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Merkel meets Erdogan for a farewell meeting in Istanbul

Merkel meets Erdogan for a farewell meeting in Istanbul

Erdogan expressed hope that the successful process carried out with the outgoing Chancellor would continue with the new German government in the upcoming period…reports Asian Lite News

Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a farewell meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, just days ahead of her departure from the post after 16 years in office.

During their meeting at the Huber Presidential Mansion along the shores of the Bosphorus Strait, the two leaders on Saturday discussed ties between Turkey and Germany, Ankara’s membership bid to the European Union, irregular migration, and a series of regional issues, reports Xinhua news agency.

Merkel meets Erdogan for a farewell meeting in Istanbul

The Turkish leader said at a joint press conference with Merkel that racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and discrimination remain the main problem for the Turkish community in Europe, calling on European nations to take effective measures against all discriminatory treatments and racist attacks.

Erdogan expressed hope that the successful process carried out with the outgoing Chancellor would continue with the new German government in the upcoming period.

For her part, Merkel said that the EU’s support to Turkey on irregular migration would continue, noting “our peace and security are attached to the other”.

ALSO READ: Xi, Merkel discuss bilateral ties

Turkey, a key transit point for asylum seekers on their way to Europe, hosts more than 4 million refugees, including 3.6 million Syrians, within its borders. The country has been lately witnessing an increased influx of Afghan refugees fleeing turmoil in their homeland.

Merkel will retire from politics after 16 years as Chancellor following the national elections held in September.

She has already made farewell visits to Israel, Italy, Belgium and Spain.

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Europe

SPD wins most seats beating Merkel bloc in German polls

It marks the end of the dominant role of the conservatives led by Merkel for over a decade in the country’s Bundestag, or the lower house of Parliament…reports Asian Lite News.

Germany’s centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by incumbent Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, has won the general election with 25.7 per cent of the vote, beating the conservative union CDU/CSU and bringing an end of the Angela Merkel era, according to the provisional election results released on Monday.

The SDP’s share of the vote surged by 5.2 percentage points from four years ago, while its main rival the conservative union of Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party Christian Social Union (CSU) suffered heavy losses, reports Xinhua news.

The provisional results showed the CDU/CSU union took only 24.1 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s parliamentary election, 8.9 percentage points lower than in the last polls.

It marks the end of the dominant role of the conservatives led by Merkel for over a decade in the country’s Bundestag, or the lower house of Parliament.

Meanwhile, the Green Party received 14.8 per cent of votes in the election, making it the third-largest political faction in parliament, followed by the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the right-wing and Eurosceptic party Alternative for Germany with 11.5 per cent and 10.3 per cent respectively, according to the Federal Returning Officer.

Scoring 4.9 per cent of the vote, the far-left Die Linke (Left Party) failed to pass the five-percent threshold to enter Parliament.

Sunday’s elections were of great importance as Merkel will no longer continue in politics after almost 16 years in office.

As she will retire from her political career, Germany and, to some extent, the European Union will enter a new era with unclear prospects.

ALSO READ-Germany offers $11.7mn for Afghan people support programme

READ MORE-Germany temporarily halts development aid for Afghanistan

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-Top News Europe

Germans vote in close election to decide Merkel successor

The election is expected to yield a splintered parliament, which will force the winner to form a three-way coalition to secure a majority…reports Asian Lite News.

Germans went to the polls on Sunday in a national election too close to call, with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) mounting a strong challenge to retiring Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives.

Merkel has been in power since 2005 but plans to step down after the election, making the vote an era-changing event to set the future course of Europe’s largest economy.

A fractured electorate means that after the election, leading parties will sound each other out before embarking on more formal coalition negotiations that could take months, leaving Merkel, 67, in a caretaker role.

“We all sense that this is a very important federal election,” Laschet told journalists after voting in his home constituency of Aachen. “It is a federal election that will decide the direction of Germany in coming years and therefore every vote counts.” Running against Laschet is Olaf Scholz of the SPD, the finance minister in Merkel’s right-left coalition who won all three televised debates between the leading candidates.

Scholz, 63, has seen his party’s lead over the conservatives squeezed to 1-3 points in final opinion polls, leaving Laschet with a chance of clinching a narrow victory.

“I hope that as many citizens as possible will go and vote and make a very strong result for the SPD possible and give me the mandate to become the next chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,” Scholz said after casting a ballot in his own constituency of Potsdam near Berlin.

The election commissioner said turnout stood at 36.5% at 2 p.m. local time (1200 GMT), down from 41.1% four years ago. The figure does not include postal votes, which are expected to exceed those cast in the 2017 election given the coronavirus pandemic.

The election is expected to yield a splintered parliament, which will force the winner to form a three-way coalition to secure a majority.

The most likely coalition scenarios see either the SPD or the conservative CDU/CSU bloc – whoever comes first – forming an alliance with the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP).

Scholz told supporters in Potsdam on Saturday that his preferred outcome was for the SPD and Greens to secure a majority to rule alone without a third partner.

Both the conservatives and the FDP reject a European “debt union” and want to ensure that joint European Union borrowing to finance the bloc’s coronavirus recovery package remains a one-off. The SPD has talked about taking steps towards a fiscal union.

The Greens favour a common European fiscal policy to support investment in the environment, research, infrastructure and education.

Scholz has not ruled out a leftist coalition with the Greens and the Left party, which wants to pull Germany out of NATO, a red line for the SPD.

ALSO READ-Blinken Departs For Qatar, Germany To Intensify Afghanistan Diplomacy

READ MORE-Germany offers $11.7mn for Afghan people support programme

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-Top News Europe UK News

Johnson set to welcome Merkel for final UK visit

The Chancellor will also address a virtual meeting of the British Cabinet – the first foreign leader to do so since President Bill Clinton addressed Cabinet in 1997, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to make her final official visit to the UK on Friday for talks with the prime minister before she steps down from her post later this year.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the German Chancellor will discuss Covid travel restrictions, trade and post-Brexit relations, the BBC reported.

The meeting will take place at the prime minister’s country residence of Chequers, in Buckinghamshire.

The Chancellor will also address a virtual meeting of the British Cabinet – the first foreign leader to do so since President Bill Clinton addressed Cabinet in 1997. Merkel will later visit the Queen at Windsor Castle.

Johnson is expected to announce the creation of an annual £10,000 award for a UK or Germany-based female scientist who has excelled in the field of astrophysics. The medal will be named after Caroline Herschel, a German-born British astrophysicist who was a pioneer in the field.

Chancellor Merkel is herself a scientist by training. She was honoured in 2010 by the Royal Society with the King Charles II Medal, which is awarded to foreign Heads of State or Government who have made an outstanding contribution to furthering scientific research in their country.

“The UK and Germany have a steadfast friendship and a shared outlook on many issues. Our scientists, innovators and industrialists work together every day to make the world a better place,” Johnson, speaking ahead of Merkel’s visit, said.

“Over the 16 years of Chancellor Merkel’s tenure the UK-Germany relationship has been re-energised and re-invigorated for a new era. And the new joint ventures we will agree today will leave a legacy that will last for generations,” he added.

This will be Merkel’s 22nd visit to the UK since taking office in 2005 and is one of a series of farewell trips, with US President Joe Biden among those expected to host her later in the summer, according to BBC report.

Merkel is thought to want to ban all UK tourists from entering the European Union because of concerns over the Delta Covid variant.

Johnson is expected to announce the latest steps towards ending lockdown in England over the next few days, with international travel high on the agenda.

In contrast to Merkel, he said on Thursday that double vaccinations could be a “liberator” as millions of people plan their summer break.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson chairs a Bilateral with the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel at the G7 Leaders Summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

Also, Johnson and Merkel are expected to agree a number of new initiatives to expand the links between the UK and Germany across a range of sectors.

It include annual joint meetings of the UK and German Cabinets. This will be the first arrangement of its kind for the UK and an opportunity to share expertise and expand joint working between the governments.

It will also include the establishment of a new UK-German Cultural Dialogue which will meet annually to bring together cultural figures from both the countries and create new opportunities for talented young people.

ALSO READ-Boris delays end of lockdown in UK

READ MORE-Boris rules out Wuhan lab leak theory

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-Top News EU News

Putin, Merkel, Macron hold talks on int’l affairs

Russian President Vladimir Putin

The leaders paid particular attention to joining efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, including the possibility of registering, using and producing the Russian vaccine Sputnik V in European Union (EU) countries…reports Asian Lite News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy3d6MElnD0

Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron held a video-conference on Tuesday to discuss cooperation and international affairs, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The leaders paid particular attention to joining efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, including the possibility of registering, using and producing the Russian vaccine Sputnik V in European Union (EU) countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

As for the situation in Ukraine, Putin urged Kiev to fulfill agreements on establishing direct dialogue with Donbass and settling the legal issues regarding the region’s special status.

The Russian side voiced “serious concerns” over the escalation of the armed confrontation between the Donbass insurgents and the Ukrainian government forces, which was “provoked” by Kiev.

Also read:Putin invites Biden to virtual talks

Discussing the situation in Belarus, Putin stressed the inadmissibility of external interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.

Putin reiterated Russia’s readiness to restore “normal, depoliticized” interactions with the EU, if the bloc shows reciprocal interest.

According to the Kremlin, the three leaders expressed support for preserving and implementing the Iran nuclear deal and further coordinating steps in this direction.

Putin explained to Merkel and Macron the case of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

They also discussed the situations in Syria and Libya.

Also read:Putin to run for two more terms

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-Top News EU News

Germany cancels plan for Easter lockdown

Merkel
“This mistake is mine and mine alone,” stressed Merkel. As chancellor, she said she was ready to take the ultimate responsibility…reports Asian Lite News.

Celebrations amid pandemic is really tough to the common people and to the authority too. The planned hard Covid-19 lockdown over the Easter holidays in Germany that was only agreed has been cancelled, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced after calling a press conference at short notice.

Although a complete shutdown in Germany next week was originally announced with “the best of intentions” in order to slow down and reverse the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the idea was a “mistake”, Merkel said on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the chancellor, a complete five-day lockdown over the Easter holidays could not be properly implemented. Far too many questions — from the continued payment of wages due to lost working hours to the situation in stores and businesses — could not be resolved “in such a short time”.

“This mistake is mine and mine alone,” stressed Merkel. As chancellor, she said she was ready to take the ultimate responsibility. “A mistake has to be named as a mistake, and above all, it must be corrected, and if possible in time.”

Also Read-Merkel’s CDU faces losses in state polls

Merkel said she regretted that the announcement on Tuesday caused additional uncertainty and apologised to all German citizens. “I am deeply convinced that we will defeat the virus together,” stressed Merkel. “The path is difficult and rocky; it is marked by successes but also by mistakes and setbacks.”

Prior to her public announcement, Merkel unexpectedly invited the minister-presidents of Germany’s federal states to a virtual meeting. On April 12, Merkel and the minister presidents are scheduled to meet again to decide the country’s next steps.

Also Read-We weren’t careful enough: Merkel

Read More-Merkel’s CDU faces losses in state polls

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-Top News EU News

Germany set to return to lockdown

Passengers wearing face masks are seen at Cologne Bonn Airport in Cologne, Germany

Officials confirmed that an “emergency brake” is the need of the hour amid steep hike in Covid-19 cases…reports Asian Lite News

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will join state leaders on Monday to discuss whether a return to a harder lockdown is needed after the country surpassed a key threshold in coronavirus infection numbers.

Despite hopes for more lockdown relaxations in time for the Easter holiday weekend, which falls at the start of April this year, Germany is likely to halt its plans for reopenings after the seven-day incidence of new infections passed the critical benchmark on Sunday, reports dpa news agency.

Officials previously agreed to use an “emergency brake” and renew restrictions if the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants during the course of a week exceeded the threshold of 100 for three consecutive days.

On Sunday, this seven-day incidence figure rose to 103.9.

Government officials and state leaders, speaking online, are also set to debate the possibility of at least allowing citizens to travel to holiday homes in their own state during the Easter holidays.

As of Monday morning, Germany has reported 2,670,001 coronavirus cases and 74,715 deaths.

Also read:Klopp Backs Down for Germany Coaching Job