Germany

Dr. Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, a member of the Green Party, has been elected into the European Parliament. The politician, who is originally from Senegal, was one of the 21 Green candidates elected from Germany at the elections on Sunday. With her election, she has become the first German member of the parliament with African origin. Announcing her victory on her Facebook …

The day that commemorates the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union) in Addis Ababa on 25 May 1963, will be marked this year for the 10th consecutive time in the western German city of Dortmund. The African Unity 2019 conference, taking place on 24-25 May and organised by the non-governmental organization AfricanTide Union e.V., will bring …

One in three foreigners seeking to join a spouse in Germany is unable to do so because they fail to pass a basic language test. The failure rate was especially high for applicants from Iraq. Nearly a third of foreigners seeking to join their spouses in Germany fail to pass a German language test in their homeland, preventing them from …

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer is calling for harsher deportation laws after asylum-seekers attacked pedestrians in Bavaria. So far, who gets deported – and who makes that call –  is a complex matter. Carla Bleiker reports. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has said he would send proposals to the government aimed at changing German deportation laws in an effort to …

More and more Germans are worried about not being able to make ends meet when they retire, a new study has shown. Rising energy costs and low interest rates are also feeding fears of financial insecurity. More than half of all Germans are afraid of being financially insecure in old age, German newspaper Die Welt has reported, citing a study …

Many new laws and legislative changes, affecting employees, the unemployed, families and retirees, came into force on 1 January 2019. The African Courier takes us through some of the most important changes that we should know. Minimum wage rises The statutory minimum wage (der gesetzliche Mindestlohn) rises from 8.84 euros to 9.19 euros on 1 January 2019. From 2020, employers …

The integration of refugees in Germany has been more successful than expected, according to the head of the country’s employers’ association. “Of more than a million people who have come to Germany especially since 2015, up to 400,000 will soon have a training position or a job,” said Ingo Kramer, the President of the Confederation of German Employers (Bundesvereinigung der …

The well-known Germany-based, Ghanaian chief was bestowed with a very special honour recently, as the south-western city of Ludwigshafen conferred on him one of its most prestigious honours, the Coat of Arms plaque. “I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Mr Céphas Bansah for his charitable and voluntary work in Ludwigshafen and to honour him with the coat …

The first Federal Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration was appointed in 1978. Dignitaries, including Chancellor Angela Merkel and around 1000 guests from politics, science, industry, media and associations, gathered in Berlin on Wednesday to celebrate the milestone and put a focus on the integration of migrants in the country again. Chancellor Angela Merkel considers the integration of migrants a …

The Christian Democrats have chosen Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to lead the party into its next phase. After 18 years, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced her decision to step down as the leader of the governing CDU in October. She did therefore not seek re-election at the CDU congress in Hamburg on Friday (7 December) but she will remain chancellor until the end …

Surprised by details Germans take for granted, some newcomers are shocked by the country’s supermarket culture. Here’s useful advice from Elizabeth Grenier, a self-declared grocery shopping expert from Canada, who learned the hard way. Know your different types of supermarkets The different categories of grocery stores in Germany can be confusing for newcomers. A few chains are actual supermarkets, while …

Last year, about 38,000 migrants from third countries received a residence permit in Germany because of their work experience and skills. Compared to 2009, it’s an increase of more than 50 percent. Most came from India, Bosnia-Herzegovina, USA, Serbia and China. The immigration of skilled workers from non-EU countries to Germany is increasing. Last year, more than twice as many …

Germany’s Interior Ministry has proposed new measures to monitor and deport persons whose asylum application has been rejected.  The German Interior Ministry on Sunday (18 November) confirmed plans to facilitate and accelerate deportations of failed asylum-seekers along with those who should have their asylum requests processed in another EU country under the so-called Dublin rules. According to the European Union’s Dublin …

People from Germany’s list of “safe” countries rarely have the right to asylum. Keith Walker and Timothy Jones of Deutsche Welle look at what the list means for asylum-seekers in Germany. Germany’s constitution defines as “safe countries of origin” the ones “in which, on the basis of their laws, enforcement practices and general political conditions, it can be safely concluded …

Events were held across Germany on Monday (12 November) to mark the centennial anniversary of women’s right to vote. “Today, no one will laugh when a little girl says she wants to be a minister or the German chancellor,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said at an event in Berlin. She however warned against setbacks in women’s rights. The fact Germany has …

“I will not be seeking any political post after my tenure ends,” Angela Merkel told a news conference in Berlin on Monday. After 18 years, Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced her decision to step down as the leader of the governing CDU. Merkel made the announcement on Monday after a meeting of the party’s leadership in Berlin. “This chancellorship is …

According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of people dependent on social assistance dropped in 2017 and, in particular, the number of recipients under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act declined sharply. The number of people in Germany who depend on minimum social assistance (Sozialhilfe) has fallen. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden on Friday (20 October), …

Bloggers from across Africa and its Diaspora will gather in Berlin on 2 November for the first “Afro-Bloggers Convention”. The event, organised by Afrobizgermany.com, an online platform that projects the Black community in Germany to the outside world, is aimed at bringing Afro-bloggers together to discuss “The impact of blogging in our community”. The one-day event features discussions, workshops and …

The annual African Youth Education Awards (AYEA) took place on Saturday and was attended by more than 400 guests from across Germany. The event, which showcases the success of young people with African background in their educational endeavours, was attended by, among other dignitaries, the Mayor of Hamburg-Mitte, Falko Drossmann, and the ambassadors of Ghana and Nigeria to Germany, H.E …

Thousands rallied in Berlin on Saturday against racism, xenophobia and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in one of the country’s biggest rallies of recent years. Organisers put the turnout at 242,000 people, who came from across Germany. The demonstration followed neo-Nazi anti-immigration protests in several eastern cities during the summer. The protests, organised by a broad alliance of associations, …