Germany news: Call to scrap once-a-day gas price rises

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September 23, 2026

Thanks for reading

We'll be back with the latest headlines out of Germany tomorrow. Tschüss!

https://p.dw.com/p/5NAf0

Skip next section Germany plans to phase out to fossil fuels by 2045

September 23, 2026

Germany plans to phase out to fossil fuels by 2045

Emilio Reynoso

Germany’s Environment Ministry has unveiled a plan to phase out fossil fuels. Europe’s largest economy is the third European country to make such an announcement, following France and the Netherlands.

The measures included in the plan involve expanding renewable energy sources and increasing reliance on electric vehicles. In addition, policies will be implemented to move polluting industries away from fossil fuels.

German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider told the United Nations General Assembly that the war in the Middle East has demonstrated why fossil fuels should be phased out.

“Not only do extreme weather events around the world show how urgently we need to do more to protect the climate,” the minister said. “If the situation in the Strait of Hormuz determines whether people can still afford their daily commute to work, that is not a good situation,” he added.

During the 2023 COP28 climate summit, nearly 200 countries committed to gradually reducing the use of fossil fuels. However, according to Germany’s Environment Ministry, only a few have presented concrete plans.

Fentje Jacobsen, a climate policy adviser at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), said the roadmap largely reaffirms existing initiatives without introducing “new ideas or additional ambitions.”

"Meanwhile, the current government plans to rely less on renewable energy and more on gas," she added.

Energy Minister Katherina Reiche supports the construction of new gas-fired power plants to help stabilize the electricity grid and offset the intermittency of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

https://p.dw.com/p/5NAZp

Skip next section Berlin exits Olympic race

September 23, 2026

Berlin exits Olympic race

Emilio Reynoso

The city of Berlin withdrew its bid on Wednesday to host the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.

According to public broadcaster RBB, Munich and the Rhine-Ruhr region are the most likely candidates to serve as hosts.

The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) will decide on a preferred region as part of Germany's bid to host one of the upcoming editions of the Summer Olympic Games in 2036, 2040, or 2044.

City authorities have called a press conference for Thursday to address the issue.

Among the four cities that submitted bids was also Hamburg, but it withdrew in May following an unfavorable result in a public consultation.

Berlin's decision to withdraw from the race could be linked to Sunday's elections.

Elif Eralp, the lead candidate of the socialist Left Party that topped the polls in the city, said on Monday that she did not support a bid for Berlin to host the Games.

The Summer Olympic Games have been held on German soil twice. Berlin hosted the Games in 1936, when Germany was under Nazi rule, while Munich hosted the 1972 Games, when the city was part of West Germany.

https://p.dw.com/p/5NAZD

Skip next section Unexploded firework found near decommission power station in NRW

September 23, 2026

Unexploded firework found near decommission power station in NRW

Emergency services were called in on Wednesday in Germany's western North Rhine-Westphalia state after a spherical firework was found near a high-voltage pylon near the decommissioned Frimmersdorf power station.

Bomb disposal experts identified the object, found in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district, as a Category F4 ball bomb — the type that's normally used in large-scale fireworks displays and needs prior experience to be set off.

Authorities seized the bomb and said it was harmless; it is believed it would not have caused damage to the pylon even if it had gone off.

Police said the bomb had not been set off, which makes it unlikely that it had been left behind after the traditional New Year's Eve fireworks and only discovered now.

Investigators are looking into who left the firework and what their intentions were, calling on witnesses to contact the police.

Germany has been hit by a string of sabotage incidents in recent months.

On Tuesday, two separate incidents disrupted electrical substations near Berlin and Cologne, with police investigating a possible link.

Sabotage fears hit Germany's power grid

https://p.dw.com/p/5NAYg

Skip next section IG Metall demands 5% pay hike for 3.7 million union workers

September 23, 2026

IG Metall demands 5% pay hike for 3.7 million union workers

IG Metall, Germany's largest union, is demanding a 5% pay hike for some 3.7 million electrical and auto industry workers ahead of collective bargaining negotiations next month.

The metal and electrical sectors are also the largest in the country and negotiations are slated to begin on October 7. Current contracts expire on October 31, meaning strikes could come in November in the event that the sides cannot come to agreement.

IG Chairwoman Christiane Benner was straightforward in remarks delivered Wednesday in Frankfurt: "We are approaching negotiations with combative realism. Instead of crisis rhetoric, attacks on social benefits and doom-mongering, workers expect secure jobs, compensation for rising prices and a fair share of corporate profits."

Benner accused employers of painting a dark vision of the future based on slowing profits in the automotive sector in order to avoid paying out wage increases.

"The metal and electrical sectors are more than just the car industry," she said, noting that the medical technology and aerospace industries, for instance are thriving.

Beyond wage hikes to keep pace with inflation — which hit 2.9% in August — IG Metall is calling for profit sharing at "booming companies" as well as seeking job and facility safeguards.

Employers in Germany, Europe's largest economy, have complained of weak profits amid slow demand, cheap foreign labor, US tariffs and high energy prices.

Auto giant Volkswagen, for instance, has introduced a plan to shed some 100,000 jobs by 2030 and has entertained the idea of shuttering domestic production facilities. Mercedes, too, has suggested it may have to close factories if it cannot slash costs.

On Monday, tens of thousands of workers answered IG Metall's calls for protest at automotive production sites across the country to voice their anger at planned industry cuts ahead of collective bargaining negotiations.

Can Volkswagen stage an automotive comeback?

https://p.dw.com/p/5N9J4

Skip next section A big change for German shoppers

September 23, 2026

A big change for German shoppers

Starting in 2028, shoppers in Germany will no longer get the little paper receipts, known as the Kassenbon.

Every person in Germany is familiar with this scenario when buying a newspaper, a TV, or even just two bread rolls: "Would you like a receipt?" the salesperson usually asks. Customers can leave it behind to be thrown away, but if they say yes, they'll get one of those little slips of paper that eventually pile up in your wallet. If the federal government has its way, however, this will be over in early 2028.

The government plans to abolish the legal requirement for paper receipts for every transaction regardless of the amount, which was introduced in January 2020.

The reform doing away with this requirement will be mandatory for retailers, bakers, restaurants, and service providers whose annual revenue exceeds €100,000 ($114,000), which applies to the vast majority.

Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil hailed the reform on Wednesday: "This means less bureaucracy for everyone — both for citizens and for businesses."

Government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius explained that shoppers will instead be able to scan a QR code at the register. Experts estimate, however, that around 100,000 cash registers will need to be retrofitted, as these registers currently lack digital functions and have long been seen as a loophole for tax evasion.

The end of the Kassenbon is set to be yet another change in the new, digital world that creates a stir in Germany — especially among many older citizens who don't use mobile phones.

https://p.dw.com/p/5N8oM

Skip next section WATCH — Merz under pressure: CDU lawmaker on election setbacks

September 23, 2026

WATCH — Merz under pressure: CDU lawmaker on election setbacks

Speaking to DW, CDU foreign policy spokesperson Jürgen Hardt defended the German chancellor's leadership and argued that delivering on key reforms will be crucial to strengthening Friedrich Merz's position.

Merz is under growing pressure after a string of election setbacks for his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.

Merz under pressure: CDU lawmaker on election setbacks

https://p.dw.com/p/5N89b

Skip next section Two Polish men arrested over suspected cattle rustling

September 23, 2026

Two Polish men arrested over suspected cattle rustling

German police have arrested two Polish men on suspicion of their having stolen more than 200 cows and transported them to Poland, a police spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The thefts are said to have taken place in the northeastern state of Brandenburg, which surrounds the capital, Berlin.

The men, aged 41 and 46, are believed to have stolen the cows between March and May and to have taken them to Poland on livestock trucks.

Authorities arrested one man at a motorway stop in Brandenburg and the other in Poland. Both are currently in pre-trial detention, the spokesperson said.

https://p.dw.com/p/5N89x

Skip next section Rocks tumble down from Germany's highest mountain as permafrost recedes

September 23, 2026

Rocks tumble down from Germany's highest mountain as permafrost recedes

Saim Dušan Inayatullah

Rocks continued to come loose in the Zugspitze in southern Germany due to receding permafrost on Wednesday.

The mountain is Germany's highest and lies on the border between the state of Bavaria and Austria's western state of Tyrol.

Several cubic meters of rocks have tumbled down the mountain since Tuesday.

Franz Dörfler, the deputy head of operations at the mountain rescue service for Grainau, a town at the foothills of the Zugspitze, told Germany's DPA news agency that the scale of the most recent rockfall was unusual.

Dörfler said the area had become inaccessible and it was difficult to assess how much rock had come loose.

He said no buildings or paths seem to have been affected.

Dörfler attributed the receding permafrost to climate change and rising temperatures.

https://p.dw.com/p/5N7NT

Skip next section Suspected explosives traces discovered close to drone find near Bundeswehr air base

September 23, 2026

Suspected explosives traces discovered close to drone find near Bundeswehr air base

Investigators have found suspected traces of explosives near the Bundeswehr air base in Wunstorf, Lower Saxony, after drone parts were found in the area.

German media report that the investigators believe the drone could have been equipped with explosives, as the suspicious substances were found just meters away from it.

However, the reports said examinations of the traces had not yet been concluded.

The drone parts in Wunstorf were found by chance, and the media reports said they may have been lying there for two years.

It remains unknown where the drone came from, but security sources say it had construction similarities with an explosives-laden drone found at the Leipzig/Halle Airport in early August.

The German government has accused Russia of being behind the incident at the airport as an attempted attack on Ukrainian cargo planes there.

The air base near Wunstorf is an important military site that is home to Germany's fleet of A400M transport planes.

https://p.dw.com/p/5N68X

Skip next section Activists climb on CDU headquarters in Berlin to protest climate policies

September 23, 2026

Activists climb on CDU headquarters in Berlin to protest climate policies

Activists from the Robin Wood group have rappelled down the facade of the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus in Berlin — the headquarters of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) — in a protest against climate inaction and call for more resistance to right-wing extremism.

The activists attached a large red banner to the building calling on the conservative-led government to "end welfare cuts [and] fight [the] climate crisis," and to take a firm stance against the far right.

The banner covered a picture of the CDU's top candidate at recent state elections in Berlin, Stefan Evers, who is currently finance senator (minister) in the city-state.

A statement handed out at the location stated: "We protest against the policies of the CDU-led federal government, which is dropping climate protection and has no concepts on how to stop the rise of the right-wing extremist AfD."

Federal Economy Minister Katherina Reicheof the CDU in particular has come under fire from several quarters for policies that many see as putting the brakes on Germany's transition to renewable sources.

The conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary bloc has also been criticized for adopting some of the harsh anti-migration measures advocated by the AfD in a seeming bid to win back voters from the far-right party.

https://p.dw.com/p/5N60X

Skip next section Entry-level jobs in Germany see sharp decline — online job exchange

September 23, 2026

Entry-level jobs in Germany see sharp decline — online job exchange

Offers for entry-level jobs have dropped by two-thirds since 2022, when they were at a record high, according to an analysis by the online job exchange Indeed.

The drop is considerably larger than that of jobs overall, which fell by 39% in that time, Indeed said.

The decline in entry-level jobs since 2022 is across almost all sectors, Indeed said, with a drop in offers in 26 of the 28 employment types examined.

In 23 of these, the fall was greater than in the overall labor market.

Knowledge professions and office jobs were the hardest-hit, with 75% fewer entry-level job offers in the marketing sector, 77% fewer in the field of IT applications and solutions and 60% fewer in the project management area.

Just two sectors showed a rise, according to the analysis: care professions, medicine and pharmacy (18% more) and food, gastronomy and the hotel industry (10% more).

Indeed economist Virginia Sondergeld said young people faced a rising risk of beginning their careers with a phase of unemployment.

But she said there was so far no evidence that the rise of artificial intelligence, which many see as threatening human employment, affected job chances, attributing the drop rather to the current economic downturn.

"People entering the jobs market are the first victims of the weak economy, as companies first of all save money where they should be investing in young workers," she said.

Apprenticeship speed dating connects firms with young talent

https://p.dw.com/p/5N5kz

Skip next section 248 people drown during German summer

September 23, 2026

248 people drown during German summer

Between May and mid-September, 248 people died in drowning accidents in Germany, 12 more than in the same period last year, the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) said on Wednesday.

June, which saw a prolonged heat wave, was the month with the most drownings: 101 people lost their lives in the water, the highest number since 2003.

However, the number of drowning deaths this year, 320, is slightly under that of last year (328), according to the DLRG.

The DLRG said that the number of young drowning victims was notable, with 88 people between the ages of 11 and 30 drowning since the start of the year — 15 more than in the whole of 2025.

More than 90% of the victims in this age group were male.

The DLRG said young men tend to be less cautious and more prone to overestimating themselves, while many lack swimming skills.

It called for more education about dangers and better swimming instruction, particularly at schools.

https://p.dw.com/p/5N5Ph

Skip next section ADAC calls to drop once-a-day price rise rule for fuel

September 23, 2026

ADAC calls to drop once-a-day price rise rule for fuel

The ADAC motoring association has said that a rule in force since April 1 allowing gas stations to raise fuel prices only once a day, at noon, has not brought down prices and "should therefore be abolished."

Although the rule had greatly reduced the number of price changes throughout a day and made increases easier to predict, the gap between the highest and lowest prices had increased, the ADAC said.

It also said motorists who needed to buy gas shortly after noon, when gas stations have typically jacked up prices, were faced with unjustifiably higher costs.

An economic research institute, ZEW, also found in April that prices were higher on average after the rule was introduced, with fuel prices generally going up after noon and cheaper in the morning.

Fuel prices in Germany and Europe in general have skyrocketed amid the war in the Middle East.

The ADAC reported that average gas prices in Germany hit a record high on Thursday, reaching €2.308 for a liter of super E10 and €2.471 for a liter of diesel ($9.98/US gallon and $10.69/US gallon, respectively)

In its statement, the ADAC, however, welcomed the government's temporary reduction in the energy tax that is planned to go into force on October 1, saying it was the most realistic way to lower the burden on motorists.

Is Europe prepared for its next major energy shock?

https://p.dw.com/p/5N5Ej

Skip next section Welcome to our coverage

September 23, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

The DW newsroom on the banks of the Rhine in Bonn wishes all users of Germany's international broadcaster guten Tag!

The high gas prices largely caused by fallout from the Iran war continue to be a major topic in Germany, with the country's main motoring association, the ADAC, now saying one government measure introduced in April in a bid to reduce the burden on motorists has failed.

And a lifesaving association has sad news after the unusually warm summer, with more drowning deaths from May to mid-September in Germany than in the same period last year.

Read on to find out more about these and other stories.

https://p.dw.com/p/5N573

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