Friday's top story: 'Frugal' EU states call for hundreds of billions in budget cuts
A group of six fiscally conservative European Union member states, led by Germany, has called for sweeping reductions to the European Commission’s proposed €2 trillion long-term budget, arguing that the plan is unaffordable in the current economic climate.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hosted the leaders of Austria, Denmark and Finland in Berlin on Thursday, with Sweden and the Netherlands joining remotely. The meeting was aimed at coordinating positions ahead of negotiations on the EU’s 2028-34 Multiannual Financial Framework.
In a joint statement, the countries said the Commission’s proposal should be reduced by “several hundred billion euros” and refocused on priorities including security, defence, competitiveness, migration and European sovereignty.
They argued that, as national governments are being forced to make difficult spending cuts, the EU budget should not be exempt from fiscal restraint.
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Merz insisted the group was “not stingy” but said the Commission’s spending plans did not reflect current realities. The six countries also rejected new common EU borrowing and opposed increases in staffing at EU institutions.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stressed the need for greater defence spending and continued support for Ukraine, warning that Russia posed an ongoing threat to Europe’s security. Negotiations are expected to intensify ahead of a December deadline for agreement.
Merz clashes with doctor over healthcare cuts on live television
Thursday was a busy day for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who later became embroiled in a tense exchange with a paediatrician during a televised town-hall-style programme. The doctor accused him of breaking his oath of office through planned cuts to healthcare spending.
Speaking on RTL’s At the Table with Friedrich Merz, the doctor from Lower Saxony challenged the chancellor over the government’s healthcare austerity package.
She alleged that the measures were inhumane, harmful to children and showed contempt for human life.
Merz responded sharply, describing the remarks as a personal attack that went beyond legitimate political criticism.
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The chancellor rejected accusations that he was knowingly violating his constitutional responsibilities or deliberately damaging children’s futures.
He also dismissed claims that the healthcare reforms unfairly burden insured patients, arguing that savings measures had been distributed across the healthcare sector and that all stakeholders had been asked to contribute.
Merz also faced criticism from a father who said politicians were failing families. “I think your criticism is a bit too harsh,” replied the chancellor.
Berlin pay dispute fuels concerns over public servant support ahead of election
The Berliner Zeitung reported on Thursday that outgoing Governing Mayor Kai Wegner of the CDU said in a closed meeting that police officers and firefighters were increasingly drifting toward the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
According to the report, the cause of their discontent is a long-running dispute over civil servant pay.
In September last year, Germany's Constitutional Court ruled that Berlin's pay levels for public servants had been unconstitutionally low and ordered the state to determine how it would address the issue.
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Recently, a draft proposal was leaked which would provide substantial back payments to some officials, including police officers – but only those who had filed an appeal in recent years.
The plans have angered unions, which say the proposal does the bare minimum required and unfairly excludes many affected workers. The draft was presented by Finance Senator Stefan Evers, who is now the CDU’s top candidate.
Gamescom in Cologne spotlights gaming industry shift away from physical discs
Thousands of gamers, developers and industry executives have gathered in Cologne this week for Gamescom, the world's largest video games trade fair.
Among the biggest talking points is Sony's decision to stop releasing games on physical discs from 2028.
Many attendees described the announcement as the end of an era. Sony helped popularise disc-based gaming with the original PlayStation in the 1990s, but digital downloads now dominate the market, accounting for nearly 82 percent of PlayStation game sales at the start of 2026.
Industry experts say the shift is driven by economics, as digital distribution allows publishers to avoid retail costs and sell directly to consumers.
But critics argue that an all-digital future gives players less control over the games they buy, because digital titles cannot be resold or lent.
The debate has intensified ahead of the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, whose boxed version contains only a download code.
Melting glacier reunites German mountaineer with backpack lost in 1963
A melting glacier in the Austrian Alps has helped solve a six-decade-old mystery, reuniting a German mountaineer with equipment he lost during a dramatic rescue in 1963.
The discovery was made earlier this summer when a hiker found a backpack at nearly 3,000 metres on the Sulztalferner glacier in Tyrol, an area that has shrunk significantly in recent decades.
Inside the weathered pack were an ice axe, a camera, a whistle and documents that appeared to be decades old. After an investigation, police identified the owner as an 86-year-old man from the Regensburg region of Bavaria.
The elderly mountaineer told investigators he had been hiking with friends on the glacier in August 1963 when he fell into a crevasse.
Because the group was roped together, his companions were able to stop his fall and pull him to safety. To make the rescue easier, he threw his backpack into the crevasse and assumed it was lost forever.
With reporting by AFP and DPA.
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