NEWS FROM BERLIN
Schönefeld votes for asylum center at BER airport
The municipality of Schönefeld has cleared the way for an entry and exit center for refugees at BER Airport. According to a spokesperson, most of the municipality has approved a development plan that provides such a facility. According to the Ministry of the Interior, this means that the formal requirements have been met. According to current plans, the center is set to open in 2028. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the federal government wants to rent office space there. The center at BER is highly controversial. Refugee organizations speak of a deportation center and see human dignity at risk. Source: berliner Zeitung
Berlin is growing faster than expected
A new internal report suggests that the population of Berlin is growing faster than expected, with the total number of residents projected to surpass four million as early as 2036. Despite growth in recent decades, the city still has fewer inhabitants than it did 100 years ago. The largest population ever recorded in Berlin was around 4.4 million, just before or during the Second World War. However, Berliners are not having children. The city has the lowest birth rate in Germany. It is thanks to immigration, then, that growth is expected to continue, with 109,000 new residents projected to arrive by 2040. Source: the Berliner
Weapons banned in public transport in Berlin
Since 17 July, Berlin has established stricter regulations concerning the carrying of knives and other
weapons in public. The new rules are intended to curb a rise in violent crime, granting yet the police additional powers to conduct searches without specific grounds for suspicion. From Thursday on, knives – regardless of blade length – will be prohibited on all forms of public transport. There are exceptions, however, for people who work in restaurants or snack bars at train stations, for instance. Since it is a blanket ban, there will be no signs indicating designated prohibited zones. Besides, knives, firearms are also banned, as well as irritant sprays such as tear gas. Source: the Berliner
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Brandenburg now requires a commitment to Israel for naturalization
Since 1 June, anyone wishing to become a naturalized citizen in Brandenburg must acknowledge Israel’s right to exist. In addition, the state requires a clear commitment to the Fundamental Law (“Grundgesetz”), acknoweldgment of the Nazi past and the ability to independently secure a livelihood. Interior Minister René Wilke (non-party) said in the state parliament in Potsdam that he had made a corresponding change to the naturalization procedure in consultation with Minister President Dietmar Woidke (SPD). The new regulation has been in force since the beginning of June. Saxony-Anhalt was the first federal state to link naturalization to a commitment to Israel’s right to exist in 2023. Source: welt
Use of “Payment Card” could be expanded in Hamburg
Over a year ago, Hamburg was the first federal state to introduce payment cards for asylum seekers. Such cards can be used by refugees like a credit card: 50 euros cash can be withdrawn per month, 10 euros for minors. The cards can be used in the supermarket or at the hairdresser, for example – but not abroad, in online shops, for money transfers or gambling. The Hamburg tax authorities are now working on extending the use of the payment card to other areas where social benefits are still paid out in cash. The Left Party criticized the payment card as an instrument of control for welfare recipients. Source: ndr
More complaints about the post office than ever before
Complaints about the postal service and its competitors have reached a new high. As the Federal Network Agency announced on request, it received 22,981 complaints about postal services in the first half of the year, 13% more than in the same period last year. If the current pace of complaints continues, the previous annual high of 44,406 from 2024 could be broken this year. Almost 90% of the complaints were directed against the market leader Deutsche Post/DHL, and they are related to delays, incorrect deliveries or damaged consignments, whether letters or parcels. Source: tagesschau
Immigrants in Europe and North America earn 18% less
As many countries grapple with ageing populations, falling birthrates, labour shortages and fiscal pressures, the ability to successfully integrate immigrants is becoming an increasingly pressing matter. However, a new study from Nature, a British scientific journal, found out that salaries of immigrants in Europe and North America are nearly 18% lower than those of born in the country, as foreign-born workers struggle to accesshigher-paying jobs. They analyzed the salaries of 13.5 million people in nine immigrant-receiving countries. Among the results, it is shown that the children of immigrants faced substantially better earning prospects than their parents. Source: the conversation
A large sum for a big goal
Back to the top of the global economy: this is the common goal of the German government and corporations in Germany. To achieve it, an investment summit was held on 21 July in the Federal Chancellery. Visibly satisfied and optimistic, the heads of Siemens and Deutsche Bank lined up to the left and right of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) for a press statement after the meeting. The “Made for Germany” alliance wants to help shape this upturn. Merz declared: “Germany is back.” But not everyone sees it that way. There was a lot of criticism of the fact that small and medium businesses were hardly represented or not represented at all. Source: tagesschau
“Scheisse AfD!“: Alice Weidel’s summer interview
As Alice Weidel (AfD) started her “summer interview” with presenter Markus, they could hardly
hear a word of each other. Nearby, speakers had been set up by the activist group “Zentrum für Politische Schönheit”(Centre for Political Beauty), and they drowned out the interview with the lilting sound of a choir. It sounded like a Christmas carol, but with the words “Scheisse AfD” (literally “Shitty AfD”) being sung. Berlin police have initiated proceedings for disruption against the activist group, who had not registered the protest in advance. The Centre for Political Beauty were not the only protesters; they were joined by “Omas Gegen Rechts” (Grandmas Against the Right). Source: the Berliner
