NEWS FROM BERLIN
Berlin: reform allows the police to secretly enter homes to install Trojans
With the majority of the CDU and SPD coalition and the votes of the opposition AfD, the Berlin House of Representatives passed a far-reaching amendment to the General Security and Public Order Act (ASOG) on December 4. The reform gives the police powers that deeply infringe on fundamental rights and cross previous red lines in the capital’s security policy. A bone of contention is the combination of digital surveillance and physical intrusion: to monitor encrypted communications, investigators will in future be allowed not only to hack IT systems, but also to secretly enter the homes of suspects, according to the Senate draft and the amendments made by members of parliament. Source: heise.de
Berlin Asog reform: Fast green light for the intrusive state
The state government took less than six months to review the biggest legislative change in recent years in Berlin Parliament. On December 4, the coalition and the AfD faction voted in favor of the reform of the General Security and Public Order Act (Asog). The Asog reform was thus passed despite massive criticism from the opposition, the state data protection commissioner, and numerous legal and civil rights associations. It is the second Asog reform under the CDU/SPD coalition within two years. Critics fear that the reform will turn the capital into a surveillance metropolis. Vasili Franco (Greens) said in the House of Representatives that the reform would catapult the country “right back to 1984.” Source: nd-aktuell
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Railway boss announces investigation into Stuttgart 21
The new Deutsche Bahn (DB) boss, Evelyn Palla, has announced internal investigations into the Stuttgart 21 railway project. The reason for this is the renewed delays. “In the coming weeks, we will analyze what we need to do differently than in the past, particularly in terms of project management,” said Palla in an interview with “Bild am Sonntag”. Among the issues to be reviewed, there is the performance of the Japanese IT supplier, Hitachi, which must answer about the implementation of its complex project. “No stone will be left unturned,” Palla affirmed. The next S21´s meeting is to take place on December 15, and Palla is expected to attend. Source: tagesschau
Decided by a chancellor majority
The Chancelor Friedrich Merz (CDU) wanted the “chancellor majority” – and he got it. On December 5, 319 members of parliament—an absolute majority—voted in the Bundestag in favor of the reform package presented by the “black-red” coalition, which sets the pension level at 48% by law until 2031. SPD MP Dagmar Schmidt asserted before the assembled elected representatives that the federal government is thus `renewing’ a “welfare state promise”, though this perspective is highly disputed. The Greens and the AfD voted no. The Left Party abstained – despite criticism. Until the very end, it was unclear whether the 18 members of the so-called Young Group in the Union would have approved of the plan. Source: jungewelt
Young people fight back
On December 5, pupils went on strike across Germany instead of attending school: organized by the alliance “Schulstreik gegen Wehrpflicht” (School Strike Against Conscription), more than 40,000 students took to the streets in over 80 cities, according to the organizer’s figures. They protested against the “military service modernization law” of the “black-red” federal government. According to police reports, the strike centers were in Berlin, Kiel, and Munich. How did the Bundestag react to the student demonstrations? Although SPD MP Siemtje Möller praised the civic engagement of young people in the country during the debate, she also called for a strong Bundeswehr and a “resilient population.” Source: jungewelt
Pensions: after the package comes the reform
No sooner had the “pension package” been narrowly approved by the coalition parties in the Bundestag than politicians, association representatives, and academics began competing to come up with proposals for securing the statutory pension system. Unfortunately, the pension commission, which will soon begin its work, has been given a straitjacket that excludes ideas for expanding pension revenues. Yet those would be necessary in view of the decline in the number of contributors. This would fill the pension fund, allowing pension levels for long-term employees with lower incomes to be raised. Federal Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) wants to discuss the BDA (Confederation of German Employers’ Associations) model of “retirement age based on life expectancy”. Source: jungewelt
Black and Muslim have a particularly difficult time when renting an apartment
The study “Unequal Housing – Racism and Living Conditions” by the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) shows that people who experience racism are less likely to be invited to view apartments. They also tend to live in more cramped and precarious conditions. For the study, almost 10,000 people were surveyed between August 2024 and January 2025. Frank Kalter, DeZIM´s director, also explained that the empirical approach to the topic of racism is “extremely challenging.” In the research, those who experience racism are more likely to have fixed-term contracts than non-racialized people (12% vs. 3%), or index-linked leases (13% vs. 9%). Source: taz
