Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap from me, Jakub Krupa.
Here are the three things to take away from today’s blog:
The German parliament has narrowly passed a motion calling for radical tightening of the country’s immigration and asylum rules (16:45 and 16:59) after a series of recent knife attacks. The non-binding motion (17:11), proposed by the main opposition party CDU/CSU which is on course to win the next month’s parliamentary election, was backed by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party. It was the first time in the history of the federal German parliament that a motion backed by the far-right was adopted, breaking a longstanding taboo (“firewall”) on cooperation with the anti-immigration party. AfD leader Alice Weidel called it a “historic day for Germany” (18:47).
Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić pardoned 13 people arrested during a string of recent mass demonstrations over the fatal collapse of a train station roof in November. The move comes a day after the resignation of prime minister Miloš Vučević, and amid speculations about a potential snap election to find a way out of the current political crisis (18:31).
Greenlanders are overwhelmingly against the idea of coming under US control, despite increasingly assertive rhetoric from US president Donald Trump that he would want to “get” the island (9:59).
That’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today. See you tomorrow.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Updated
‘Historic day for Germany,’ far-right AfD leader Alice Weidel says
Alternative für Deutschland leader Alice Weidel posted her reaction to the vote on social media, calling it “a historic day for Germany, a victory for democracy,” after a non-binding motion calling for radical overhaul and tightening of the immigration rules passed in the Bundestag.
Deutsche Welle notes that it was the first time in the history of the federal German parliament that an AfD-supported motion was passed.
Back to Germany:
Speaking after the vote, SPD’s parliamentary party leader Rolf Mützenich said it was “a turning point,” and accused the CDU/CSU of “breaking the political centre” by seemingly carrying the motion with the votes of the far-right AfD.
Merz said that his party would bring a further draft bill on immigration, including rules on family reunification, on Friday. He said he was not looking to get majority with the AfD votes, and instead hoped that some of the mainstream parties would join him in backing the proposal or enter into talks on other solutions.
As Kate explained earlier (14:58), the Friday vote will not be on a motion, but a draft bill. If passed, it would be still subject to approval from the other chamber, the Bundesrat.
Serbian president confirms pardons of 13 protesters
Earlier today, we reported on the latest from Serbia after last night’s speech by president Aleksandar Vučić (9:46).
Since then, news agencies reported that he pardoned 13 people arrested during a string of recent mass demonstrations over the fatal collapse of a train station roof in November.
According to a statement from the president’s office, published here, six students, a university dean and professor along with several other academics were among the pardoned. The decision will now be processed by the country’s justice ministry.
Dropping charges against those arrested during the protests has been a key demand among student organisers leading the demonstrations, AFP noted.
Separately, we wanted to note that president Aleksandar Vučić name-checked “the most corrupt, most deceitful Guardian of London” in one line with the New York Times during his press conference last night.
I am not interested in what the New York Times writes or what the most corrupt, most deceitful Guardian of London writes. I am not interested in what foreigners write.
Make of that what you will.
Interestingly, if you read the motion in full, it included a line accusing the far-right AfD of:
“using the problems, worries and fears caused by mass illegal migration to stir up xenophobia and spread conspiracy theories”
But that seemingly has not stopped the party from supporting the broader call to act on migration.
The five-point motion, passed today and available in German here, calls on the government to:
Reintroduce permanent border controls,
Block “all attempts to enter the country illegally,” with a “de facto ban” on all trying to enter the country without valid documents, even if they request protection,
Prioritise arrests and deportations of people legally required to leave the country,
Assing more funds for state-level enforcement of migration laws,
Tighten up residence restrictions for those awaiting to leave the country.
Updated
Vote result: 348 to 345
If you are wondering how close the vote on the key proposal was, 348 lawmakers voted in favour, while 345 votes against.
10 abstained.
Reminder, the motion is not legally binding on the government, but will increase pressure to act on migration and show CDU/CSU’s opposition leader Merz that there could be a parliamentary majority to force the government’s hand on this.
Updated
For the record, the opposition’s second motion, covering a number of specific proposals on data retention and sharing, strengthening intelligence services and proposing changes to criminal code, was rejected.
We will bring you more details shortly.
German parliament passes the opposition's motion on migration, asylum
The German opposition’s motion on “the five-point plan” has been adopted, despite strong criticism from chancellor Olaf Scholz.
We don’t have a detailed breakdown yet, but it is likely that it passed with the support of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland.
Will bring you more shortly.
The vote on the first CDU/CSU motion is under way.
'We have a massive problem with crime by foreigners,' Merz says, calling for urgent action
Responding to Scholz, opposition leader and favourite to be the next chancellor Friedrich Merz said that if the words of sympathy and condolences in the Bundestag are to be meaningful, they need “effective decisions to be taken.”
“In Germany we have a massive problem of crime committed by foreigners, particularly among asylum seekers,” he said.
In his comments, Merz sought to draw a clear distinction between asylum seekers and “people with migration background,” who he said “would not be right to mention in the same sentence as criminal asylum seekers.”
He rejected Scholz’s complaints about the state of law, by mockingly saying “you are not the highest notary of the republic; you are the federal chancellor.”
“If the laws are not sufficient, then you must make suggestions for changing the laws, and not explain what the existing laws cannot do,” he said.
Merz warned that “the entire European immigration and asylum system has become dysfunctional,” and the attacks in Magdeburg and Aschaffenburg made him determined to “really make every attempt” to change the situation.
“How many more people have to be murdered? How many more children have to fall victims to such acts of violence before you believe that this is a threat to public safety and order?,” he asked.
He argued the situation justified to use of extraordinary powers under EU treaties for “the maintenance of law and order and the safeguarding of internal security.”
He said that if his proposals get majority support, partially due to votes from the far-right AfD, that would make him “extremely uncomfortable,” but insisted this was necessary to deal with violence.
He told parliament that the sight of “cheering and grinning AfD MPs will be unbearable” but maintained that “a correct decision does not become wrong just because the wrong people agree, it remains right”.
He said he was no longer prepared to allow other parties to dictate what proposals and with whose support can be passed.
The European Commission included restrictions on sales of video games and joysticks to Russia in its 16th package of sanctions on Moscow, the proposal document showed.
The restrictions would impact sales of consoles such as Microsoft’s Xbox, the Nintendo Switch and Sony’s PlayStation.
“Video game controllers, gaming controllers, flight simulator controllers, gamepads, joysticks and other input units, for video game consoles or entertainment systems, either corded or cordless” should be restricted, the proposal said.
Scholz's speech in Bundestag on migration - snap analysis
Berlin correspondent
Listing Aschaffenburg as the latest in a string of attacks by migrants – in Mannheim, Solingen, Magdeburg and Aschaffenburg – Scholz said he understood the shock and consternation that people felt, as well as vexation over the fact that “once again”, the attack had been “carried out by someone who shouldn’t have been here,” a reference to the fact that in several cases, the perpetrators had been due to be deported, but this had not happened.
“I understand anyone who says: ‘I’ve had enough,’ said Scholz, adding: “I too am enraged”.
But he went on to say that all four of the attacks “could have been avoided” under existing laws which had been tightened under the Scholz government, if they had been properly and swiftly implemented by the authorities in the various states in which the attacks took place, all of which are governed by the CDU/CSU.
Scholz said under his government many more deportations had taken place, including a planeload of Afghans, convicted of crimes in Germany, stating that Germany was “the only country in Europe which has been able to deport criminals to Afghanistan. It’s damned hard to do with a Taliban government but we managed it.”
He urged Merz not to fall into the trap of depending on the AfD for support to push through his motions to tighten Germany’s migration policy, citing in particular a letter written by the leaders of Germany’s Protestant and Catholic churches, warning that the party was departing from the ‘Christian’ in its name by supporting the motions.
He also warned of developments in neighbouring Austria, where the conservatives there have, he said, broken pre-election promises not to work with the far-right FPÖ, the Austrian equivalent of the AfD, but was now on the verge of entering a coalition with it.
German debate on migration and border controls - explainer
What is happening in the Bundestag this afternoon?
The conservative CDU/CSU alliance, under the leadership of Friedrich Merz, who according to opinion polls is the favourite to become Germany’s chancellor following elections on February 23, has submitted two motions which, if passed, could result in a 180 degree switch in Germany’s migration policy, and could have a ripple effect across Europe.
The sense of urgency around the issues, which have been dominating the political landscape for some time, and reflect the wider debate across Europe, are due to events last week in the city of Aschaffenburg in which a two year old girl and a 41 year old man were murdered when an Afghan migrant lunged at them in a park with a kitchen knife. The 28 year old who is in police custody had been due for deportation. He had also been receiving help for a psychological condition.
The circumstances around the attack – and the fact that it is the latest in a series of attacks involving migrants who were known to authorities – have prompted accusations of state failure on many levels, with plenty of people in positions of authority insisting it could have been prevented.
The motions put forward by Merz call for the rejection of all illegal migrants and asylum seekers, wherever they have come from, on all of Germany’s nine borders with its neighbours. The motions would also seek to broaden the powers of the security authorities to ease the process of rejection and deportation.
Scholz’s SPD/Greens minority government has refused to back the proposals, saying that it too has a raft of reform proposals on which the CDU/CSU has refused to engage at all, despite Scholz’s appeal for cooperation so that they could be pushed through before the election.
It’s important to note that Merz’s proposals would not put the government of Olaf Scholz’s SPDs and Greens under obligation to act on them. But if the conservatives’ motions got majority support in the Bundestag it would greatly escalate tensions between the CDU and Scholz’s government and would give Merz the upper hand in terms of trying to push the motion into law, the process of which could start as early as Friday.
The real drama around today’s debate though is about who Merz will get support from. If as it has signalled, the far-right populist AfD lends him their support, opponents of the CDU/CSU leader say he will have effectively broken the so-called ‘firewall’ – on which he has said he will stake his political fate – the promise, along with other mainstream parties, that he will never work with the AfD.
A poll shows that 66% of Germans support Merz’s plan.
If his motion is successful, what then?
The CDU/CSU could get a wafer-thin majority with the help of the pro-business FDP, and the AfD, which said yesterday it was planning to vote in favour of the motions. The backing of the left-wing conservative BSW, which had not yet publicly made up its mind by this morning whether it would support Merz, would also be needed.
If he loses, this will be a humiliating defeat for Merz.
The Bundesrat or Upper House’s backing would be required to approve the law. The earliest date for a next sitting of that house would be 14 February, nine days ahead of the general election. However, they are not likely to approve it because the CDU/CSU does not have a majority there.
But, once the election has taken place on 23 February, the political landscape could look decidedly different.
The CDU/CSU would have effectively laid the ground for the law and would be potentially in a position to adopt the law with a new coalition partner. This is not unlikely to be the SPD, as a junior partner in a grand coalition.
In which case it is expected that in order to make it more palatable for the SPD, the law could be watered down in parts. Seeing as a large number of SPD voters are in general in favour of tightening the law, the SPD might find its hand is forced so that it too will end up supporting an asylum stop.
Teaming up with far-right 'unforgivable mistake,' Scholz warns opposition
Scholz says that, particularly with Trump in the US, the European unity is more important than ever as he accuses the opposition that their proposals would break that solidarity between member states.
He says that the EU’s new common asylum system will help protect the external borders better.
But he warns that if the opposition’s proposals pass, “all of this would be at risk” a she says: “if we withdraw from the European rules, others will too.”
He then directly addressed the issue of the “firewall” that means isolating the far-right, says “there has always been a clear consensus among all democrats” on this issue.
He calls the opposition’s openness to pass the proposals with the AfD votes would be “an unforgivable mistake.”
He further warns by drawing comparisons between Germany and Austria, warning that when the firewall falls, it opens the way for far-right parties to join the government.
Updated
'We pushed the boundaries, ... but must not go beyond law,' Scholz says
Scholz argues his government increased the number of deportations from Germany, and is working on more flights to Afghanistan, as well as Syria “as soon as the situation on the ground allows it.”
“We will deport criminals there too, according to law and order, as befits a constitutional state,” he says.
He goes on to stress the lengths his government went to protect the borders and toughen up immigration policies.
With some of our measures we have pushed the boundaries of what our constitution and the European treaties allow. This is especially true for the temporary border controls, which have to be re-established and extended every six months.
...
But it is clear that we cannot and must not go beyond the current law.
Directly attacking opposition proposals, he calls them “pseudo-solutions” that would harm Germany’s reputation in Europe and undermine the EU.
He says that the opposition proposals, if adopted, would violate the EU law, something that “no German chancellor would have ever done.”
Scholz defends the right to asylum
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has defended the right to claim asylum in Germany, rejecting calls for a radical overhaul.
The right to asylum is an integral part of our legal and value system. We must not abandon it today.
Directly addressing the Aschaffenburg attack last week, he calls it “a heinous, monstrous crime,” and says that many citizens feel “deeply unsettled” by repeated cases “where the perpetrator abused our protection.”
“It was someone who should no longer be here or at least not be at large,” he adds.
But he says there is “an enforcement deficit” at the state level, and argued attacks “could have been prevented with the existing laws.”
Scholz addressing the Bundestag now
German chancellor Scholz is speaking in the Bundestag now.
We will bring you the news lines here.
German president's rebuke to Elon Musk's comments on 'moving past guilt' — video
That concludes the ceremony in the German Bundestag.
We will return here from 14:15 CET, when chancellor Olaf Scholz stands up to make a statement on “current domestic policy issues,” kicking off the debate on asylum and migration.
Scholz is expected to speak for 25 minutes, with a 90-minute debate to follow.
Holocaust survivor compares Russia's Putin to Hitler as he pleas for support for Ukraine
Steinmeier’s speech is followed by a moving and personal speech about his life by Holocaust survivor Roman Schwarzman.
But in the most political part of his speech, he desperately pled for more support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s aggression, and drew parallels between his experience of the 1940s and now, directly comparing Russian president Vladimir Putin to German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Here is what he said:
Since Russia started attacking our civilian populations, our cities, and our energy system on 24 February 2022, our lives and our freedoms have been in danger again.
Putin tries to exterminate us as a nation, as Hitler tried to exterminate the Jewish people during the second world war.
Back then, Hitler wanted to me because I am a Jew. Now Putin tries to kill me, because I am a Ukrainian.
On 29 December 2023, our house was hit by a rocket. Miraculously, I saved myself and my wife as we sheltered in the basement. But when we returned, we couldn’t recognise our flat. Everything was demolished.
Odessa, my town, suffers greatly from the Russian terror. I am seeing devastation and misery, again. I am seeing the faces of Ukrainian defenders who return after being held prisoners of war in Russia.
Their stories about the Russian occupiers, torture chambers, give me phantom pains.
...
I was in the ghetto, I saw the devil, and I say: we overestimate him, a lot. His power is only as great as we allow it to be.
As he repeats his calls for more arms for Ukraine, he warns:
People who believe that Putin will be satisfied with Ukraine are mistaken.
'Take enemies of democracy seriously,' German president echoes Auschwitz survivor's warning
Towards the end his address to the Bundestag, Steinmeier recalls a speech by survivor Leon Weintraub, who urged global leaders attending the Auschwitz commemoration on Monday to “avoid the mistake of the 1930s when the world failed to take seriously the Nazi regime” and “take enemies of democracy seriously” (17:44, Monday).
He warned us on Monday, desperately so, he said: take the enemies of democracy seriously.
I reiterate it here and now in the German Bundestag: take the enemies of democracy seriously.
'Not possible' to draw a line under our history, German president says in rebuke to Musk
German president Steinmeier also speaks about his experience of attending the Auschwitz memorial event on Monday.
Steinmeier says:
It is not far from Berlin, our capital, where everything that happened there was thought up.
Standing there between the barracks means standing in front of a still unavoidable truth. Germans organised and committed these crimes against humanity. Germans opened up this inhuman abyss; they planned, measured and calculated it.
This place [Auschwitz] makes it clear to us that Shoah is a part of German history, whether we like it or not, it is part of our history, and so it is not possible to draw a line under our history ... and our responsibility.
His words will be seen as a rebuke to US billionaire Elon Musk, who over the weekend made a surprise appearance during Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) election campaign event in Halle in eastern Germany on Saturday.
Speaking there, he said “children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great grandparents,” apparently referring to Germany’s Nazi past.
Steinmeier’s words get long applause from the audience.
Updated
German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been speaking in the last few minutes, paying tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and nazism in a speech in the German parliament.
Jewish life was virtually extinguished. ... Today, we remember all the women, children, and men who were murdered in Ukraine and across Europe. We owe it to the victims ... and we will not forget them.
He also specifically warns against forgetting the history and the lessons from the Holocaust:
We all have images in our hearts and minds that represent to us the horror of the Shoah. And in recent days, we have once again seen these photographs that have long become symbols.
And yet there is a danger that these often seen images, the well-known words of warning, the routine of remembrance, they bring a sense of false and deceptive certainty that we have fully understood what happened. ...
They make it easy for us to believe that we know everything, and ... give in to the temptation to file away all these images, stories and words in a large box in our minds, labeled: this was all a long time ago.
It is a duty for our generation to work against forgetting and, allow me to add, a duty that we cannot fail in.
German parliament in sitting with ceremony commemorating victims of the Holocaust
The German parliament is now in sitting, with a ceremony commemorating the victims of the Holocaust. Survivor Roman Schwarzman and president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was in Auschwitz earlier this week, are expected to speak.
The immigration and asylum debate will follow later in the afternoon.
You will find the English-language stream at the top of this page.
Updated
Angela Giuffrida writes from Rome
There’s much debate in Italy today as the country absorbs the news that prime minister Giorgia Meloni is under investigation over the unexpected release and repatriation last week of a Libyan warlord wanted for war crimes by the international criminal court.
The Italian judicial system is complex, but what we know right now is that Meloni is under no obligation to resign, and if formal charges do arise then the case would need approval from the Italian parliament before it can proceed.
Along with the interior minister and justice minister, Meloni is being probed for aiding and abetting a crime and embezzlement in connection with the case of Libya’s chief of judicial police, Osama Najim, also called Almasri.
Meloni said she is neither “blackmailable” nor “intimidated” in a video message yesterday announcing that she had received a notice of investigation, and immediately defended herself against what she believes is a leftwing plot.
She also questioned the processes of the international criminal court (ICC) and argued that Najim, who is wanted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as alleged rape and murder, had to be swiftly deported from Italy as he was a danger to national security. Najim was sent home to Tripoli on a state flight and was given a hero’s welcome.
In another social media post on Wednesday morning, Meloni said: “Our commitment to defend Italy will continue, as always, with determination and without hesitation. When the security of the nation and the interests of Italians are at stake, there’s no time for stepping back.”
Opposition leaders are furious because Meloni is still dodging demands to address the Almasri case in parliament, while an address by the interior and justice ministers scheduled for today was cancelled, a move Riccardo Magi, president of the More Europe party, described as “another kick to parliamentary democracy”.
Meloni is the third Italian post-second world war prime minister to be placed under investigation, with the most famous being the late Silvio Berlusconi and the most recent Giuseppe Conte, who was probed over his initial handling of the Covid-19 pandemic before the case was dropped.
Updated
Italian prime minister Meloni under investigation
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has said she is under investigation in connection with Italy’s unexpected release and repatriation last week of a Libyan general who is wanted for war crimes by the international criminal court.
She said in a video message posted on social media that she is suspected of aiding and abetting a crime and embezzlement in connection with the case of Libya’s chief of judicial police, Osama Najim – also called Almasri.
Meloni wrote the following beneath the Instagram video: “What is valid today, was valid yesterday: I am not blackmailable, I am not intimidated. Onwards and upwards.”
Our Rome correspondent Angela Giuffrida has the full story here, and we will have more analysis from her shortly:
New Irish government goes 'backwards' on gender equality, former minister warns
The former deputy of Ireland’s main political party has condemned the new government for going “backwards” in relation to gender equality as the two main parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, meet in Dublin to appoint junior ministers.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin (FF) and his deputy Simon Harris (FG) appointed just three women to the 15-strong cabinet less week, one fewer than the previous government.
It prompted sharp criticism and a pointed observation by the Social Democrats that there were more people called James than women in the new government.
“To have fewer women in cabinet than we did even when I was in cabinet is absolutely the wrong direction to go. It sends a really bad message to women and to people all over the country. I hope that it can be addressed to some degree today,” said Mary Hanifan, who held multiple ministerial posts between 2004 and 2011.
But Hanifan also slated the government parties for not doing enough to ensure women are on electoral lists, claiming they make the effort too late in the electoral cycle.
“I think all of the political parties are handling it really, really badly. They leave it until the last three months or the last three weeks to add women to tickets, to invite women to participate when, in fact, they should be now planning for the next local elections, which are five years away, and the next general election,” she told RTE’s Claire Byrne show.
The new government will involve 18 ministers of state, five of which have already gone to independent TDs propping up their coalition.
However, it is unlikely to alter the gender imbalance greatly, with just seven of Fianna Fáil’s 48 TDs women. Fine Gael has done better with 10 female TDs but six of them are first timers.
Trump not a 'meteor' to Ireland's economy
US president Donald Trump will not be a knockout “meteor” to Ireland’s economy despite its heavy reliance on US multinationals, the head of the country’s business trade organisation has said.
While the US president told world leaders gathered at Davos last week that “Europe treats us very, very unfairly” there is a heightened sense of nervousness in Ireland that this could translate to an attempt to repatriate jobs and taxes from the 950 US companies there.
One of the sectors viewed as particularly vulnerable to Trump is the pharmaceutical industry, with big players such as Pfizer manufacturing drugs in Ireland and exporting them back to the US while booking profits in Ireland.
Danny McCoy, the chief executive of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation, said the near panic in some circles was unwarranted.
“People are saying that what Trump is proposing means we are going to lose our business model. I just don’t believe that at all. I do not share the idea that one thing is going to knock out the economy like a meteor,” McCoy added.
Lisa O’Carroll has this report from Dublin.
Italian data watchdog looking into Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek
The Italian data protection authority has started inquiries into the use of personal data by the AI chatbot of Chinese startup DeepSeek, amid concerns over “the potential high risk for the data of millions of people in Italy.”
The Garante has asked the company for more information on “what is the legal basis of the processing (of the data), and whether it is stored on servers located in China,” as well as details on how the model was trained.
The Italian watchdog has a history of getting involved with emerging technology at an early stage.
In 2013, it temporarily blocked ChatGPT over privacy concerns, becoming the first Western country to take such action, and in December it fined OpenAI 15 million euros over its use of personal data, AFP notes.
French budget talks at risk after PM Bayrou's immigration comments
French budget talks were on the verge of collapse on Wednesday, a day after Socialist party officials suspended their participation in protest over remarks about immigration by prime minister François Bayrou, Reuters reports.
In a television interview on Monday, Bayrou referred to “a feeling of invasion” by immigrants.
“We suspended our negotiations because the words from the prime minister were not dignified,” Philippe Brun, a Socialist lawmaker involved in the budget talks, said in an interview with Sud Radio on Wednesday.
He said he hoped the talks would resume.
Without the support of the Socialists, Bayrou may not have enough support to advance his budget and take steps to trim the deficit as called for by EU officials, Reuters notes.
Ukraine briefing
And here is your daily update on the latest in Ukraine.
Russian president calls Ukrainian counterpart ‘illegitimate’; Zelenskyy says government will try to replace suspended US aid.
Here is what we know on 1,071 day of the war.
Greenlanders against coming under US control: poll
Greenlanders are overwhelmingly against the idea of coming under the US control, despite increasingly assertive rhetoric from US president Donald Trump that he would want to “get” the island.
A new poll, published by Danish newspaper Berlingske and Greenland’s Sermitsiaq, said that 85% were against, with just 6% in favour. 9% had no preference.
The survey comes just a day after Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen met with German chancellor Olaf Scholz, French president Emmanuel Macron and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte to rally the support for her government’s position on Greenland.
Quoted by TV2, Frederiksen reacted to the poll by insisting that it is up to Greenlanders to decide their future, but that she was happy to see what she saw as high support for further “close cooperation” with Denmark.
Earlier this month, an amateur poll conducted by two students, and now debunked by Danish media as disinformation, got some traction after it suggested the opposite result. Berlingske has an investigation into how it spread, saying it got some help from the Russian media.
Serbian president hints at snap election in April
Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić hinted at the possibility of a snap election in April after the resignation of his prime minister, Miloš Vučević, on Tuesday.
Vučević’s resignation came after months of nationwide protests, which began after 15 people were killed when part of the canopy roof came crashing down on 1 November, a disaster blamed on rampant corruption.
Speaking to the press last night, president Vučić said his party would take 10 days to decide whether to form a new government or hold a snap parliamentary election, which he said could come as early as April.
Vučic’s Serbian Progressive party won a comfortable victory in parliamentary elections in December 2023, but government critics said the vote was fraudulent, while international observers found “instances of serious irregularities, including vote-buying and ballot-box stuffing.
The president also dismissed the protesting students’s proposals for an interim government, made up of experts and university professors.
His response is likely to fail to placate the public anger, with Lazar Stojaković of the Faculty for Organisational Science at Belgrade University capturing the students’ frustrations in a social media post:
“Those who have been fuelling tensions for the past 13 years are now trying to defuse tensions. It is not going to work ... See you in the streets again.”
Updated
Morning opening: The German firewall is crumbling
Friedrich Merz, favourite to become the next German chancellor, will bring proposals to radically change asylum and immigration laws before parliament today, even if they end up being passed with the support of Alternative für Deutschland.
As our Berlin correspondent, Kate Connolly, explains, Merz has been accused of shifting his position on the country’s “firewall” against the far-right party with the proposed law change, which would aim to dramatically increase the number of deportations.
The proposals include effectively closing German land borders to irregular migration and allowing the federal police to request arrest warrants for people who do not have the legal right to remain in Germany. Critics say the proposals could break European law.
The policy shift follows an attack in Aschaffenburg last week in which a two-year-old child and a 41-year-old man were stabbed to death by an asylum seeker from Afghanistan who had been scheduled for deportation. Chancellor Scholz will speak about the attack today, too.
On Tuesday night, the German Catholic and Protestant churches warned against Merz’s plan, saying in a letter seen by Reuters that “the timing and the tone of the debate appear deeply strange to us,” and worrying that the move could “defame all migrants living in Germany, stir up prejudices, and does not contribute to solving the real issues.”
The joint letter warned against dropping the firewall against the far-right, saying: “We fear that German democracy will suffer massive damage if this political promise is abandoned.”
Separately, over the weekend, tens of thousands of Germans took to the streets to demonstrate against the far-right and to denounce Merz’s plans.
However, less than four weeks before the elections on 23 February, their calls are likely to fall on deaf ears as toughening the language on migration is seen as necessary to secure the best possible result at the polls.
On Monday, Merz said: “There are 40,000 asylum applicants who need to be deported. A local politician told me this weekend that there are ticking timebombs walking around our towns and communities.”
His senior ally, Thorsten Frei, told reporters: “We are at a point where we have to depart from tactical considerations. We have to do things that have to be done.”
All of this is to come as part of what was supposed to be a sombre and reflective sitting of the German parliament, opening at midday with a ceremony to mark the Holocaust Memorial Day. Given the many warnings from survivors about the rise of the far-right movements in Europe, it feels wrong and weirdly apt at the same time.
I will bring you the latest on this throughout the day.
We will also take a look at the latest in Serbia, Italy, Ireland, Ukraine, and, of course, Denmark and Greenland. Much more to come during the day, no doubt.
It’s Wednesday, 29 January 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
Updated
