Germania

Berlin looks to space: the Bundeswehr is preparing a large satellite network.

The legal geographies of the UniCredit-Linde case in Germany. An analysis by Luca Picotti, lawyer and author of “Invisible Lines,” taken from his LinkedIn profile.

The company Magna goes back on its word given to the unions and local politicians by closing its plant in Dorfprozelten, Bavaria, earlier than planned. A low blow for IG Metall, felt on fronts much broader than the austerity plans of the main German automakers. And according to a survey, 54% of automotive companies in Germany are cutting jobs.

This is how Ukraine, after years of relying on Western weapons, has become the main supplier of military technology for Europe: drones, AI, anti-jamming systems. Germany is at the center of this collaboration. Facts and insights.

Who commands in the military space domain? In Germany, there is tension between institutions and the military over this question. All the details.

Volkswagen is struggling to recover in China: in the first six months, it has dropped by 26 percentage points. The CEO is currently suspending the closure of plants deemed unnecessary and further staff layoffs, but the product range will have to be halved and production reduced by three million units.

Porsche’s half-year results, when viewed against the backdrop of the racing team’s history, reveal that numbers this low have not been seen since 2020.

Operations like the one between Deutz and Ffg and political decisions such as the purchase of Tomahawk missiles are reshaping Germany’s industrial and strategic profile, along with the economic and security balances of the entire continent.

According to press rumors, Oliver Blume is currently formalizing that four Volkswagen Group plants (Zwickau, Emden, Hannover, and Neckarsulm), where 40,000 employees work, have a predetermined fate.

Founded in Cologne, the Mgcs Project Company is a joint venture between Knds, Rheinmetall, and Thales that will handle the production and development of the new generation European tank, the Main Ground Combat System, a joint project between Paris and Berlin.

Summary of the AfD congress over the weekend and a roundup of opinions from the German media.

Metalworkers gathered in the square in front of the Mercedes plants to oppose management’s recipe for overcoming the crisis: working more for unchanged wages and the 2025 bonus frozen until 2027.

Germany is using AI to increase business efficiency, compensate for the severe labor shortage caused by demographic aging, and boost productivity, with estimated additional growth of up to 323 billion euros over the next decade.

The package of reforms agreed upon by the governing parties and which, according to Merz’s intentions, should revive the economy. The main points include pensions, taxation, bureaucratic simplification, the labor market, and construction.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) accuses Moody’s in Germany of four violations of the rating agencies regulation: incomplete data and inadequate internal controls. All the details.

Companies are cutting jobs in Germany and shifting investments and production abroad, from India to the Far East (with China leading) and even to the USA, following the “local for local” logic. In Germany and Western Europe, German companies are considering no longer investing and, in some cases, dismantling operations.

What changes for Italo in Germany with the decision of the Federal Network Agency that Deutsche Bahn can no longer control more than 60-75% of the capacity on the busiest routes. Italo, controlled by MSC, is delighted.

Brudermüller of the Mercedes Supervisory Board is convinced that the German car industry can only get back on track in one way, namely by acting on labor costs: “either wages are cut, or people work more for the same salary.” After having Germanized the Chinese automotive industry, German industrialists are now asking politicians to “Chinese-ize” their workers’ paychecks.

Stock market crash for Rheinmetall following the German government’s decision to cancel the six F126 frigates program, a project worth around 10 billion euros that over the years has accumulated delays and significant cost increases.

What caused Tuesday evening’s railway blackout according to German and Swiss press sources. The technological bottleneck, the security flaws in critical infrastructure, the repercussions on freight traffic which—unlike passenger traffic—will struggle to absorb the impacts on supply chains.

The European Commission has approved state aid of 76 million euros to Germany to support QuantumDiamonds, a German company in the semiconductor supply chain. Berlin had recently received approval from Brussels for subsidies to Zeiss, Zadient, GlobalFoundries, and X-Lab (over 910 million euros in total). But Italy has also obtained something.

A malfunction lasting about two hours, which occurred late on the evening of Tuesday, June 23, caused an unprecedented shutdown of the entire German railway network. All the details.

What the German pension reform consists of. The 33 proposals from the Commission that the government wants to fully adopt. A race against time to turn the recommendations into a bill before the Bundestag’s summer recess.

Paris and Berlin have reached an agreement on the equal division of shares of the tank manufacturer Knds, as well as on governance. The German government aims for a 40% stake. All the details.

After France and Germany decided not to continue the FCAS program, the joint initiative to develop the sixth-generation fighter jet, Leonardo’s new CEO told the Financial Times that Italy would be open to Germany joining the GCAP with the United Kingdom and Japan. Although Germany’s entry would result in delays for the project…

The Italian assault on German railways: Italo challenges Deutsche Bahn. The resistance of the German state company, supported by the union.

The United States challenges Germany’s policy on innovative medicines and is considering possible trade measures, while Germany defends the healthcare reform to contain public spending and faces increasing pressure from major pharmaceutical companies. Facts and comments.

More shadows than lights in the Ifo Institute’s summer forecasts for Germany’s economy. Fragile growth in 2026 and 2027, weighed down by energy price increases partly offset by government public spending. The issue of productivity remains, which together with demographic change makes the long-term outlook not particularly optimistic.

Not everyone in Germany shares the criticisms and obstacles towards Unicredit, which is aiming to take control of the German institution Commerzbank.

The German government says no to Unicredit; the state rejects Unicredit’s offer for Commerzbank. The reconstruction of the story as told by Handelsblatt.

After France and Germany decided to shelve the European next-generation fighter project FCAS, Rheinmetall expressed doubts about Paris’s commitment to the other Franco-German joint program MGCS (Main Ground Combat System), for the next-generation European tank. All the details.

The modified G-Class off-road vehicle could serve as a platform for an anti-drone defense and intervention system, while the adapted Sprinter van would serve as a base for a mobile drone transporter. Is a military alliance in sight for Mercedes?

After France and Germany decided not to continue the FCAS program, the joint initiative to develop the sixth-generation fighter jet, various options are now on the table for the future of European air defense. All the details.

After presenting an industrial plan focused on the USA, Stellantis is concerned with calming European discontent: one billion will go to France for Peugeot, a similar amount in Germany for the new Opel models. Everything remains quiet regarding the Italian front, with Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and Maserati waiting for responses that are slow to come.

From the failure of the FCAS to the GCAP: why Germany’s choice will be decisive. Conversation with Alessandro Marrone, head of the “Defense, Security and Space” program at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI)

Berlin turns the page: end chapter for the Franco-German-Spanish FCAS project for the sixth-generation air combat system and new German aeronautical strategy, ready for official presentation at the International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA).

France and Germany are preparing to shelve the European next-generation fighter jet project, FCAS (Future Combat Air System), after years of industrial tensions between the main partners involved: Airbus and Dassault. All the details.

The German liberals are betting on the old lion Kubicki to escape the fate of irrelevance and return to the political scene (and to the parliaments, both federal and regional).

Almost systematic delays, cancellations… the German railway network has deteriorated over the past twenty years to the point that Deutsche Bahn has become a national embarrassment, writes Le Monde.

Germany’s defeat in the race for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council has sparked a major controversy over the secondary role the country has slipped into on the international stage. A blow for Merz.

What is happening at the St. Petersburg Forum.

First assessment of the German special fund of 500 billion for infrastructure: in 2025 only 24 billion spent against the 37 billion planned, with delays reigniting criticism of Finance Minister Klingbeil and the government’s management. Figures, delayed sectors, and political impact.

What will the European Commission do about Chinese overcapacity flooding the markets, and what Germany is asking for. The article by David Carretta from the European Morning.

The Bavarian knot that risks strangling the Brenner corridor. An in-depth analysis by Mennitti.

The EU is discussing how to defend itself against China, and everyone is wondering what Berlin’s position will be. There is talk of a turning point, but perhaps it is more accurate to call it a minor turning point. Here’s why.

Germany has reached a strategic agreement with Canada for the purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a new plant on the Canadian Pacific coast.

A study by the German Economic Institute IW in Cologne analyzes the impact of the ongoing crises that have affected Germany since the beginning of this decade (pandemic, war in Ukraine, and Trump’s protectionist tariffs).

The book “Der stille Krieg: Wie Autokraten Deutschland angreifen” (The Silent War: How Autocrats Attack Germany), written by journalists Reinhard Bingener and Markus Wehner of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and read by Pierluigi Mennitti

Airbus is open to the possibility of two different fighters to overcome the deadlock with the French Dassault Aviation on the Fcas (Future Combat Air System) program, the project by France, Germany, and Spain for the sixth-generation air combat system.