Germany updates: Police make massive Captagon bust in east

Julia Klöckner, the president of Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, has been engaging in debates about whether political and cultural symbols have a place in the German legislature.

The Bundestag's administration has ordered deputies to immediately remove rainbow flags displayed in and around their parliamentary offices.

Klöckner opposed the rainbow flag's being flown above the Bundestag on Christopher Street Day, as pride is known in Germany. In the past, flags were generally permitted. 

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has expressed support for Klöckner. On the well-known Maischberger talk show aired by public broadcaster ARD, Merz said "the Bundestag is not a circus tent" where any flag could be raised at will, adding that the flag would be flown just once..

Read more to find out why Klöckner decided to have all rainbow flags removed.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday he will work closely with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron to resolve the escalating trade war between the EU and the US.

"We want to use this time now, the two and a half weeks until August 1, to find a solution. I am really committed to this," Merz told German public broadcaster ARD.

The prerequisite for this is unity within the European Union and reasonable dialogue with the US president, according to Merz, who said he had spoken "intensively" with von der Leyen and Macron over the weekend.

US President Donald Trump's proposed 30% tariffs on goods from the EU "would hit the German export industry to the core," Merz said.

His comments came after Macron on Saturday urged the European Commission to "resolutely defend European interests."

Like Macron, Merz agreed that European countermeasures would be necessary if no agreement was reached. "But not before August 1," he added.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has voiced his support for a return to compulsory military service to boost the country's armed forces.

"I am in favor of compulsory military service," Steinmeier told the ZDF public broadcaster in an interview on Sunday.

Steinmeier justified his position with Europe's changing security situation, Russia's war in Ukraine, and the US disengagement from transatlantic relations.

He also said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who plans to start with 15,000 new voluntary conscripts, is right to try to make joining the German armed forces, or Bundeswehr, more attractive.

But no one knows whether that will be enough, he added. "That is why we now need a debate on conscription, even if we cannot implement it overnight," said Steinmeier.

After more than 50 years of conscription, Germany suspended military service in 2011. But it is not removed in Germany's constitution, the Basic Law.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday urged the country's parliamentarians to quickly get on with the task of appointing new judges to the Federal Constitutional Court.

Steinmeier, speaking with German public broadcaster ZDF, said he did not agree with those claiming the surprise delay of a Friday vote on appointments damaged the country's top court, rather, he said: "If you look at the papers this weekend, you'll immediately learn one thing: the coalition appears to have damaged itself."

Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU/CSU triggered the delay by withdrawing support for one of the judges put forth by its SPD coalition partners.

Steinmeier also placed blame on the Bundestag, which was responsible for holding the vote, saying the delay "was no small matter" and adding that the "authority and operability of the Constitutional Court" hangs in the balance.  

Steinmeier said the court could be harmed, however, if a vote is not taken quickly, adding, "if that is not the case we should be concerned."

The president warned that as politics becomes more polarized, things become more difficult for centrist parties. 

Steinmeier said centrists have an obligation to insure Germany remains politically stable, saying they should seek to legislate accordingly. "It is absolutely clear that if the parties of the political center… the democratic center… fail, then the destructive parties on the fringes will profit."

Speaking of the country's judges, Steinmeier said, "We should not over-politicize them, because in the end judges at the Constitutional Court are judges — and not party representatives."

German Health Minister Nina Warken told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper in an interview to be published Monday that the government must send a signal to anyone who feels emboldened to abuse doctors or medical personnel.

The German Hospital Association (DKG) has long called for such measures, saying verbal and physical attacks on medical personnel have increased of late, arguing that punishment for such crimes must be put on par with those for attacks on firefighters and first responders.

Warken said "it is totally unacceptable to attack those who are helping others," adding, "the state has to take decisive action."

"Harsher penalties would make clear," said Warken, "that society vehemently condemns any and all violence and aggression targeting doctors, EMTs and hospital staff." 

Andreas Gassen, head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), described such violence as an everyday occurrence and called for family doctors and their teams to be specifically included in any new legislation.

Gassen, also speaking with the FAZ, said, "a very small group of people are stepping over the line and threatening doctors and medical staff." 

According to Gassen, a recent poll found that 85% of all responding doctors and hospital staff reported having been insulted or threatened over the past five years — 80% said they had been personally attacked within the past year.

More than 40% of the nearly 7,600 individuals participating to the poll said they had been physically assaulted by patients within the past five years.

Medical experts say German hospitals have begun hiring security staff, offering conflict de-escalation and self-defense courses for employees, changing the layout of waiting rooms, even making sure that at least one physically imposing employee is always on staff — all at their own cost — to protect employees. 

German Finance Minister and Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil on Sunday told the country's Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that Berlin and Brussels are prepared to negotiate what he called a fair deal with US President Donald Trump over tariffs but added they are only willing to go so far. 

"Our hand remains outstretched," said Klingbeil, "but we will not go along with everything."

"If a fair negotiated solution does not succeed, then we must take decisive countermeasures to protect jobs and companies in Europe."

Expressing regret over Trump's decision to declare a unilateral 30% import tax on EU goods from August 1, Klingbeil said countermeasures "must be prepared," adding the EU must be ready to take "decisive" action if the situation continues to escalate.

"Trump's tariffs," said the Social Democrat, "produce only losers. They threaten the US economy as much as they do European businesses. That is why we should end this trade war."

"No one needs new threats or provocations. We need to continue serious and focused negotiations between the EU and US," said Klingbeil, adding, "we want a fair deal."  

The Federal Constitutional Court will decide on Tuesday whether Germany has an obligation to protect third-country citizens from US drone missions that depend on data from US bases in Germany — specifically from Ramstein Air Base in the southwest.

The top court will rule in a case brought on appeal by two Yemeni citizens who say the German government did not do enough to prevent the killing of civilians in their village. Lower courts have been unable to definitively answer the question, though Berlin vehemently denies any negligence.

The men say Germany has an obligation to protect their right to life and that Berlin must investigate — and if necessary — stop the US from carrying out such missions.

Berlin says Washington has given guarantees that it is not violating international humanitarian law and that no US drones are launched, landed or controlled from Ramstein. The base, says the US, merely serves as a data relay point linking the Pentagon to drones at other sites — in this case Yemen — using satellite technology.

Berlin has said it has done enough and that to take further steps would put its EU and NATO relations into question.

The German government says that Berlin and Washington maintain "an ongoing and trusted dialog" when it comes to activities at Ramstein.

The Constitutional Court will now determine whether Germany has any such third-party obligations and whether Ramstein's role as a data relay represents a substantial enough German territorial tie to warrant German intervention.

Police in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt say they have made what is likely one of the largest-ever discoveries of fenethylline in German. Better known under the brand name Captagon, the amphetamine was discovered hidden among pallets full of oil-producing fruits and vegetables at a grocery store in the city of Landsberg.

Police seized 20 pallets on Saturday.

Authorities say some 300 kilos of the drug — in the form of 1.7 million pills — has an estimated street value of €20 million ($22 million).  

Police and prosecutors said, "This is likely one of the largest single seizures of this substance in Germany," adding that investigations are ongoing.

Guten Tag from Bonn!

Following the pause, DW resumes its coverage of news and analysis from Germany.

On Sunday, German police announced the biggest discovery of Captagon amphetamines in the country's history. Authorities in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt say some 300 kilograms (around 661 pounds) of the drug were discovered in delivery pallets at a local vegetable shop. 

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court will also rule this Tuesday on whether Berlin has an obligation to halt US drone missions in third-countries that depend on assistance from US bases in Germany.

Stay tuned for more, and we hope you enjoy reading!

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the coming days to discuss border security, calling irregular migration "a global problem."

In an op-ed for the Sunday Express, Starmer wrote that Merz's visit will include talks on "what more we can do together to prosecute criminal networks and prevent people smuggling to the U.K."

"The networks of these criminal gangs stretch across countless countries and legal systems, showing no respect for our borders," he wrote.

"We'll go further to tackle this shared issue together," he added.

Saturday was a fairy tale for Germany’s castles, and a horror story for its women's football team. 

Let’s say the only thing getting defended well was Neuschwanstein.

What surprises does Sunday have in store? Join us again in the morning as we continue our coverage.

Sweden made a big statement at the Women’s European Championship with a dominant 4-1 win over Germany.

Both teams had already secured a spot in the quarterfinals, but this result gives Sweden a potentially smoother path to the final.

Sweden will face the runner-up of Group D in the quarter-finals, with Germany facing the team that tops that group. That will be France,
England or the Netherlands.

Read how it went wrong for Germany by clicking here.

One week after a father and his son went missing in Eibsee lake in southern Germany, rescue teams have recovered their bodies, German police reported Saturday.

Investigators believe that the 6-year-old boy fell into the lake while the family of four was out on the Eibsee, a Bavarian Alpine lake located at the foot of Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze.

His 33-year-old father jumped in to rescue the child, but neither of them resurfaced, police said, adding that there are no signs of foul play.

The mother and the couple's daughter were also on the pedal boat at the time. The family is from the southern state of Bavaria, according to the police.

Emergency responders conducted an intensive, week-long search operation to find the pair.

Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said that the US tariffs "would hit European exporting companies hard," following US President Donald Trump's announcement that he would impose 30% tariffs on all EU goods.

"At the same time, they would also have a strong impact on the economy and consumers on the other side of the Atlantic," Reiche said in an emailed statement.

"A pragmatic outcome to the negotiations must be reached quickly," she added.

You can read more about the reactions to Trump's tariff announcement on Saturday in our special blog.