German Chancellor Scholz disappointed by delay to Intel chip plant

Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced disappointment this week after US semiconductor giant Intel delayed plans to build a mega chip-making plant in Germany, which had been championed by Berlin.

The news also stoked fresh tensions in Scholz’s uneasy ruling coalition, with a row breaking out over what should be done with around €10 billion euros in subsidies earmarked for the project.

The government “takes note of the announcement about the delay with disappointment and continues to believe the project is worthwhile and deserves support”, said Scholz.

The chancellor welcomed the fact that Intel had indicated it wants to “stick with” the project in the long term.

Intel announced Monday that it was postponing the project in the eastern German city of Magdeburg, along with another one in Poland, by around two years due to lower expected demand.

The chip-making giant announced plans for the German plant in 2022, in what was seen as a major boost for EU efforts to ramp up semiconductor production in the bloc.

Construction work on the Intel project was due to begin in 2023 but it stalled after the Ukraine war sent inflation soaring.

German officials and the company were then locked in talks on financing for months, but the two sides finally signed a deal in June 2023, which included higher government subsidies for the €30 billion project.

Berlin ‘fourth’ best European city for entrepreneurs

Berlin is the fourth-best city in Europe for entrepreneurs to live in, according to a new study.

The report by SumUp looked at which European cities offer a thriving environment for business owners, analysing taxes, quality of life, internet speeds and networking opportunities.

SumUp said the entrepreneurial spirit in Berlin is “evident” because it’s already home to a whopping 26,500 millionaires.

“Berlin, known for its history and landmarks, offers a prime environment for entrepreneurs in technology and creative industries,” said the study.

Researchers found the ‘business survival rate’ in Berlin was 74.86 percent.

Meanwhile, London took the top spot for entrepreneurs to live in despite the high cost of living followed by Paris and Amsterdam.

READ ALSO: The legal steps for starting a business in Germany

Democrats Abroad step up voter registration efforts ahead of deadline

Just days ahead of a key voter registration deadline, campaign group Democrats Abroad is intensifying its efforts to encourage US citizens living in Germany to participate in the November 5th presidential elections.

September 21st is set to be the last day that this group voters can register for an overseas ballot, the Democrat-affiliate group explained.

The group has organised around 130 events in Germany and elsewhere as part of its “Bring Home the Ballot Campaign” to encourage increased participation.

According to DA, around 7.8 percent of the overseas electorate cast their vote in the presidential elections of 2020 – almost double the 4.3 percent who sent off their ballots back in 2016.

But with an overwhelming majority of the some 6.5 Americans living abroad choosing not to vote, the campaign group says there is still a long way to go.

“We want to wake up on November 6th knowing that we have done everything in our power to make American voices heard around the world,” says Sarah Mulloy, Bring Home the Ballot Coordinator for the EMEA region of Democrats Abroad.

Following President Joe Biden’s decision to exit the race back in July, President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris have been largely tied in the polls, though Harris has recently edged ahead in some key swing states.

“Democrats Abroad are using this opportunity to use their Bring Home the Ballot campaign to get more votes for Harris-Walz and the other progressive candidates,” the group said in a statement. 

READ ALSO: Americans in Germany – How to vote in the US Presidential election from abroad 

Lufthansa, Air France suspend flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut

Major airlines Lufthansa and Air France on Tuesday announced suspensions of flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran and Beirut until Thursday as tensions in the region soared following pager explosions in Lebanon.

German group Lufthansa said it was suspending all flights to Tel Aviv and Iran’s capital Tehran while French airline Air France suspended flights to the Israeli city and the Lebanese capital Beirut.

“Due to the recent change in the security situation, the Lufthansa Group airlines have decided to suspend all connections to and from Tel Aviv (TLV) and Tehran (IKA) with immediate effect,” Lufthansa said in a statement.

“This applies up to and including September 19th,” it said.

Germany pledges winter aid package for Ukraine

Germany will provide €100 million in aid to help Ukraine through the coming winter as it weathers Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure, the Foreign Ministry said.

“Ukraine is facing another winter of war and Putin is waging a brutal war of cold,” the ministry wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Russia is deliberately attacking Ukraine’s heat and energy supply. This is why Germany is providing a further €100 million in winter aid for the (Ukrainian) energy supply.”

Moscow has pounded Ukraine’s energy network throughout the two-and-a-half year war, destroying swathes of the country’s infrastructure and causing severe power shortages and blackouts.

Russian forces have recently shifted their focus from shelling energy distribution networks to targeting energy production facilities, which are much more costly and take years to repair or rebuild. Moscow is also targeting the country’s energy reserves.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal last week laid out plans to repair and protect the country’s power system ahead of the winter, including reinforcing facilities against drone attacks and impacts from missile fragments.

German news media demand access to war-torn Gaza, Lufthansa suspends flights

German news media outlets on Tuesday called on Israel to grant them access to war-torn Gaza, charging that the “almost complete exclusion of international media… is unprecedented in recent history”.

“After almost a year of war, we call on the Israeli government: allow us to enter the Gaza Strip,” a group of newspapers, agencies and broadcasters wrote in an open letter.

They also urged Egypt to permit them entry to the widely devastated Palestinian territory via the Rafah border crossing in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Israel has been at war with Hamas since the October 7th attack launched by the Palestinian militant group in a conflict that has brought mass casualties and destroyed swathes of the coastal strip.

The media organisations wrote that “anyone who makes independent reporting on this war impossible is damaging their own credibility.

“Anyone who prohibits us from working in the Gaza Strip is creating the conditions for human rights to be violated.”

The open letter was addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and had been delivered on Monday, they said.

Signatories included editors and reporters from Der Spiegel, Die Welt, public broadcasters ARD and ZDF and the German Journalists Association.

Meanwhile, German national carrier Lufthansa has announced that due to tensions in the region, it is suspending flights to both Tel Aviv and Tehran until at least Thursday, September 19th.

German investor morale falls steeply in September

German investor confidence fell significantly more than expected in September, a survey showed Tuesday, as a hoped-for recovery in Europe’s largest economy seemed to recede from view.

The ZEW institute’s closely watched economic expectations index fell to 3.6 points, down sharply from 19.2 points a month earlier.

Analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet had predicted a much smaller decline to 16.6 points.

The September drop comes after the indicator dropped 22.6 points in August, its worst decline in two years.

“Hopes for an improvement in the economic situation in the near future are dwindling,” ZEW president Achim Wambach said in a statement.

The fall was driven by lower economic expectations for the eurozone as a whole, but particularly for Germany, Wambach said.

With reporting by Imogen Goodman and Rachel Loxton