Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet plans to approve the law change on Wednesday and send it to parliament, the Handelsblatt business daily said, without citing its sources. The update of the Foreign Trade Regulation would allow the German government to review or bloc foreign purchases of stakes as low as 10 percent in such companies, down from 25 percent now. The rule would apply to "security relevant" companies that are crucial to Germany's defence or "critical infrastructure", including many high-tech and power companies but also large food producers. Germany and other European Union member states have voiced growing concern in recent years as Chinese companies have bought up, or purchased controlling stakes in, airports, harbours and high-tech firms. Chinese appliance giant Midea in mid-2016 took over German industrial robotics supplier Kuka, sparking alarm in Germany about valuable knowhow being transferred abroad. … [Read more...] about Germany to tighten rules on foreign takeovers: report
Germany
How Germany invented Christmas as we know it
In the English-speaking world, it’s not uncommon to hear people speaking about feeling “christmassy” during the festive period, a somewhat clunky term referring to that warm, cosy feeling traditionally associated with the holiday. The German-speaking world, however, has a far more precise way of describing this feeling. “Gemütlichkeit”, with no direct translation into English, denotes a state of coziness, warmth and contentedness, as well as carrying connotations of belonging. You might use it to describe a scene of sipping hot Glühwein at Christmas, surrounded by your friends and family. It seems natural that German should have more effective ways of expressing Christmas feeling when you consider that Germany is the birthplace of Christmas celebrations as the world today knows them. The images and symbols that immediately spring to mind when most people think of Christmas - trees strung with lights, gingerbread, Santa Claus - all have … [Read more...] about How Germany invented Christmas as we know it
Amazon workers on strike in Germany a week before Christmas
Updated 12:32 am PST, Monday, December 17, 2018 FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, post trucks leave the Amazon Logistic Center in Rheinberg, Germany. Workers at two Amazon distribution centers in Germany have gone on strike as part of a push for improved work conditions, leading to fears that Christmas orders may not arrive in time. The German news agency dpa reported that workers in Leipzig in eastern Germany and Werne in western Germany went on strike early Monday. less FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, post trucks leave the Amazon Logistic Center in Rheinberg, Germany. Workers at two Amazon distribution centers in Germany have gone on strike as part of ... more Photo: Martin Meissner, AP Photo: Martin Meissner, AP Image 1 of / 3 Caption … [Read more...] about Amazon workers on strike in Germany a week before Christmas
Germany to compensate hundreds who fled Nazis as children
David Rising, Associated Press Updated 11:11 pm CST, Sunday, December 16, 2018 BERLIN (AP) — Germany has agreed to one-time payments for survivors, primarily Jews, who were evacuated from Nazi Germany as children, many of whom never saw their parents again, the organization that negotiates compensation with the German government said Monday. The New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany said the government had agreed to payments of 2,500 euros ($2,800) to those still alive from among the 10,000 people who fled on the so-called "Kindertransport." This year is the 80th anniversary of beginning of the transport of the children to Britain from Nazi Germany and elsewhere in Europe. About 1,000 survivors are thought to be alive today, with about half living in Britain, and the payment is seen as a "symbolic recognition of their suffering," Claims Conference negotiator Greg Schneider said. "In almost all the cases the parents who remained were … [Read more...] about Germany to compensate hundreds who fled Nazis as children
Germany integrating migrants quickly, according to business chief
"Today more than 400,000 are in employment or training... even I am surprised at how quickly it's progressing," Ingo Kramer, head of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. "The vast majority are in jobs subject to social security contributions, and that integrates them into society," he added. "Business leaders are getting it done." Kramer's optimistic tone matches that from the Federal Labour Agency (BA), which counts 30,000 young refugees currently in training. But some 177,000 refugees were still registered as unemployed in November. SEE ALSO: How Germany plans to fight worker shortage with new immigration law German Chancellor Angela Merkel chose in late summer 2015 not to close Germany's borders to hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the Middle East and Africa. The decision stoked support for the anti-immigration populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD), ultimately ushering a potent far-right political … [Read more...] about Germany integrating migrants quickly, according to business chief