Germany edition

Von_der_leyen

The following articles have been tagged with "Von_der_leyen":

Robust Germany faces rising 'burnout' problem

Society: 6 Feb 12
Germany, holding up better than its eurozone partners in the current economic crisis, is battling the increasingly widespread phenomenon of "burnout" which is supposedly costing its economy billions of euros each year. READ »

Pressure on Wulff now from own party

Politics: 11 Jan 12
Embattled President Christian Wulff’s woes are continuing, with party colleagues piling on the pressure about his lack of transparency and open discussions being held about who could replace him. READ »

Ex-Chancellor Schröder's wife enters politics

Politics: 9 Jan 12
The wife of former Chancellor Gehard Schröder will enter politics in her own right, it was reported on Monday – she intends to run for a seat in the Lower Saxony state parliament in the 2013 state election. READ »

German jobs, retail sales offer rare eurozone cheer

Business & Money: 30 Nov 11
Germany provided a rare ray of light in the eurozone gloom on Wednesday, with record low unemployment and surprisingly good retail data showing Europe's top economy is holding up well in the crisis. READ »

Putting Bavarian housewives before disadvantaged children

Analysis & Opinion: 9 Nov 11
Bavarian conservatives’ insistence on paying parents to keep their children out of public day care has made a mockery of Angela Merkel’s family policies, writes Der Tagesspiegel’s Hans Monath. READ »

Top firms unveil plan to increase female execs

Business & Money: 17 Oct 11
The 30 leading German companies belonging to the blue-chip stock DAX stock index unveiled a plan Monday to bring more women into management, but stopped short of making quotas compulsory. READ »

Coalition hatches new minimum wage plan

Politics: 26 Sep 11
Labor Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Monday she approves of Development Minister Dirk Niebel's plan to introduce commissions to decide a minimum wage. READ »

Elderly face growing risk of poverty, warns OECD

Business & Money: 6 Sep 11
Germans face a growing risk of living out their old age in poverty as low-earners fail to set aside enough for their retirement, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has warned. READ »

Tight job market exposes looming worker deficit

Business & Money: 4 Aug 11
Germany’s tight labour market is slowly tumbling towards crisis, with a new study suggesting there will be 3.5 million unfilled jobs by 2025 and industry expecting around 70,000 training places to be empty this year. READ »

Big majority in favor of gender quota for execs

Business & Money: 31 Jul 11
A new poll finds that 70 percent of Germans are in favor of a mandatory quota for women in executive positions at German companies. Even a majority of men have signed on to the idea. READ »

Gene tests for IVF embryos legalised

Society: 7 Jul 11
Couples using in vitro fertilisation can have embryos screened to ensure their child will not develop any serious hereditary disease or disability under a milestone law passed Thursday by Germany’s parliament. READ »

Thousands of people march in world's longest parade

Society: 3 Jul 11
Around 10,000 people marched through the streets of Hannover on Sunday in the traditional Schützenausmarsch or Marksmen’s Parade, in what is claimed to be longest parade in the world. READ »

Foreign professionals the economy needs 'not attracted' to Germany

Business & Money: 22 Jun 11
While German industry continues to try to fill jobs remaining empty as the economy grows, politicians are split on how and even whether to attract foreign professionals, while others say Germany is simply not attractive enough to them. READ »

Handful of arrests on mostly quiet May Day

Society: 2 May 11
Police arrested several people after left-wing extremists and the police clashed in the German capital late Sunday following peaceful May Day marches by tens of thousands in the city. READ »

Jobless rate hovers around 20-year low

Business & Money: 28 Apr 11
Unemployment in Germany dropped slightly in April, hovering around the lowest level for about 20 years, official statistics showed on Thursday, as Europe's top economy continues to power ahead. READ »

Mixed feelings as labour market expands

Business & Money: 25 Apr 11
Politicians, labour representatives and employers are looking towards next weekend with varied feelings as the date approaches when people from eight new EU member countries will have the right to work in Germany. READ »

Government will prompt welfare families to get help for children

National: 20 Apr 11
So few recipients of Hartz IV welfare benefits have applied for financial help for their children that German Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen is preparing to write to each family to let them know what they are missing. READ »

Boring Steinmeier charms his way back into Germany's heart

Politics: 8 Apr 11
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the owlish Social Democrat deemed too boring to be chancellor when he ran against Angela Merkel in 2009, is now the most popular politician in the country, a poll revealed Friday. READ »

Cabinet moves to erase child porn sites

National: 6 Apr 11
The centre-right coalition cabinet has decided to remove online child pornography, burying an earlier initiative to block it by former Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen, dubbed “Censorsula” by internet activists. READ »

Top corporations resist quota for hiring women execs

Business & Money: 30 Mar 11
Germany's top companies pledged Wednesday to publish new targets for placing more women in their boardrooms but resisted fresh calls for legal quotas to rectify a wide gender gap. READ »

German media roundup: A seismic shift for Merkel's coalition?

Analysis & Opinion: 28 Mar 11
With the Greens emerging as the winners of two state elections, has there been a seismic shift in Germany’s political landscape? Newspapers in The Local’s media roundup sift through the wreckage Chancellor Merkel’s coalition. READ »

Government to meet with DAX firms over women execs

Society: 8 Mar 11
The federal government is planning a meeting with human resources directors from Germany's 30 DAX companies to tackle the issue of an absence of women in top management jobs, according to a newspaper report. READ »

Bundesrat passes Hartz IV welfare reforms

National: 25 Feb 11
After months of political wrangling, Germany’s upper house of parliament on Friday finally approved an increase of €5 to Hartz IV welfare benefits. But a separate court decision said those on the dole should expect payment for TVs. READ »

Breakthrough forged in Hartz IV welfare talks

Politics: 21 Feb 11
After some eight weeks of difficult talks between the German government and the opposition, the two sides reached a deal to tweak Hartz IV welfare benefits early on Monday morning. READ »

New round of Hartz IV reform talks fails

Politics: 9 Feb 11
The German government and the opposition have failed once again to reach a deal on reforms to Hartz IV welfare benefits, negotiators announced early Wednesday. At issue is the amount paid to the long-term unemployed. READ »

Hartz IV reform talks end without results

Politics: 7 Feb 11
Government and opposition officials failed to agree on changes to Germany’s Hartz IV welfare benefits after nearly 10 hours of negotiations overnight, shrinking chances that the upper house of parliament will vote on the reforms this week. READ »

Majority thinks quota needed for women execs

Politics: 4 Feb 11
Most Germans doubt that companies will boost the representation of women on their boards unless they are forced to do so by a mandatory quota, a poll published Friday found. READ »

Schröder for gradual quota for women execs

Politics: 4 Feb 11
Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out a mandatory quota for women in executive positions at big firms this week, but on Friday Family Minister Kristina Schröder said she was still pushing a graduated scheme to achieve the same ends. READ »

Merkel rules out quota for women execs

Politics: 3 Feb 11
Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out a mandatory quota for women in executive positions at German firms late on Wednesday, effectively ending an internal debate within her party on the subject. READ »

Ministers at odds over jobs quota for women

Politics: 31 Jan 11
Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen and Family Minister Kristina Schröder were at loggerheads Monday on whether to enforce a quota for women in top jobs in German firms. READ »

Unemployment falls to 7.7 percent in 2010

Business & Money: 4 Jan 11
Unemployment dropped last year to 7.7 percent of the workforce amid Germany's strong economic recovery, official figures showed on Tuesday. READ »

Jobless benefit bill to be slashed in 2011

Business & Money: 30 Dec 10
The number of people receiving jobless benefits can be dramatically slashed next year, saving taxpayers nearly €1 billion, according to German officials. READ »

Bundesrat blocks welfare changes

Politics: 17 Dec 10
Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition suffered a legislative setback on Friday, when the upper house of parliament blocked proposed changes to the country’s Hartz IV welfare benefits. The defeat could delay plans to implement the reforms. READ »

Labour Ministry to remove hurdles for some foreign workers

Business & Money: 2 Dec 10
German Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday she plans to remove job market restrictions for foreign workers in those sectors desperately needing qualified workers, including engineers and doctors. READ »

Von der Leyen calls for fresh ideas on immigration

Society: 28 Nov 10
The government should stop fretting about past mistakes in integration policy and find ways to attract educated immigrants to the country, Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday. READ »

Minister floats minimum wage for temp workers

Politics: 24 Nov 10
Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen called on Wednesday for a minimum wage for temporary jobs in Germany to prevent foreign workers undercutting salaries. READ »

Labour Ministry defends raising retirement to 67

Business & Money: 17 Nov 10
Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday defended the controversial decision to increase Germany's retirement age from 65 to 67 staring in 2012, saying the country had no alternative as society continued to age rapidly. READ »

Unemployment falls below key 3-million mark

Business & Money: 27 Oct 10
The number of unemployed has dropped below the key three million level in Germany, Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday, helped by a mix of government measures and reforms. READ »

Rising star Guttenberg outshines Merkel

Politics: 20 Oct 10
Nearly a quarter of voters believe the conservative rising star Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg would make a better chancellor than the embattled Angela Merkel, a poll published Wednesday found. READ »

Merkel joins Seehofer to bury multiculturalism

Politics: 17 Oct 10
Chancellor Angela Merkel positioned herself closely to controversial Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer at the weekend, saying the concept of multiculturalism had failed utterly. READ »

Government admits to Hartz IV reform error

Politics: 29 Sep 10
The Labour Ministry admitted on Wednesday it made a numerical error in its draft law on the controversial €5 rise in long-term unemployment benefits, fuelling opposition claims that the new rate has been calculated in a slipshod manner. READ »

Government under fire for €5 Hartz IV increase

Politics: 27 Sep 10
Opposition parties and welfare advocates gathered their forces on Monday to launch a major attack on the government’s modest €5-a-month rise in long-term unemployment payments. READ »

Von der Leyern defends welfare changes

National: 23 Sep 10
German Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday defended her proposed changes to the country’s Hartz IV welfare benefits against criticism from the opposition, which has said the plans are still too vague. READ »

Von der Leyen under fire for Hartz IV changes

Politics: 21 Sep 10
Opposition parties on Tuesday blasted Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen’s announcement about changes to Hartz IV unemployment benefits, saying she had dodged the question about the precise rise in rates. READ »

Labour Ministry wants to ditch 'Hartz IV' for easier welfare benefits name

National: 15 Sep 10
The Labour Ministry said Wednesday it wants to abolish the term that describes welfare benefits, Hartz IV, from general German usage in favour of one that can be more easily understood. READ »

Deadbeat parents should be fined, FDP politician says

Society: 13 Sep 10
'Reluctant' parents should be penalised for not disciplining their children and making sure they stay in school, general secretary for the pro-business Free Democrats Christian Lindner said on Monday. READ »

Von der Leyen blasts hard line on immigrants

Politics: 8 Sep 10
As Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen rejected calls to slash welfare payments to unemployed immigrants who don’t send their children to day care, the government on Wednesday pledged to improve its integration efforts. READ »

Deal to keep Karstadt alive moves closer

Business & Money: 3 Sep 10
The prospects for 25,000 employees at the beleaguered department store chain Karstadt are looking brighter after it emerged Thursday night that negotiators were close to striking a deal on reduced rent on the chain’s properties. READ »

Welfare kids to get voucher cards for educational and extracurricular needs

Society: 19 Aug 10
Children of families on Germany's Hartz IV welfare benefits will be given special voucher credit cards for educational and extracurricular activities rather than their parents being handed cash, under a government scheme detailed this week. READ »

Government still divided on education vouchers

Society: 7 Aug 10
Germany's ruling coalition is still undecided on Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen's plan to introduce education vouchers for the children of people on long-term unemployment benefit. READ »

Politicians at odds over unemployment reforms

National: 2 Aug 10
Germany’s ruling centre-right coalition, along with the opposition and social organisations, began bickering on Monday over proposed reforms to the country’s Hartz IV unemployment benefits that could increase payments. READ »

Government planning extensive Hartz IV reforms

National: 31 Jul 10
German Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen is planning corrections to the unemployment benefit known as Hartz IV that will have far-reaching consequences for the long-term unemployed. READ »

German media roundup: Little excitement for Wulff presidency

Analysis & Opinion: 4 Jun 10
The announcement Thursday night that the coalition government was backing Lower Saxony premier Christian Wulff as Germany's new president got a mixed reaction. The Local gauges the mood of the nation's papers. READ »

Merkel nominates Wulff for president

Politics: 3 Jun 10
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right coalition on Thursday nominated Lower Saxony’s premier Christian Wulff to be Germany’s next president. READ »

Talk turns to Christian Wulff for president

Politics: 3 Jun 10
Lower Saxony premier Christian Wulff has replaced Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen as the favourite to become Germany's new president after an abrupt shift in the feverish speculation about the post, media outlets reported Thursday. READ »

Von der Leyen tipped to become president

Politics: 2 Jun 10
Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen is shaping up as the likely choice for Germany’s new president, with Chancellor Angela Merkel strongly backing her conservative colleague, media reports said Wednesday. READ »

Unemployment drops as retail sales rebound

Business & Money: 1 Jun 10
Official data on Tuesday showed German unemployment falling sharply and retail sales picking up, as Europe's biggest economy pushed on despite the eurozone financial crisis. READ »

Merkel begins search for new president

Politics: 1 Jun 10
The leaders of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right coalition gathered in Berlin on Tuesday to discuss potential candidates to replace German President Horst Köhler after his surprise resignation. READ »

Labour minister moots community service for long-term jobless

Society: 31 May 10
Federal Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Monday presented a new plan to give community service jobs to some 33,000 unemployed with “miserable” placement chances. READ »

Brüderle accused of blocking minimum wage for care workers

National: 11 May 10
Public workers’ union Verdi on Tuesday accused Economy Minister Rainer Brüderle of blocking a new deal to provide a minimum wage for those who care for the sick and elderly. READ »

Germany offers world advice on running an efficient economy

Business & Money: 15 Apr 10
Germany offered other countries information on how to run their economies in a more efficient fashion on Thursday with the online publication of documents in English on the "German job miracle." READ »

Von der Leyen tops poll for favourite politician

Politics: 1 Apr 10
Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen has overtaken Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg as Germany’s favourite politician, according to a poll released this week. READ »

EU plan to block web child porn sparks German opposition

National: 30 Mar 10
The debate over whether child pornography websites should be blocked or shut down reignited in Germany on Tuesday, as the EU Commission moved to censor offending content. READ »

Care workers reach long-awaited minimum wage deal

Business & Money: 25 Mar 10
Hundreds of thousands of people who care for the sick and elderly will soon be paid a minimum wage of at least €7.50 per hour, under a deal announced Thursday. READ »

SPD attacked over Hartz IV proposals

Politics: 16 Mar 10
Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen blasted the opposition Social Democrats’ proposals for reforming Hartz IV welfare benefits Tuesday as a “backward” vision that aimed to make recipients “as comfortable as possible.” READ »

Police bust child pornography ring

National: 25 Feb 10
Police in the city of in Münster announced on Thursday they had broken up a major child pornography ring, raiding houses across Germany and arresting eight suspects. READ »

Westerwelle removes gloves in welfare debate

Politics: 14 Feb 10
Vice Chancellor Guido Westerwelle stepped up his attacks on the welfare system Sunday, calling for a complete overhaul and warning that workers were fast becoming “the nation’s suckers.” READ »

Schäuble talks down chances of welfare boost

Politics: 13 Feb 10
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble dampened expectations on Saturday of a rise in Hartz IV unemployment benefits as a feisty debate continued within the government over the future of Germany’s welfare system. READ »

Politicians defend Hartz IV following high court ruling

Politics: 10 Feb 10
Senior government figures defended the maligned Hartz IV welfare system on Wednesday as political fallout continued following the German high court's ruling that the programme is unconstitutional. READ »

Hartz IV welfare benefits ruled unconstitutional

Society: 9 Feb 10
Millions of German families on welfare could receive more government assistance after the nation’s highest court ruled Tuesday the controversial Hartz IV system of payments was unconstitutional. READ »

Springer mulls suing over postal wage chaos

Business & Money: 30 Jan 10
The media giant Axel Springer is considering suing the German government over the minimum wage fiasco currently rocking the postal industry. The Federal Administrative Court recently declared the wage as unlawful. READ »

Is Germany dying out?

Society: 22 Jan 10
“Birth rates at an all-time low!” “The Germans are dying out!” The headlines couldn’t be more alarming, but the statistics behind are more complex. Jacinta Nandi and Ben Knight pick apart Germany’s demographic anxieties. READ »

Köhler refuses to sign controversial internet child porn law

Politics: 28 Nov 09
German President Horst Köhler has hammered another nail in the coffin of a controversial law to block child pornography on the internet by refusing to sign it, news magazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday. READ »

Jung resigns over Afghan air strike

Politics: 27 Nov 09
German Labour Minister Franz Josef Jung resigned on Friday amid accusations of a cover-up surrounding a controversial NATO air strike in Afghanistan during his tenure as defence minister. READ »

Von der Leyen moots expanded child subsidy for poor families

Politics: 20 Nov 09
German Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen has proposed expanding a monthly child subsidy for low income parents, daily Passauer Neue Presse reported on Friday. READ »

Doubts dog Oettinger appointment to Europe

Politics: 26 Oct 09
Stefan Mappus on Monday was chosen to become the new premier of Baden-Württemberg, as the controversy over his predecessor Günther Oettinger’s surprise appointment as Germany’s new EU commissioner deepened. READ »

The main players in Merkel's new cabinet

Politics: 24 Oct 09
Germany's new centre-right coalition will be sworn in on Wednesday, with Chancellor Angela Merkel at its head for a second four-year term. The Local introduces the main players in her cabinet. READ »

Pirate Party fires broadside at German political establishment

Politics: 28 Sep 09
While it didn’t get enough votes to enter parliament, one of Germany's newest parties, the swashbuckling Pirate Party, took a surprising sixth place in the national election on Sunday. READ »

Merkel starts to actively court female voters

Politics: 23 Sep 09
She is Forbes magazine's most powerful woman in the world, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel has a decidedly ambivalent relationship with the role of gender in politics. READ »

CDU touts internet crime watch

Science & Technology: 11 Aug 09
Leading conservative Christian Democrats want to institute stronger control over internet use and conduct police surveillance to prevent crime, daily Rheinische Post reported on Tuesday. READ »

Berlin fusses over EU birth rate study

National: 4 Aug 09
Germany's Ministry of Family Affairs accused EU statisticians on Tuesday of using inaccurate birth rate data in a new study that placed it dead last among European countries. READ »

Child care workers strike again in Stuttgart

National: 17 Jul 09
Unions called a new round of strikes for some 2,000 public child care workers on Friday near Stuttgart, as a seventh round of wage negotiations with state employers has yet to achieve a breakthrough. READ »

Family minister urges end to preschool worker strikes

National: 16 Jul 09
Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen urged a speedy solution to an ongoing labour dispute between public day care workers and state employers ahead of negotiations on Thursday, saying parents can’t handle any more strikes. READ »

The super nanny state

Analysis & Opinion: 14 Jul 09
Roger Boyes, the Berlin correspondent of British daily The Times, expresses concern about the titillating yet terrifying prospect of a “super nanny” state in Germany. READ »

Minister says children don't get equal chances in schools

Society: 13 Jul 09
Children in Germany do not get equal opportunities for success in education, German Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen told daily Bild on Monday, adding that the current system relies too much on family support. READ »

Censorsula can’t stop child porn

Analysis & Opinion: 18 Jun 09
In the latest installment of Portnoy’s Stammtisch, our column about life in Germany, Portnoy slams the government’s attempt to block child pornography online as a ham-fisted assault on civil liberties. READ »

Child porn law sparks web censorship debate

Science & Technology: 18 Jun 09
An attempt to tighten German laws against online child pornography has sparked resistance from some Social Democrats and its intended enforcers. A vote is expected later on Thursday. READ »

More parents lose custody rights

Society: 16 Jun 09
More German parents are being stripped of their child custody rights, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported Tuesday. READ »

Day care strikes called ahead of wage talks

National: 9 Jun 09
Unions called public day care workers to another day of strikes on Tuesday ahead of renewed negotiations with state employers. READ »

Minister blasts reality TV show with borrowed babies

National: 23 May 09
German Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen has urged broadcaster RTL to stop the release of a controversial reality TV show in which teenagers will be filmed looking after babies “donated” to the programme. READ »

Day care workers begin nationwide strike

Business & Money: 15 May 09
Public day care workers began an open-ended strike in five German states on Friday in an ongoing wage and healthcare dispute. Parents were forced to find last-minute alternatives or stay home from work. READ »

Parental leave eased to keep Germans working

Business & Money: 24 Apr 09
German Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen has made parental leave benefits more flexible during the recession so new families don’t have to fear leaving the workforce in a cutthroat job market, daily Bild reported on Friday. READ »