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The dispute within the German government is intensifying over the future of free family insurance coverage for spouses in the statutory health and long-term care insurance system. The trigger is the large deficits of the health insurance funds, while a reform commission is searching for ways to save money. Health insurance funds, social welfare organizations, […]

In Germany, criticism of the energy transition is intensifying. While the latest CO2 balance sheet shows declining emissions, these are primarily due to the reduction of energy-intensive industrial production. At the same time, the further expansion of wind and solar power requires billions of euros in investments in grids, storage facilities, and reserve power plants.

Fertilizer prices are rising sharply on the world market in a short period of time, and the consequences are directly impacting European agriculture. The triggers include the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the production outage at the Ras Laffan plant in Qatar, high import taxes on Russian fertilizers, and the CBAM CO2 import tax.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the war in the Middle East has triggered a global oil supply crisis that extends far beyond the current Brent and WTI prices. Approximately one-fifth of global oil production has been cut off from the world market, while Asian refineries, in particular, are under

At the Berching community wind farm between Wallnsdorf and Raitenbuch, a rotor blade fell from a wind turbine on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at around 9:00 a.m. The turbine involved was a Senvion model from 2012, which, according to the operator, was regularly maintained. The wind turbine was also equipped with a monitoring system for

The US government is pushing ahead with the construction of new coal-fired power plants and is planning a completely new facility in Alaska for the first time in over ten years. The Terra Energy Center is slated to be built at a cost of around one billion dollars, with a capacity of 1.25 gigawatts. Coal

In Germany and other major automotive countries in Western Europe, vehicle production has been declining noticeably for years. Manufacturers are increasingly shifting their production to Eastern Europe. Last year, unit sales in Germany, Spain, Italy, and the UK combined were more than a quarter lower than in 2019. In Germany, the decline was 16 percent,

In Frankfurt am Main, the German Chemical Industry Association is warning of growing risks to supply chains, as the war with Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz are already disrupting international supply chains. Important raw materials such as ammonia, phosphate, helium, and sulfur, needed for chemicals, fertilizers, and other industries, are affected.

According to calculations by Norwegian economics professor Jan Emblemsvåg, Germany’s nuclear phase-out has resulted in additional costs of around €330 billion. This equates to approximately €3,900 per capita and around €15,600 for a family of four. The core issue is the decommissioning of functioning nuclear power plants, even though Germany subsequently had to subsidize new

According to energy experts, Britain is heading towards potential rationing of oil and fuel products if the blocked Strait of Hormuz is not reopened soon. The trigger is the US war against Iran, which is disrupting a significant portion of the global oil and gas supply. Industry figures indicate that this is currently resulting in

In Brussels on March 16, 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen explicitly warned EU heads of state and government against prematurely shutting down functioning nuclear power plants. The trigger was the escalating conflict with Iran in the Middle East, which, according to the letter, is having severe geopolitical and geoeconomic consequences for Europe

In eastern Germany, the Iran conflict, following the recent escalation in the Middle East, is exacerbating the crisis in the chemical industry. This is triggered by new risks to energy prices, raw materials, and supply chains, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, the industry is experiencing a period of weak demand,

Gas supplies in Germany are secure for the remainder of the winter. At the same time, the gas storage association Ines warns that refilling storage facilities in the coming months could pose a serious risk for next winter. This is due to the strained international gas markets and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz,

At the technology group Bosch, headquartered in Gerlingen, the reduction of approximately 22,000 jobs in the Mobility division has been finalized for almost all affected German locations following lengthy negotiations with the works council. This is due to the expanded cost-cutting plans implemented in the supplier division in September 2025, which primarily affect plants in

In Germany, there are more than 28,000 onshore wind turbines, and with the age of many of these installations, a previously unresolved wave of waste disposal is looming. Many older wind turbines have lost their feed-in tariffs since 2020. Since new turbines at the same location generate significantly higher yields, replacement is more profitable for