The German government said hundreds of people turned away at the border later applied for asylum. Meanwhile, Berlin’s mayor is warning New Year’s Eve’s trouble makers.
Most German retailers disappointed by Christmas sales so far
Sales in Germany over the Christmas period this year have been disappointing, according to a survey by the HDE German Trade Association.
Two-thirds of businesses surveyed said they were dissatisfied with their Christmas sales, compared to 23% who were satisfied.
Some 71% of the 300 respondents said customer numbers were down this year compared to 2024. Sales also fell on the last Saturday before Christmas.
HDE chief executive Stefan Genth pointed to a low level of turnover and consumer caution.
He said retailers were pinning their hopes on a sales surge before Christmas Eve and in the run-up to the New Year.
Jewish leader warns of normalization of antisemitism in Germany
The president of Germany’s Central Council of Jews has warned that antisemitism is becoming normalized in the country.
In an interview with the dpa news agency following the Bondi Beach attack in Sydney, in which two men killed 15 people attending a Jewish celebration, Josef Schuster said data shows that antisemitism is consolidating “at a high, far too high, level.”
“Much worse, my feeling is that our society is experiencing a habituation and normalization effect regarding antisemitism. That must not happen,” Schuster added.
He said that the “degree of habituation to antisemitism” had become so high that it is “widely accepted that Jewish life is only possible under immense protective efforts” and that political measures to tackle it were often exhausted.
“These conditions are intolerable,” he said.
Schuster pointed out that antisemitism had “surged explosively” since the start of the conflict in Gaza in 2023. He said the recent relative easing of hostilities in Gaza had not resulted in a decline.
He said he was “very grateful” to German authorities for the security arrangements protecting Jewish communities, and called on politicians and civil society to work towards eliminating hatred of Jews.
“Only then is the vision of Jewish life without a protective shield conceivable,” Schuster said.
Over 100,000 visas issued for family reunification in 2025
German authorities issued more than 100,000 family reunification visas this year.
According to figures from the Foreign Ministry reported by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, 101,756 visas were issued by the end of November.
The numbers continue a downward trend observed in recent years. In 2023, a record of more than 130,000 family reunification visas were issued, falling to 120,000 in 2024.
The continued decline comes after the federal government in July suspended family reunification for people with subsidiary protection for two years. This primarily affects Syrian war refugees.
According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), subsidiary protection applies when a person from abroad does not qualify for refugee protection or asylum, but they still face “serious harm” such as the death penalty or torture in their country of origin.
Most applicants were Turkish (14,907) and Syrian (13,148), followed by Indians (9,286), people from Kosovo (7,143) and Albania (4,426).
The most common type of visa was for spouses of foreigners living in Germany, with 44,426 issued through November.
A third of cases (37,227) were visas issued for children to join their parents. Around 3,500 were for parents to move to be with their children.
UK’s Erasmus re-entry welcomed by German body
The German-British Chamber of Commerce (AHK) has welcomed the UK’s re-admission to the European Union’s Erasmus program, following a hiatus due to Brexit.
Ulrich Hoppe, head of the German-British Chamber of Commerce (AHK), said in an interview to German DPA news agency the move will allow young people “to gather valuable academic and professional experience across the English Channel.”
The UK left the Erasmus program in January 2020, as one of many consequences of its EU exit.
The Erasmus program is an EU educational initiative which allows students from across the EU to study in other member-countries of the bloc. Before Brexit, British students were therefore allowed to study in other EU countries and vice versa.
Magdeburg in grief one year after Christmas market attack
On December 20, 2024, six people were killed at the Christmas market in central Magdeburg — five women and a nine-year-old boy — and more than 300 were injured, some seriously, when a man drove a vehicle into the crowd.
A year on, the perpetrator’s precise motives remain unclear, while residents continue to carry the shock and grief.
Zero tolerance for crimes during NYE celebrations, Berlin mayor says
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner said those causing trouble ahead of New Year’s Eve will face the consequences.
“Anyone causing a disturbance or committing a crime will feel the force of the law,” he told German DPA news agency in an interview.
While emphasizing people should enjoy the New Year’s celebrations, Wegner warned that those committing criminal offences will be faced by a determined police operation.
“We will do everything to ensure that the night will be peaceful and happy, as we ring in the New Year,” the German capital’s conservative mayor said.
Germany: 1,600 asylum requests by people rejected at border
Some 1,600 people who had been denied entry into Germany at the border have later sought asylum in the country, German authorities have said.
The number of asylum applications from people who had been refused entry since the intensification of the country’s border checks earlier this year reached 1,582 between May 7 and October 31, the German DPA news agency reported, citing a response to a parliamentary inquiry by the Greens.
The government did not say where the asylum seekers applied from.
This comes as Germany’s conservative-led government looks to curb immigration, as promised in its campaign ahead of the 2025 election.
Border checks are normally not conducted within the Schengen area, a border-free zone including most European Union countries as well as a few countries not in the bloc.
But since coming to power in May, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has intensified already placed border checks, and ordered authorities to turn away all asylum seekers except some vulnerable groups.
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Source : https://www.dw.com/en/germany-1600-asylum-requests-by-people-rejected-at-border/live-75251407
