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On February 28, 2026, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Katherina Reiche (CDU) announced plans to expand gas production in Germany to strengthen security of supply in “challenging geopolitical times.” At the same time, the federal government is planning new regulations for heating systems with the Building Modernization Act, increasing political pressure to provide sufficient gas […]

In the Baden-Württemberg state election campaign, shortly before the state elections on March 8, 2026, Cem Özdemir is strikingly shifting his stance. He is calling for significantly stricter immigration control and speaks of the need to limit irregular migration. At the same time, he is considered open to postponing the EU’s 2035 deadline for phasing

A court in the US state of North Dakota on Friday ordered Greenpeace to pay $345 million in damages for protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The lawsuit stemmed from a complaint filed by the pipeline’s operator, Energy Transfer, regarding actions taken in 2016 and 2017 around the more than 1,700-kilometer-long pipeline, which runs through

In the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea, the Schleswig-Holstein Administrative Court has issued an injunction against oil production on the Mittelplate oil drilling platform, brought by the German Environmental Aid Association (DUH). The production halt is effective immediately. According to the court, the reason is the lack of an enforceable production permit, as a mandatory biennial inventory

The last concrete development project in Berlin’s CleanTech Business Park Marzahn has failed because a conflict over species protection involving the strictly protected European green toad legally struck down the building permit, even though, according to the proceedings, the toad itself was never actually sighted on the construction site. The trigger was a lawsuit filed

In the port city of Sines on Portugal’s Atlantic coast, large quantities of green hydrogen were supposed to be produced using cheap solar power and exported to Europe, but these export plans have effectively frozen. Around five years ago, then-Prime Minister António Costa promised a “green hydrogen future” for the site, while international consortia were

Ahead of the state elections on March 8, 2026, Baden-Württemberg is heading towards a pattern that has eroded the Ruhr region for decades: too much prosperity from a single leading industry, too little buffer against the collapse of the entire value chain. Back then, coal and steel were driven out of the market; today, the

The draft bill for the amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) marks a potential shift in German energy policy: New private photovoltaic systems will no longer receive a fixed feed-in tariff. Their operators will be required to market their electricity directly on the open market. The German government justifies this move with significantly

A wind turbine in the municipality of Kirrweiler in the Kusel district of Rhineland-Palatinate went up in flames and burned to the ground. The fire broke out on the evening of February 26, 2026, presumably due to a technical defect in the nacelle. Because of the turbine’s height, the fire department could not intervene directly,

The French household appliance group SEB has announced a comprehensive cost-cutting program that will hit the long-established German brand WMF particularly hard. WMF’s parent company plans to eliminate up to 2,100 jobs across Europe, including up to 600 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The closure of WMF plants in Riedlingen, Hayingen, and Diez is also

The renovation of the railway line between Hamburg and Berlin is drawing criticism because travel time is increasing despite an investment of at least €2.2 billion. After completion of the construction work, the fastest ICE train will take 107 minutes instead of the previous 103 minutes. Furthermore, the line will remain closed for several weeks

At the beginning of 2026, Germany faces a social shift whose dynamics are accelerating significantly: poverty is moving into the middle class, following the loss of approximately 120,300 jobs in the industrial sector alone in 2025. The automotive and manufacturing industries are particularly affected, while high operating costs, weak export markets, and a persistently weak

Only about half of the startups surveyed would choose to establish a company in Germany again, according to current findings. This is the result of a survey conducted by the digital association Bitkom among 133 tech companies at the beginning of the year. The reasons for this skeptical assessment include a weak economy, a lack

Two 32-year-old workers died in a serious workplace accident at a wind turbine under construction in Birstein-Fischborn, Main-Kinzig district, on the morning of February 25. The accident occurred around 5:00 a.m. inside the tower near Federal Highway 276 between Fischborn and Wüstwillenroth. Initial investigations indicate that a work platform, in which the two men were

Ikea plans to close its customer service call center in Rostock, despite handling numerous product inquiries from across Germany. Staff were informed of the decision on February 25th. Ikea cites long-term structural decisions as the reason, but the expiring lease in 2026 also plays a key role. The company further points to necessary, costly investments