by Thorsten Koch In a consultation which dragged on for hours, the Federal Government and the State Governments agreed that there should be a step-by-step plan that results in easing the lockdown. The measures against Corona are to be extended until March 28th. An extension…

According to a paper by the Federal Ministry of Health, general practitioners are to be included in the vaccinations against the Coronavirus from the second half of March. This makes it necessary to change the vaccination ordinance at federal level. From April it will be…

by Thorsten Koch The Federal and State Governments have described four opening steps in a working paper. This is limited to the event that after March 28 – until then, the corona measures are to be extended -, the number of Covid infections will decrease….

The Federal Government has spoken out in favor of caution and diligence in decisions to relax the measures against the Coronavirus. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said this in view of fewer intensive care cases, a higher number of vaccinations and rapid tests planned on the…

The Union parties and the SPD do not want future measures against the coronavirus to be based solely on the incidence value. The Infection Protection Act is to be adapted in this regard. Instead of the incidence value alone, the vaccinations and the so-called R-Value…

The Federal Government is against changing the order of the groups of people who are to be vaccinated against the Coronavirus, after a number of Prime Ministers in their respective Federal States have campaigned for a relaxation in this area. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said…

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has campaigned for citizens to show more trust in all of the approved Corona vaccines. He said he had “little understanding” of withholding certain vaccines. Faster vaccinations are important, and all vaccines certified by the European Medicines Agency are both effective…

The everyday restrictions in order to cope with the Corona pandemic will possibly be relaxed in the future, thanks to the offer of two free rapid tests per week. This was announced by the Federal Ministry of Health. A discussion paper by the department suggests…

The Bundestag should have more of a say as to the decisions in dealing with the Corona pandemic. The parliamentary groups of both CDU-CSU and SPD submitted a proposal to establish a parliamentary “Monitoring Committee for the Covid-19 Pandemic”, which is to deal not only…

CDU-CSU and SPD agree on how the reform of the taxi and driving service market should be approached. Union group spokesman Lange said that the municipalities would get more powers. The Vice Chairman of the SPD Parliamentary Group, Bartol, has praised that cheap and new…

by Thorsten Koch Chancellor Angela Merkel has emphasized that the Corona measures could be relaxed, depending on Covid tests. Rapid tests should be a topic at the federal-state conference on March 3rd, said Merkel. There may be regional rules because of the immunization campaign and…

The chairwoman of the Synod of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), Irmgard Schwaetzer, has made an appeal for fairness in the election campaigns that are pending in Germany. She spoke out in favor of respecting the basic rules of democratic coexistence. Instead of myths,…

A high level of data protection is inappropriate during the Corona pandemic, said the Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann (Greens). By complying with data protection, the warning app for smartphones is “just a crutch” instead of a powerful control instrument.

Thomas Haldenwang, President of the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution, has warned against further radicalization among “violent left-wing extremists”. There are now attacks that are also directed against individuals. One has to see “whether this radicalization develops into terrorist structures”.

Various departments at federal level have refused to sign a final report of the federal cabinet, due to a lack of funds. After the anniversaries of the right-wing extremist attacks in Halle and Hanau, specific projects against racism and anti-Semitism are blocked for the time…

From this Monday, March 1, people entering Germany will automatically receive a text message on their cell phones, the Federal Ministry of Health announced. The SMS contains a link to the entry and protection rules against infections applicable in Germany.

Deutsche Telekom wants to present an increased speed in the expansion of the fiber optic network. Gigabit speed should be possible in around 10 million households in Germany by the end of 2024. Another 1.2 million households are expected to benefit from this in 2021….

The SPD’s candidate for chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has proposed replacing the basic security, also known as Hartz-IV, with a new type of citizen’s benefit. Conditions should no longer be based on “distrust” of the social welfare offices; some sanctions should be abolished for Hartz-IV beneficiaries…

The Union parties have criticized the calls by Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz for tax increases, which the latter, SPD candidate for the office of Chancellor, wants to raise for high earners and the wealthy. “Behind Olaf Scholz’s Robin Hood rhetoric lies a program against…

The Corona lockdown lasted two and a half months for hairdressers – from December 16 last year. Nationwide, this profession can again open their shops from Monday. Garden markets, flower shops, pedicure salons and driving schools are also allowed to resume their work.

Strict entry rules came into force on Sunday at the borders of Germany with the Czech Republic and the Austrian state of Tyrol. The German states of Bavaria and Saxony controlled persons in order to contain the newer and more contagious variants of the Coronavirus….

The EU Commission has spoken out in favor of cutting roaming charges in the EU for another ten years. Consumers in EU countries others than their own should use the same telephone quality and data speed for which they have concluded contracts, at no additional…

Customs authorities have made the largest discovery of cocaine in the Port of Hamburg that has ever occurred in Europe. The Customs Investigation Office succeeded in seizing a total of over 16 tons of cocaine. The banned drugs, worth billions of Euros, were hidden in…

The Bundeswehr is to remain on duty in Afghanistan until the end of January 2022, in order to participate in an ongoing NATO mission to aid the country. The Federal Cabinet concluded this after the withdrawal date of April 30th is no longer considered to…

The candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), wants to push through tax increases for high earners and wealthy people after the upcoming Bundestag election. The citizens want a fairer tax system, said Scholz. Those who have a lot of income should make a bigger contribution…