Free Republic

EU questions public television tax Competition watchdog launches investigation into possible illegal subsidies, focus on online programs The EU Commission on Monday confirmed rumors that it has launched a preliminary investigation into Germany's public radio and television broadcasters to determine if the fees they receive amount to illegal subsidies. The head of one of the big-two public broadcasters - ARD and ZDF - shot back that the commission's investigation violated European Union law. However, on Wednesday, ZDF and ARD agreed to a voluntary plan to disclose their financial statements in the hope of placating the EU's competition watchdog. The commission,...

High court endorses tuition National government's policy guaranteeing free higher education is struck down Wednesday was not ”a nice day” for Edelgard Bulmahn, Germany's education minister. The Social Democrat's mood turned sour after the country's highest court endorsed the concept of tuition fees and dealt a blow to the minister's determined efforts to protect Germany's free-for-all higher education system. Ruling on a complaint brought by six federal states, the Federal Constitutional Court lifted the ban on tuition fees introduced by the Social Democratic-Green coalition two and a half years ago. The court in Karlsruhe argued that the federal government had...

Expand use of DNA, political leaders urge Demands follow speedy arrest in Munich case The speed with which DNA analysis assisted police in hunting for the killer of Munich fashion designer Rudolph Moshammer has triggered quick calls for Germany to expand the use of the technology in criminal cases. ”DNA analysis ensures that criminals do not go unpunished,” said Edmund Stoiber, the premier of Bavaria and head of the Christian Social Union. On Tuesday, Stoiber's cabinet in Munich pressed ahead with the issue. The cabinet decided that it would introduce legislation on genetic fingerprints in the Bundesrat, the legislative chamber...

Kopie von "Growth remains weak" Wednesday was the time to fold up the bed sheets bearing such messages as “We demand no layoffs at Opel,“ to sweep away the debris and to get back to work. The clean-up operation marked the end of a tense seven days of spontaneous wildcat strikes at the plant in Bochum that thousands of outraged workers launched on Oct. 14. The workers had responded to a startling announcement by GM Europe: The automaker planned to cut 12,000 of the company's 62,000 positions by 2006 as part of a plan to save EUR500 million ($631 million)...

A report from a blogger, sitting in Germany. My office co-worker came in, and told an fascinating story of her daughter today. The daughter, 16, is in an aggressive program with the American school system here in Germany (US Base). There was a program at a different site, which the US base provided school bus coverage (commerically run by Germans), to get these kids to it. The site is near the Landtuhl location where a lot of US troops are coming in...to be treated for severe wounds. The daughter and a couple of kids had returned to the bus, and...

Oktoberfest takes fall MUNICH. The Oktoberfest, the world's largest beer festival, experienced a drop in beer sales and visitors this year. More than 55 million liter-sized beer servings were consumed, down nearly 11 percent from last year's 61 million liters of beer. There were also fewer visitors: 5.9 million instead of last year's 6.3 million. That was a drop of nearly 7 percent for this year's event, which ran from Sept. 18-Oct. 3. But the number of beer steins that people tried to steal was up: About 210,000 were confiscated by the beer tents' security personnel, up from 195,000 last...

Karstadt clearance sale earns wrath of union Government offers verbal support to workers Plans by Karstadt Quelle to sell nearly half of its department stores and issue EUR500 million in shares met with a swift response from the government, which cautioned the German retailer against “abrupt decisions“ to layoff workers or close branches. The Verdi service workers trade union threatened the company with strike action. “We are currently holding talks with Karstadt Quelle,“ Economics minister Wolfgang Clement said on Wednesday in an interview with Reuters TV. The government will “use all the tools available“ to assist workers at the floundering...

Finance minister raises total of government borrowing this year to EUR43.7 billion Finance Minister Hans Eichel headed for the office on Wednesday intending to do a good deed for the day: donate a unit of blood to the German Red Cross. But once he arrived at the donation center set up outside the Reichstag, the Social Democrat let reporters know that he also had another sort of hemorrhage on his mind: the red ink gushing from a gap in the federal government's budget. Eichel said he expected the government would have to raise its debt level for the current fiscal...

Broadcasters facing political pressure Leaders propose cut in plan to boost fees German households are bracing for another increase in mandatory television fees next year, but it probably will not be as much as was feared. At a time of mass social cutbacks, politicians appear keen to cut into the privileges of Germany's two public broadcasters as well. Germany's independent television fees commission had proposed an increase of EUR1.09 ($1.33) a month starting in January. But, for the first time, state leaders rejected the commission's proposal this week. Instead, it tentatively agreed on an increase of EUR0.86 and demanded job...

Germans become poorer, living standards drop Poverty levels in Germany are increasing, and greater discrepancy in wealth distribution is expected in coming years, according to Data Report 2004, a survey released by the Federal Statistics Office. At the end of 2002, 11.1 percent of Germans lived in relative poverty, earning less than half of average income, against 9.4 percent a year earlier. In eastern Germany, relative poverty has doubled in the last 10 years. When it comes to living standards, Germany has also slipped into Europe's mid-field. Not surprisingly then the report also concluded that Germans were among the least...

College tuition ruled legal in Frankfurt. Frankfurt's administrative court rejected a claim by a law student who maintained that Hesse's introduction of tuition fees for long-term students was unlawful. The student is in his 18th semester - nine semesters are the rule - and has to pay EUR500 per semester from his 14th semester according to a state law introduced in 2003. The court argued the law did not violate his right to a free education and was therefore not in conflict with higher legislation.

Group takes new step toward forming party Position paper pledges to fuel government spending and to increase taxes on high incomes Reinhard Bütikofer, the co-leader of Germany's Greens, knows a thing or two about the creation of a new political party. As he watches a splinter group begin to break off from Germany's Social Democrats, Bütikofer plays down the possibility that a serious threat is forming. “You definitely have to take their positions seriously. But you shouldn't overestimate them as a political force,“ said Bütikofer, whose party turned 25 this year. Members of the movement, however, are taking the effort...

Poor avoiding doctors because of fee, poll finds BONN. A new fee on visits to the doctor is keeping low-income earners from seeking care, according to a study conducted by Germany's largest public health fund, AOK. The study said this week that 19.2 percent of all households with a monthly net income of below EUR1,000 ($1,210) reported that they had either put off a visit to the doctor or decided not to go at all because of the EUR10 fee. Patients must pay the fee the first time they visit a doctor each quarter. The average response among the households...

Police trial planned FRANKFURT. A court ruled on Tuesday that a deputy police chief in Frankfurt should be tried on charges stemming from a torture threat he made in 2002. The trial of Wolfgang Daschner is unlikely to be scheduled before November, a court spokesman said. Daschner has admitted that he threatened a kidnapping suspect with torture in the hope of possibly saving a boy's life. The suspect, Magnus Gäfgen, then told authorities where the boy's body was.

After watching all of the 9-11 talks and information releases...has anyone figured out that hijackings will be taken care of...in a quiet different manner in the future? If you are on a plane that is hijacked, then you have at best...25 minutes...to retake the plane...before Air Force jets are on the scene giving the Jihad pilot 60 seconds to abort or face shoot-down. It would seem like that every passenger in this country needs to come to some grasp...that they have to immedately kill the hijackers or face absolute death very shortly. You won't have time to discuss the matter,...

State education leaders disagree Minister's announcement on approval of elite university plan triggers immediate protest Finding the right way to boost Germany's underfunded universities is not easy, as Education Minister Edelgard Bulmahn learned once again this week. Bulmahn announced on Monday that state and federal governments had reached an agreement on a top priority item - a funding plan to create a number of elite universities in Germany. But a short time later, several state education ministers loudly disputed her statement, saying that no agreement had been reached. Bulmahn made her announcement after meeting with education ministers from eight of...

German Conservatives Call For Rethink on Nuclear Energy Back in the energy debate? Germany's conservative Christian Social Union party defends nuclear energy in the face of high oil and coal prices and demands that the government abandon its plan to close all German nuclear power plants. As delegates from 154 nations at the International Conference on Renewable Energy in Bonn promoted renewable energy souces like solar and wind power to counter rising oil prices, Bavarian Premier and leader of the opposition conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), Edmund Stoiber, dished up his own suggestion, topped with an extra serving of controversy....

Radical imam Metin Kaplan's lawyer said her client is in Cologne, but the fact that he evaded arrest on the day of his conviction is still a huge embarrassment for German authorities. Kaplan's lawyer, Ingeborg Naumann, told the German news agency DPA on Friday that the radical Muslim cleric is still in Cologne. She said he will fulfill all that is legally required of him and register with local police early next week. The Europe-wide manhunt for Kaplan was called off late Thursday evening. This took some of the pressure off police, who showed up at his Cologne apartment on...

A German scientific research institute has warned that most condoms on the market contain a cancer-causing chemical and has urged that their manufacture be subjected to stringent quality control. The Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Institute in Stuttgart said on Friday it had found the carcinogen N-Nitrosamine in 29 of 32 types of condoms it tested in simulated conditions. The condoms, which were kept in a solution with artificial sweat, exuded huge amounts of cancer-causing N-Nitrosamine from its rubber coating. Researchers measured amounts of N-Nitrosamine, that were way above the prescribed limits for other rubber products such as baby pacifiers. "N-Nitrosamine...

Minister's suggestion on tolls ignites protest Idea would apply to some autobahn segments By Heidi Sylvester Transportation Minister Manfred Stolpe ran into the wrath of German car drivers, the criticism of the country's powerful automotive associations and the ridicule of politicians from all stripes this week after he raised the prospect of road tolls for passenger cars. Given the current budget problems, Stolpe said the government would have to look for funding alternatives for the road network. Such alternatives could include private investors, he said in one of several interviews he gave this week. “When a private investor builds a...