Germany

BERLIN, July 17 (Reuters) - The European Union can no longer afford to keep national vetoes when deciding on European Union foreign and security policy if it wants to maintain a leading role in global politics, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

Moscow's war in Ukraine makes unity in Europe ever more urgent and increases pressure for an end to "selfish blockades" of European decisions by individual member states, Scholz said in an article published by the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper on Sunday.

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany’s decision to reactivate coal and oil-fired power plants to relieve energy shortages because of the war in Ukraine is only temporary and his government remains committed to doing “everything” to combat the climate crisis.

In a video message Saturday, Scholz expressed regret over Germany’s decision to fire up 16 dormant fossil fuel power plants and extend the operating permission for 11 more amid fears of further cuts in natural gas supplies from Russia.

BERLIN, July 15 (Reuters) - German conservative politicians have revived debate on extending the life of the country's three remaining nuclear power plants, and polls show a rise in public support for the energy source in the face of a possible cut-off of Russian gas.

But an extension is highly sensitive for Germany's ruling Greens party, which grew out of the 1970s anti-nuclear movement.

BERLIN (AP) — “It’s absolutely crazy to stick yourself to the road with superglue,” admits Lina Schinkoethe.

And yet, the 19-year-old recently landed in jail for doing just that, in protest at what she believes is the German government’s failure to act against climate change.

Schinkoethe is part of a group called Uprising of the Last Generation that claims the world has only a few years left to turn the wheel around and avoid catastrophic levels of global warming.

BERLIN, July 8 (Reuters) - Germany on Friday ratified Finland's and Sweden's accession to NATO, three days after the 30 members signed off on the most significant expansion of the alliance on Tuesday.

The parliament in Berlin as well as the Bundesrat grouping the federal states endorsed the accession protocols for both Nordic countries.

"This creates more security - for all NATO members and for Europe," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Twitter.

BERLIN (AP) — A 101-year-old man who was convicted last week as an accessory to murder for serving as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp during World War II has appealed, a German court said Monday.

The man, whom local media have identified as Josef S., was convicted last Tuesday of more than 3,500 counts of accessory to murder and sentenced to five years in prison.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany and Nigeria are set to sign an agreement in Berlin Friday paving the way for the return of centuries-old sculptures known as the Benin Bronzes that were taken from Africa in the 19th century and displayed in German museums and elsewhere.

Governments and museums in Europe and North America have increasingly sought to resolve ownership disputes over objects that were looted during colonial times.

BERLIN (AP) — A spokeswoman for Olaf Scholz says the German Chancellor doesn’t feel the need to apologize to a reporter for curtly dismissing her question at the end of the Group of Seven summit he hosted this week, prompting widespread criticism.

Rosalia Romaniec, a Polish-born journalist for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, had asked Scholz on Tuesday whether he “could elaborate” on the security guarantees for Ukraine discussed by G-7 leaders during their summit.

“Yes, I could,” Scholz replied. After a moment’s pause, he added: “That’s it.”

BERLIN, June 28 (Xinhua) -- After a brief recovery, consumer sentiment in Germany was "continuing its downward spiral" and fell to a new record low, according to a monthly study published by the market research institute GfK on Tuesday.

The forward-looking index for July decreased by 1.2 points to minus 27.4 points compared to the previous month. The GfK study is based on interviews of around 2,000 consumers in Germany.

ELMAU, Germany (AP) — Leaders of the world’s biggest developed economies said Tuesday they would explore far-reaching steps to cap Russia’s income from oil sales that are financing its invasion of Ukraine and struck a united stance to support Kyiv for “as long as it takes” as the war grinds on.

The final statement from the Group of Seven summit in Germany underlined their intent to impose “severe and immediate economic costs” on Russia.