In 2023, Germany paid 17.4 billion euros more into the European Union budget than it received. However, experts warn of Germany’s weak economy and pointed out that this is a lower figure than in 2022 – a trend they expect to continue.
Germany has introduced a new visa scheme for non-EU workers in an attempt to tackle an acute shortage of skilled labour in the country. In the European Union, the so-called EU Blue Card allows workers from non-EU countries to live and work in the bloc.
In December, EU leaders agreed to open accession negotiations with Ukraine. While the European Commission said in a recent report that the country needed to implement further reforms, the German government has now said that Ukraine has fulfilled these reforms.
Maximilian Krah, the lead candidate for Germany’s far-right AfD party in the EU elections, will no longer make public appearances after telling the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that not all members of the SS were criminals.
The European Commission has approved a German state aid scheme worth 2 billion euros to help industrial businesses reduce their carbon emissions and switch to more renewable energy sources.