NEWS FROM BERLIN

Referendum on 26 March: a clear figure

The initiators of the Berlin 2030 climate-neutral referendum believe a survey commissioned by them confirms their assumption that they have a chance of winning the vote on 26 March. At the start of the coalition negotiations between the CDU and the SPD, the initiative Klimaneustart Berlin published the results of a survey of 3,002 Berliners conducted by the opinion research institute Civey between 20 January and 17 February. According to it, 46.3% were in favor of a climate-neutral Berlin in 2030, which would be 15 years earlier than the Senate has planned so far. Source: morgenpost

Coffee, cake, referendum”: “Berlin 2030 climate neutral”

Two weeks before the referendum for more ambitious climate targets in Berlin, the initiators have started the final spurt. Around 300 people gathered on Nollendorfplatz in Berlin-Schöneberg on Saturday under the title “Coffee, Cake, Referendum”. “It is important to us to create broad acceptance among the Berlin population and to go into a conversation with people about how their own neighbourhood can become climate neutral,” said Jessamine Davis from the Klimaneustart Berlin alliance. The demand of the referendum on 26 March is that Berlin becomes climate neutral by 2030 and not by 2045 as previously planned. Source: tagesspiegel

“Die Post” and the strike in Berlin

Empty letterboxes and delayed parcels – this scenario was to be feared for the coming days and for the next weeks. After the collective bargaining between the Deutsche Post and ver.di has failed, the trade union called for unlimited strikes. In order for these to take place, they had to ask for a ballot. The result was announced last Thursday, where almost 86 percent voted for indefinite strikes. But these have been averted for the time being. Deutsche Post asked ver.di to continue negotiations at short notice in order to “reach an agreement”. Source: morgenpost

All-day warning strike at BER Airport

With the start of the early shift at 3.30 a.m., an all-day warning strike by security staff happened last Monday. “As announced, there will be no departures,” said the airport spokesman. Around 200 take-offs and about 27,000 passengers were affected. The trade union, ver.di, cited as background for this strike the so far unsuccessful collective negotiations for adequate pay for aviation security staff who work at inconvenient hours. Security workers at the airports in Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen airports also take part in the industrial action. The next round of negotiations for BER is scheduled for 27-29 March in Potsdam. Source: rbb24

Kreuzberg with no car parking spaces

Around 400 car parking spaces are to be eliminated in Kreuzberg’s Graefekiez. Instead, space is to be created for sharing vehicles such as electric scooters or cars. Residents will be able to redesign the vacant spaces, too. Among those parking areas, 80 are in a central area with several school locations. Residents affected can park their cars in a garage for 50 euros per month. This project will be reviewed in 2024. The project, which also includes closing a street to through traffic and setting speed limits, is being supported by the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB). Source: rbb24

NEWS FROM GERMANY

“Hospital reform” in Germany

German hospitals are on the brink of collapse. The Federal Health Minister’s answer to this is a heavily criticized “hospital reform”. Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has repeatedly tried to defend his plans for an alleged de-economization of this sector. Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein have recently voiced criticism of the plans. Lauterbach warned that if the states planned to go it alone on the “hospital reform”, there would be no money from the federal government. Among other issues, he plans to partially abolish the current flat rates per case and introduce a reserve payment for beds and staff. Source: jW

Germany’s €49 ticket

Since Monday 20th February, the BVG has made their new €49 monthly ticket, also known as the “Deutschlandticket” available for pre-oder. With it, you get access to (almost) all public transport throughout Germany. However, if you don’t manage to pre-order it before May 1st, here’s some important info to remember: you will need to have bought your subscription before the 20th of the month in order for it to be valid for the next month. That means that if you want to use your €49 ticket from the start of May, you need to purchase it before the 20th of April. Source: exberliner

Roger Waters takes legal action against cancellation of performances in Germany

The city of Frankfurt wants to ban a concert by ex-Pink Floyd musician Roger Waters – citing his “anti-Israel appearance”. Munich is planning something similar. Now the dispute over Roger Waters’ concert series in Germany is getting a judicial aftermath. The musician and Pink Floyd co-founder wants to take legal action against the planned cancellation of his concerts in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. Such cancellation of his concerts is “unconstitutional” and “unjustified”, as someone from his staff explained. They were based “on the false accusation that Roger Waters is anti-Semitic, which he is not”. Source: spiegel

NEWS FROM BERLIN

CDU-SPD coalition negotiations set to start, with 14 working groups

As of Thursday, the CDU and the SPD are planning to go into coalition negotiations. A total of 14 working groups are to be formed – an umbrella group and 13 subgroups. Their first meeting on the formation of a coalition is to take place next Thursday. Over the weekend, the CDU and SPD agreed on the coalition roadmap. Among the subgroups´ themes are climate protection, housing, internal security, mobility, education and administrative reform. Coalition negotiations are set to last until the end of March. After which a new senate could be formed by the end of April. Source: rbb

Shots at LGBTQ+ museum building in Berlin

Shots were fired at the “Schwules Museum” (Gay museum) building last month. The police are investigating the incident. Members of the museum administration noticed on February 24 the six bullet holes on the front of the building. Two windowpanes, the illuminated sign “Schwules Museum” and a work of art in front of the entrance door were damaged. It is not known exactly when the shots were fired. Although the museum receives various regular threats via phone calls or online comments, there were currently no specific threats. The Museum was founded in 1984 and it is one of the largest LGBTQ+ museums in the world. Source: rbb

Tempelhofer Feld development: a new vote is up for debate

In 2014, more than 60 per cent of voters voted against building on Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin. It did not take long, however, for the loosing side to think about a second attempt. The CDU – possibly soon to be the governing party – is now venturing a new advance. The idea of having the Berlin population vote a second time on the (peripheral) development of Tempelhofer Feld is almost as old as the successful first referendum in 2014. Currently, it would be necessary to amend the “Voting Act”, but the necessary two-thirds majority in parliament is unlikely to be achieved. Source: rbb

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Ver.di welcomes more than 45,000 new members

In the midst of ongoing collective bargaining disputes with numerous so-called “warning strikes”, the trade union ver.di is gaining many new members. “We have gained over 45,000 new members in the first two months of this year,” announced ver.di boss Frank Werneke. This is the largest increase in such a short period since the union was founded in 2001. According to Werneke, many new members work in the public sector or at the post office. In the past years, Verdi had lost members. According to the union, there were about 1.86 million members at the end of 2022, compared to in 2021, where there were 1.89 million members. Source: rbb

Activists of the “Last Generation” paint the Federal Ministry of Transport

The group “Last Generation” sprayed orange paint on the Federal Ministry of Transport this Tuesday, using a vehicle with fire-fighting equipment. So far it is unclear where the vehicle came from. “Last Generation” also said they wanted to give Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) a “cold shower”. Wissing is blocking “climate protection for the whole of Europe” said Jakob Beyer, spokesperson for the group. An EU vote on the planned banning on new cars with internal combustion engines from 2035 had been postponed last Friday because of Germany’s demands. Wissing said the country could not agree to such a proposal. Source: rbb

Equal pay for equal work – still far away

The euphoria was huge when the Federal Labour Court handed down its landmark ruling for more equal pay for Susanne Dumas, who found out by chance she earned less than a male colleague with a similar profile. That plaintiff dedicated her success to “my two daughters and on behalf of all women in Germany”. Dumas is not the first woman to sue for “equal pay”, but is the first plaintiff to be awarded the full wage, unjustifiably withheld from her. Alexa Wolfstädter (ver.di), considers, though, “Transparency is not enough, we need a real equal pay law.” Women in Germany earn on average 18 per cent less than men. Source: nd-aktuell

Separation in installments

That Sahra Wagenknecht does not want to run again for Die Linke in the next federal election is no surprise. For years, Wagenknecht has been at odds with her party on crucial issues. This was the case in the refugee debate from 2015, in the Corona crisis, and now in the face of the Ukraine war. The other day she referred to her party as “the party I still belong to”. Such statements fuel speculation about her leaving Die Linke and founding a new party. Next year will be European elections, with a lower requirement of 3.5% to enter the EU parliament. Source: nd-aktuell

NEWS FROM BERLIN

35,000 people at Wagenknecht and Schwarzer’s rally

A demonstration in favor of the war in Ukraine until Kiev’s “victory” had about 7,000 people. For that, the Berlin police projected 10,000 participants. The much larger rally organized by Sahra Wagenknecht and Alice Schwarzer, following the “Manifesto for Peace,” signed by over 600,000 people, had an estimated 35,000 people at the place, but the police declared only 13,000 participants. The police seemed to take note of the strong influx to the rally, though. For instance, no trains were stopping at the Brandenburg Gate station, citing overcrowding. Schwarzer mentioned “It was such a peaceful and happy mood. No party-linked mood, no sectarian mood.” Source: jW

Greenpeace occupies SPD HQ’s roof

Activists from the group Greenpeace climbed onto the roof of the Willy Brandt House in Berlin on Monday to protest against the construction of motorways. The group is demanding that Social Democrats speak out against further construction projects. The protesters put up a banner with the inscription “Fortschritt wagen: Bahn statt Beton” (“dare progress: rail instead of concrete”) on the house. Greenpeace activists also wanted to demonstrate on the ground but were stopped. Police were present at the scene with a large contingent of around 100 officers. Lena Donat, advisor on low-carbon mobility, affirmed on the spot that “Building motorways is not socially just.” Source: welt

Die Linke demands expropriation law in Berlin by mid-2024

The Berlin regional association of the Left Party (die Linke) is calling for the drafting of an expropriation law by mid-2024. Since eleven of the party’s twelve district chairpersons have signed the motion, a clear adoption can be assumed. The proposers call for “the drafting of a bill and its vote in the House of Representatives by mid-2024 at the latest”. The demand is justified, among other things, by the interim report of the expert commission on the implementation of the referendum, published in mid-December. Left Party state leader Katina Schubert also spoke about the implementation depending on “coalition negotiations.” Source: tagesspiegel

SPD clears the way for talks with CDU

The SPD in Berlin wants to start coalition negotiations with the CDU, which won the election. According to state chairman Raed Saleh, the vote of the state executive board was clear, with 67.6% in favor. Asked why the SPD had decided against the previous red-green-red coalition, Giffey replied that they had received “very clear” signals from the CDU in the exploratory talks, “which were much more responsive to what is important to social democracy.” In the SPD, however, there were also many voices against an alliance with the CDU. The Jusos in particular are firmly opposed to a coalition with the CDU. “The CDU does not suit Berlin and does not suit the SPD,” Berlin co-chair Sinem Taşan-Funke declared. Source: tagesschau

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Scholz woos workers in India

Olaf Scholz (SPD) is interested in skilled workers from India. He wants to facilitate their immigration, especially for the IT sector – but not only. In Bengaluru, India’s software and IT centre, Scholz visited, among other things, the local site of the German IT company SAP and met Indians who will soon start a job in Germany. Scholz had also agreed with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to expand economic relations between the two countries. Both heads of government advocated the conclusion of an EU-India free trade agreement. The background is also Germany’s desire to become less dependent on China, Germany’s largest trading partner. Source: dw

Significantly fewer vegetables harvested in Germany

The quantity of vegetables harvested in Germany fell significantly last year, partly due to heat and drought. A total of 3.8 million tons were harvested, 12% less than in 2021, according to the Federal Statistical Office. That was also 2% less than the average for the years 2016 to 2021. Carrots saw a particularly sharp drop of 19%. Organic farms produced a total of 431,000 tons of vegetables on 17,800 hectares. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture currently sees no signs there could be shortages in the supply of vegetables and fruit in Germany like in other countries such as Britain. Source: n-tv

GFF wants to defend freedom against security

Suddenly, the Society for Freedom Rights (GFF) is on everyone’s lips. The non-governmental organisation, which has existed since 2015, recently won three court cases. One case was about automated data analysis by the police, so-called data mining. In the second case, a complaint was filed against the storage of mobile phone data of refugees. In the third case, the court ruled negotiating skills should not be an argument for different pay for women and men. The initial spark of the association was Ulf Buermeyer, now the chair of the GFF board. The former judge is known through his podcast “State of the Nation”, created together with journalist Philip Banse. Source: nd

Warning strikes in South Brandenburg

The city and district administrations of southern Brandenburg are to go on strike all day on Thursday, according to ver.di. The reason for the strike is the unsuccessful collective bargaining round for public service workers on the federal and local level. The union is demanding a 10.5% wage increase, with a minimum of 500 euros, and a monthly increase of at least 200 euros for trainees, retroactive to 1 January. Municipal day-care centers in the Königs Wusterhausen area and its surroundings are also expected to be closed Thursday due to the strike, ver.di explained. Source: rbb24

What changes in March

From 1 March on, price brakes for electricity and gas will take effect. There also will be financial relief for students. As of 15 March, they can apply for the flat-rate energy allowance of 200 euros. Corona measures will be relaxed in March, too: the staff of health and care facilities will no longer be required to wear masks. In this month, all owners of mopeds, mopeds, scooters, or e-scooters should remember to change their number plates again. And last, but not least: the Federal Cross of Merit will be the same size for women as for men. Source: rbb24

NEWS FROM BERLIN

Berlin strikes in March

The nationwide collective bargaining round in the public sector will likely escalate at the beginning of March. And the United Services Union (ver.di) is planning to strike the participating employers during this time – work stoppages are being prepared that could last several days. In Berlin, these warning strikes would affect the city cleaning service (BSR), the Vivantes clinics, the Charité, the Jewish Hospital, the water companies, the College of Applied Sciences and the Student Union. The decisive factor will be whether employers move significantly towards the union’s positions in the next round of negotiations on 22 and 23 February. Source: tagesspiege

Action against deportation from BER

According to information from the Brandenburg Refugee Council, 34 people were deported to Pakistan against their will last Wednesday. Beforehand, activists had tried to prevent the deportation. Since the afternoon, around 200 demonstrators blocked all three access roads to Terminal 5 of BER for hours. They wanted to prevent people from being brought onto the airport grounds. Divided into groups, the activists blocked the main entrance on Willy-Brandt-Strasse, a second entrance via a car park and the rear entrance on Kirchstrasse. However, in the evening, the deportation plane to Islamabad was able to take off – with all likelihood from another terminal. Source: taz

Syrian woman dies after fire in Berlin-Pankow

Last Monday, Syrian family A. mourned the loss of a family member. Ten days ago, the 43-year-old woman, wife and mother of six, Yazi A., died having been severely injured in a fire on January 25. A serious fire broke out in the stairwell of an apartment building in the Pankow district of Französisch Buchholz. The case received attention after being tweeted about by Tarek Baé. The activist criticized the media and politicians in numerous tweets for not reporting on the new developments in the case until ten days after Yazi’s death. Source: tagesspiegel

Tesla postpones battery construction plans in Germany

Tesla is delaying its plans to manufacture entire batteries in Germany. The focus on complete cell production is currently in the USA due to tax incentives according to a Tesla spokeswoman. “We have started local assembly of battery systems at the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg and are in the production ramp-up phase” the American company said. Company boss Elon Musk had announced the Berlin Gigafactory to be the largest battery factory in the world. When it opened in March 2022, he said the battery plant would reach mass production by the end of 2023. Source: dw

NEWS FROM GERMANY

No more excuses on equal pay

An important loophole for employers trying to wriggle out of the European law requirement of “equal pay for equal work” has finally been closed with the ruling of the Federal Labour Court. It is more worthwhile than ever to inquire about wage differences in ones company, to question them and, if in doubt, to file a complaint against them. Above all, the ruling means: Discrimination is forbidden on the basis of gender: Everyone doing the same work is entitled to the same rate of pay. The decision of the court will mean the presumption is that if there is a pay differential for equal work, there is discrimination, which the employer must rebut with objective reasons. Source: taz

Inflation rate rises to 8.7 per cent in January

Inflation in Germany accelerated significantly at the beginning of the year. Consumer prices rose by an average of 8.7 per cent in January compared to the same month last year, the Federal Statistical Office reported. Compared to the previous month, prices rose by 1.0 per cent. Experts had expected for a stronger inflation – however this is also due to the statistics office changing the weighting within the basket of goods used for its estimation. The question now, among economists, is how quickly the inflation rate might fall. This will depend on how energy prices move, but we could see inflation rates falling at a fast pace. Source: spiegel

Stübgen calls for “migration control”

When it comes to housing and integrating refugees, Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) sees Brandenburg’s municipalities as at their limits. The interior minister called for stronger limits on immigration and faster deportation of rejected asylum seekers. The federal government must do more to repatriate immigrants who have no prospect of a legal right to remain, he also said. Last year, Brandenburg’s municipalities took in around 39,000 refugees, most of them from Ukraine. On the topic of immigration, Andrea Johlige, an MP from the Left Party, says that municipalities need to be better equipped, with more social infrastructure, staff in schools and housing as well. Source: rbb

Germany expels two Iranian diplomats after death sentence

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) announced that the German government has expelled two Iranian diplomats in response to the death sentence passed by a court in Tehran against German-Iranian Djamshid Sharmahd. The Iranian judiciary holds Sharmahd responsible for planning several terrorist attacks. The court also charged him with cooperating with foreign intelligence services. The accusations cannot be verified. Baerbock explained she summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Iranian in view of the death sentence. He was informed “we do not accept this massive violation of the rights of a German citizen”. Source: dw

NEWS FROM BERLIN

Fast admission for earthquake victims with relatives in Berlin 

After one of the worst earthquake catastrophes of the last decades at the Turkish-Syrian border area, with several thousand dead, the readiness to help and donate is great in Berlin. Turks, Syrians and other people from the affected region who want to reach their relatives in Berlin should be able to obtain the necessary visa quicker than usual. More specifically, the regulation applies to close relatives such as minor children and spouses, the Senate’s internal administration announced on Friday evening. According to the statement, the acceleration of visa issuance is valid until 31 July 2023. “The relatives will receive a residence permit.” Source: berlin.de

CDU election winner Wegner wants to start talks “immediately”

“A clear mandate to govern” is what CDU top candidate Kai Wegner sees after the Sunday election in Berlin. After his victory, Wegner wants to enter into talks with the SPD and the Greens immediately. “In essence, we have two runners-up, two two-party constellations are possible – that is, black-red and black-green. I will invite both at the same time and hope for quick talks,” Wegner mentioned last Monday. The SPD won only 105 votes more than the Greens in the repeat election for the Berlin state parliament. Source: rbb24

Almost 4 million inhabitants

Berlin keeps growing and growing. Last year, the number of inhabitants rose by more than 75,000. A large part of the new Berliners are refugees from Ukraine. The number of residents in Berlin has reached a new high: as of 31 December 2022, around 3,851,000 people had their primary residence in the capital, more than at any time since the Second World War. This was announced by the Berlin-Brandenburg Statistics Office on Tuesday; the data comes from the population register. At the same time, the number of people with German citizenship fell by 13,481. Source: rbb24

Police station at Kottbusser Tor opened

After years of discussions and planning, the controversial new police station at Kottbusser Tor in Berlin-Kreuzberg has opened. Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) spoke on Wednesday morning of the most modern police station in Berlin. She was “incredibly proud” of the project. However, in front of police cordons at Kottbusser Tor, around 200 mostly young people from the left-wing scene demonstrated against the police station, chanting: “Get lost, get lost”. The new small “Nebenwache am Kottbusser Tor”, as it is officially called, is located on the first floor of a high-rise building in the overpass over Adalbertstraße. Source: tagesspiegel

Little credibility

Activists from Fridays for Future at the Technical University of Berlin stand in front of the Rotes Rathaus (Red City Hall) during a demonstration under the motto “#BerlinWantsClimate”. In view of the election of the Berlin House of Deputies, the activists are calling for a climate-neutral Berlin by 2030. Many voters do not trust the parties represented in the Berlin state parliament to be able to meet the challenges of the climate crisis. This is suggested by the results of a representative survey, the results of which were published on Sunday by the Initiative Clever Cities of climate and transport lobbyist Heinrich Strößenreuter. Source: taz

NEWS FROM GERMANY

At the expense of victims

Since the beginning of December, the Cologne Regional Court has been hearing a claim for damages for pain and suffering that could have extremely costly consequences for the Catholic Church, not only in this specific case, but overall. A young altar boy in the 1970s, who was repeatedly the victim of sexualized harassment at the hands of the Catholic priest Erich J., demands around 750,000 euros in damages. The Cologne archdiocese under the leadership of Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki does not deny the acts, which are part of the so-called Cologne Abuse Report. Source: jW

Saxony denies hardship case

The Saxon Hardship Commission does not consider the case of the family of former Vietnamese GDR contract worker Pham Phi Son, who is threatened with deportation, to be a case of hardship. Last Friday, the commision rejected the family’s application for a humanitarian right to stay. The 65-year-old Pham Phi Son came in 1987 as a contract worker and lived in Chemnitz as a blameless citizen. He had an unlimited residence permit. In 2016 he made a mistake: he extended his Vietnam leave to nine months for health reasons. However, a maximum of six months is allowed, otherwise the right of residence expires. Source: nd

Germany to produce Gepard ammunition

Germany has delivered more than 30 Gepard tanks to Ukraine – but ammunition is in short supply. Switzerland is blocking the delivery of Swiss-produced ammunition, considering the country’s neutral status, so Germany now wants to produce ammunition itself. “The contracts for the production of Gepard ammunition have been signed,” Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) told at the NATO defence ministers’ meeting. He also appealed to the German defence industry to ramp up production capacities. The NATO countries are in Brussels to discuss further military support for Ukraine. Possible fighter jet deliveries are also likely to be a topic. Source: zdf