Germany

Volkswagen clinches record sales

Berlin - Muslimchronicle

Germany's Volkswagen said Wednesday it sold a record number of vehicles in 2017, putting it on track to hold on to the title of world's largest carmaker two years after its "dieselgate" emissions scandal. Some 10.74 million vehicles from VW or its subsidiaries ranging from Porsche and Audi to Skoda and Seat rolled out of dealerships last year -- an increase of 4.3 percentRead more

centre-left backs formal coalition talks

Bonn - Muslimchronicle

Germany's centre-left Social Democrats voted Sunday to begin formal coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, bringing Europe's top economy a step closer to a new government after months of deadlock. At a special party congress in the western city of Bonn, 372 out of 642 delegates (56 percent) backed SPD chief Martin Schulz's appeal to approve a preliminary coalition deal painstakinglyRead more

Germany's SPD backs formal coalition talks with Merkel

Bonn - Muslimchronicle

Germany's centre-left Social Democrats voted Sunday to begin formal coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, bringing Europe's top economy a step closer to a new government after months of deadlock. A total of 362 party delegates out of 642 voted at a special congress in Bonn to back a preliminary coalition deal painstakingly hammered out between the SPD andRead more

IMF urges Germany to loosen purse strings

Frankfurt am Main - Muslimchronicle

IMF chief Christine Lagarde has joined calls on Germany to invest in future economic growth even at the cost of relaxing its cherished budgetary discipline, raising hackles in Europe's powerhouse. "There is an excess of savings over investments which suggests that Germany can afford to spend and invest more" Lagarde said at a Thursday conference with top economists and policymakers from aroundRead more

Six dead as huge storms batter Europe

Berlin - Muslimchronicle

Nine people including two firefighters were killed Thursday as violent gales battered northern Europe, snapping air and train links. Germany halted all long-distance rail traffic for at least a day, while numerous domestic flights were scrapped as hurricane-force winds lashed the country. The storm claimed six lives in Germany, including two firefighters deployed in emergency operations and two truck driversRead more

Economists call for overhaul of eurozone fiscal rules

Paris - Muslimchronicle

Leading economists from France and Germany on Wednesday called for new fiscal rules for the eurozone and the creation of an independent watchdog to help to make the single currency more resilient against crises in the future. In a 33-page paper, the economists warned that even if the single currency area was "finally experiencing a robust recovery... after nearly a decade ofRead more

Germany loans Lithuania 'birth certificate'

Vilnius - Muslimchronicle

Germany loaned Lithuania its long-lost declaration of independence on Wednesday as the Baltic nation prepares to mark one hundred years since it restored statehood after World War I. The 1918 document, which was unearthed in a Berlin archive last year by a Lithuanian professor, will stay in the country for five years under a bilateral agreement. "I want to thank our friendRead more

Germany considers student exchanges

Berlin - Muslimchronicle

A suggestion that schools send students on exchange between Germany's former East and West to heal persistent divides sparked debate on Monday, almost 30 years after the country's reunification. "We don't just need pupil projects exchanging with Poland or France, but between Leipzig and Stuttgart" in the lagging east and prosperous southwest, Left party politician Helmut Holter told the FunkeRead more

Germany's SPD at odds over coalition plan

Frankfurt am Main - Muslimchronicle

Leading members of Germany's Social Democrats voiced scepticism Sunday over a preliminary coalition agreement reached with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, days after the hard-fought deal was hailed as a breakthrough. Berlin's SPD Mayor Michael Mueller said he was "very critical" about entering into another government with Merkel's CDU/CSU bloc after all three parties slumped to their worst results in decadesRead more