiegel”, since the beginning of 2026 the so‑called operational‑effectiveness staffing ratio has been secured at an average of 100 % nationwide across all signal centers. While isolated bottlenecks…
March 31, 2026
Wagener Calls for Germany to Lead Ukraine War Crime Tribunal
The chair of the German‑Ukrainian Parliamentary Group, Green Party member Robin Wagener, is urging German participation in a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes in Ukraine. He said in the POLITICO “Berlin Playbook” podcast that Germany, as the EU’s strongest country, bears a special responsibility, and that protecting international law requires…
March 31, 2026
German Hospitals Warn Against Forced Loss Of Syrian Doctors as Merz Pushes Return Of Syrians
The German Hospital Association (DKG) has warned against the federal chancellor Friedrich Merz’s (CDU) plans to force a large portion of the Syrian population residing in Germany to leave within the next few years. “Syrian doctors constitute the largest group among foreign physicians in Germany” said DKG Deputy Chairman Henriette Neumeyer in an interview…
March 31, 2026
Green Lawmaker Blasts Merz’s Syrian Return Plan as Unrealistic and Cynical
Luise Amtsberg, the Greens’ rapporteur on Syria and the Middle East and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, sharply rebuked German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s claim that roughly 80 percent of Syrians living in Germany should return in the next three years.Merz’s statement, she said, is not only unrealistic but “cynical” and it ignores the…
March 31, 2026
Consumer Advocate Ramona Pop Calls Off Fuel‑Price Cap After One‑Size‑Fits‑All Discount Favors Big Oil
Ramona Pop, chairwoman of the Federal Consumer Association, has cautioned against a fuel‑price brake amid rising gasoline costs. Speaking to the Funke Media Group’s newspapers, she noted that the last gas‑discount scheme ended up benefiting oil companies more than consumers and therefore should be rejected in its current form. Pop warned that if the war in the Middle…
