Page 2 - Germany

How is Germany trying to ease immigration process for Indian techies?

Among other things, Germany may also soon allow employers to hire foreigners for short periods regardless of the special qualification requirements

Germany plans for easy visa application for IT workers from India

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that his government wants to make it easier for information technology experts from India to obtain work visas in Germany as the country struggles with a shortage of skilled labour. Scholz said improving the legal framework so Germany becomes more attractive for software developers and those with IT development skills is a priority for his government this year. "We want to make the issuing of visas easier," he told reporters during a visit to India's high-tech hub of Bengaluru. "Aside from the legal modernisation we want to modernise the entire bureaucratic process as well, Scholz said. Asked about workers who don't speak the language when they come to Germany, he said it should not be seen as a hurdle if people arrive in the country speaking English first and then acquire German later on. Scholz was speaking on the second day of his trip to India, after meeting Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the fallout from the

PM, German Chancellor interact with CEOs on ways to boost economic ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz interacted with top executives from Indian and German companies on Saturday to discuss ways to deepen economic ties. The focus areas for mutual cooperation include digital transformation, financial technology, IT and telecom. "Chancellor @OlafScholz and I met top CEOs to discuss ways to strengthen economic relations between our nations. Sectors like digital transformation, FinTech, IT and Telecom featured prominently in the meeting," Prime Minister Modi tweeted. Scholz arrived in Delhi on Saturday on a two-day visit to India, his first to the country after he became the German chancellor in December 2021, following Angela Merkel's historic 16-year tenure at the top post. Modi and the German Chancellor held wide-ranging talks with a focus on boosting the bilateral ties in the areas of clean energy, trade and new technologies.

Olaf Scholz heads to India to deepen ties on green energy, defence

Scholz also plans to discuss Russia's war on Ukraine with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a time when Europe and its allies are struggling to maintain economic pressure on the Kremlin

Germany to pursue $5.2-billion deal with India to build 6 submarines

The Indian Navy also has two indigenous nuclear-powered submarines.

German economy shrank more than expected by 0.4% in fourth quarter of 2022

The German economy shrank by 0.4 per cent in last year's fourth quarter, the national statistics office said Friday, a sharp downward revision from its initial report that gross domestic product declined by 0.2 per cent. The quarter-on-quarter contraction in the October-December period was the first since the first quarter of 2021. Consumer spending, which propped up growth in the first nine months of last year, dropped by 1 per cent in the final three months of 2022. Investment in construction and machinery showed bigger drops in the final quarter, the Federal Statistical Office said. The full-year 2022 growth figure for Germany Europe's biggest economy remained at the 1.8 per cent that the office reported at the end of January. The economy has generally held up well, despite pressure from high inflation and fears last year of an energy crunch as Russia reduced and then cut off its gas supplies to Germany. That didn't materialise. On Wednesday, a closely watched survey showed

Russia-Ukraine conflict to be on agenda of German Chancellor talks in India

The Russia-Ukraine conflict and China's increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific will be "very high" on the agenda of the talks between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Narendra Modi this weekend, German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann said on Wednesday. The envoy said Germany has also reached out to India seeking its support to a resolution by the UN General Assembly on the Ukraine conflict calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and lasting peace in Ukraine. German Chancellor Scholz will begin his two-day visit to India on Saturday with an aim to expand cooperation in areas of trade, climate change, clean energy and migration of skilled manpower besides exchanging views on pressing global challenges. "We see Russia and Ukraine (conflict) very high on the agenda in the meeting between German Chancellor Scholz and Prime Minister Modi. It will be a very important part of the agenda," Ackermann said at a media briefing. The German Chancellor is visiting Ind

German Chancellor Scholz to pay state visit to India on February 25-26

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will pay a State visit to India on February 25 and 26, his first trip to the country more than a year after he took charge of the top post. Announcing the German chancellor's visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday that Scholz will be accompanied by senior officials and a high-powered business delegation. He is scheduled to arrive in Delhi on February 25 and will proceed to Bengaluru on February 26, the MEA said. It added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Scholz will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues. "Chancellor Scholz's visit will enable both sides to take stock and progress on the key outcomes of the 6th IGC, strengthen security and defence cooperation, work towards closer economic ties, enhance opportunity for mobility of talent and give strategic guidance to ongoing collaboration in science and technology," the MEA said. Modi and Scholz will also interact with CEOs and business leaders f

Thousands of flights to and from German airports cancelled as staff strikes

Thousands of flights to and from German airports were cancelled Friday as workers walked out to press their demands for inflation-busting pay increases. The strikes at seven German airports, including Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg, affected almost 300,000 passengers and forced airlines to cancel more than 2,300 flights. Christine Behle of the Verdi labour union told public broadcaster RBB-Inforadio that failure to reach a meaningful deal with employers on pay could result in a summer of chaos at German airports. The union is seeking a 10.5 per cent increase for its members, or at least 500 euros, to make up for high inflation seen in Germany and elsewhere last year due to the knock-on effects Russia's attack on Ukraine has had on global food and energy prices. Verdi chairman Frank Werneke told weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that the willingness among its members to stage strikes was big and future walkouts could reach another dimension. He noted that recent strikes

Major disruptions in computer systems cause delay in Lufthansa flights

A major disruption to the computer systems of German airline Lufthansa caused delays and cancellations at its main hub in Frankfurt and beyond on Wednesday. The airline said in a statement that Lufthansa Group, which also includes subsidiaries such as Swiss International Air Lines and Eurowings, are affected by an IT outage. This is causing flight delays and cancellations, the company said. We regret the inconvenience this is causing our passengers. German news agency dpa reported that all of Lufthansa's domestic flights were cancelled and passengers were urged to switch to alternative forms of travel, such as trains. Frankfurt Airport confirmed that technical problems at Lufthansa were causing flight disruptions and cancellations. Please check the status of your flight before travelling to the airport and allow extra time for your journey, the airport said. We also recommend that you check in as early as possible for your flight.

India's G20 presidency key to resolve climate finance issues: German envoy

India's G20 presidency is crucial for resolving climate finance issues and scaling up global mitigation efforts, Germany's climate envoy Jennifer Morgan said here on Wednesday. She also stressed the need to accelerate energy transition and "phase out all fossil fuels". "I think this G20 presidency is key for COP (Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and laying the groundwork for the COP...on finance issues but also on how we work together to scale up our efforts on mitigation," Morgan said during a talk on the subject "From Sharm-el-Sheikh to Dubai". "We know that we are not on track to keep within the 1.5 degree limit and we are actually on (the path to) 2.6 (degrees Celsius), 2.8 (degrees Celsius). And, if you look at what happened here last summer, heatwaves... Cannot imagine what it was like here," the Special Envoy for International Climate Action in the German Foreign Ministry said. Keeping global temperature rise below the 1.5 .

Ford to cut 3,800 jobs over next 3 years in Europe, mostly in Germany, UK

Ford said Tuesday that it will cut 3,800 jobs in Europe over the next three years in an effort to streamline its operations as it contends with economic headwinds and increasing competition on electric cars. The automaker said that 2,300 jobs will go in Germany, 1,300 in the UK and 200 elsewhere on the continent. It said that its strategy to offer an all-electric fleet in Europe by 2035 is unchanged and that production of its first European-built electric car is due to start later this year. The company said it is looking for a leaner, more competitive cost structure for Ford in Europe. It said that it will embark on consultations with the intent to achieve the reductions through voluntary separation programmes. Ford aims to cut 2,800 of the jobs in engineering by 2025, a result of the transition to electric cars that are less complex, though it plans to keep around 3,400 engineering jobs in Europe. The remaining 1,000 jobs will be cut on the administrative side. These are difficu

Germany signs deal to produce ammo for air defence guns sent to Ukraine

Germany has signed a deal for new ammunition for self-propelled anti-aircraft guns it provided to Ukraine to be produced at home after it ran into difficulties securing supplies from elsewhere, the defence minister said Tuesday. Germany has supplied 32 of the Gepard anti-aircraft guns since it first agreed to send them to Ukraine in late April, and has pledged 37 in total. The German military hasn't used them since 2012, so they came from stocks held in reserve by the defence industry. Securing more ammunition for the guns has been a challenge, a matter of mounting concern as defence against repeated barrages of Russian missile and drone strikes has become a top priority for Kyiv. Germany so far has been unsuccessful in months of efforts to persuade neutral Switzerland to approve exports to Ukraine of stockpiles in the Alpine country of Gepard ammunition, which was manufactured there by a subsidiary of German defence company Rheinmetall. There are also stocks of the ammunition in .

Google starts new campaign to expand misinformation 'prebunking' in Europe

After seeing promising results in Eastern Europe, Google will initiate a new campaign in Germany that aims to make people more resilient to the corrosive effects of online misinformation. The tech giant plans to release a series of short videos highlighting the techniques common to many misleading claims. The videos will appear as advertisements on platforms like Facebook, YouTube or TikTok in Germany. A similar campaign in India is also in the works. It's an approach called pre-bunking, which involves teaching people how to spot false claims before they encounter them. The strategy is gaining support among researchers and tech companies. There's a real appetite for solutions, said Beth Goldberg, head of research and development at Jigsaw, an incubator division of Google that studies emerging social challenges. Using ads as a vehicle to counter a disinformation technique is pretty novel. And we're excited about the results. While belief in falsehoods and conspiracy theories isn't n

Germany to ease visa conditions for few earthquake victims in Turkey, Syria

The German government wants to temporarily ease visa restrictions for survivors of the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria who have close family ties to Germany if they are facing homelessness or were injured. It's about helping in times of need. We want to make it possible for Turkish or Syrian families in Germany to bring close relatives from the disaster region, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser tweeted late Saturday. They can find shelter with us and receive medical treatment, Faeser said. With regular visas, which are issued quickly and are valid for three months. However, not all the requirements of a regular visa procedure are being waived. Applicants must still be able to present a valid passport likely to be an obstacle for people who fled collapsing buildings. Several million people in Germany have Turkish roots because, more than 60 years ago, West Germany recruited guest workers from Turkey and elsewhere to help the country advance economically. More recently, hundred

Germany sees record decline in real earnings by 4.1% due to high inflation

Real earnings in Germany declined by 4.1 per cent in 2022 year-on-year due to rising consumer prices. This was the sharpest drop since the start of the time series in 2008

Uniper signs pact with Greenko to source green ammonia from India

Germany-based Uniper has signed an agreement with Greenko ZeroC to source green ammonia from the latter's Kakinada facility in Andhra Pradesh. "Under the MoU, the two companies intend to negotiate pricing, supply and tenure structure for a supply and purchase agreement for 2,50,000 tonnes per annum of green ammonia (GASPA) based on the heads of terms," parent Greenko Group said in a statement. Uniper and Greenko ZeroC signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and heads of terms during the ongoing India Energy Week in Bengaluru in presence of Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Greenko CEO Anil Chalmalasetty, Uniper CCO Niek den Hollander and other senior company officials, the statement said. Greenko's Kakinada project is a multi-phase green ammonia production and export facility which is in the process of adding up to 1 MTPA of green ammonia production capacity by 2027. At present, Kakinada unit produces green ammonia based on an electrolyser powered by round-the-clock ...

Germany drops face mask mandate on long-distance transport after 2 yrs

After almost two years, Germany has lifted the mandate to use protective face masks on long-distance trains and buses as the Covid-19 pandemic loosened its grip on the country

Germany's exports, imports up in 2022 amid energy crisis, high inflation

Germany's imports and exports both increased year-on-year in 2022 amid the energy crisis and high inflation, according to preliminary figures published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis)

German unemployment rate climbs to 5.7% in January; over 2.62 mn jobless

The number of jobless people in Europe's largest economy rose by 162,000 month-on-month to just under 2.62 million in January