Germany's independent Council of Experts on Climate Change said the country's industry and energy emissions fell in 2025 but credited a stagnant economy rather than climate policy, and warned that current measures will not deliver the 2045 net-zero goal. Chairwoman Barbara Schlomann said transport and buildings remain far off track and that natural carbon sinks -- forests, bogs and grasslands -- are turning into net emitters, while even the government's March climate package, forced by a court ruling, would fall short. Environment Minister Carsten Schneider said he took the findings seriously and would give priority to renewables and to reforming EU emissions trading.

The Berlin Regional Court has approved an indictment against former German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) on suspicion of making a false statement to a parliamentary inquiry committee investigating the failed car toll scheme. Scheuer and former state secretary Gerhard Schulz are accused of lying about whether toll operators offered to delay contract signing until after a European Court of Justice ruling. A trial date has not yet been set.

A five-member delegation from the German Bundestag, led by Green Party lawmaker Till Steffen, arrived in Taiwan on a nine-day visit to strengthen economic and cultural cooperation. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning reiterated Beijing's opposition to official exchanges with Taiwan, which China claims as a breakaway province. The visit comes as German Economic Affairs Minister Katherina Reiche travels to Beijing, highlighting Berlin's balancing act between economic ties with China and Taiwan.

Japan will send four Self-Defense Force soldiers to NATO's Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) hub in Wiesbaden, Germany, to study battlefield tactics from Ukraine's combat experience. The deployment deepens Japan-NATO cooperation amid Russian military buildup near Hokkaido and rising tensions with China, marking a significant step in Tokyo's military engagement with the alliance.

The Authority for European Political Parties and Foundations (APPF) has sent a 300-page letter to EU institutions detailing evidence that the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) alliance may violate EU values, including anti-immigrant, antisemitic, anti-Roma, and anti-LGBT statements. The European Commission confirmed receipt and is examining the letter. The process could lead to ESN losing its EU political party status and funding, though the APPF clarified that removal from the register would not constitute a ban, allowing the party to continue under national law but lose EU funding. The ESN includes parties from Germany, France, Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Slovakia.

German police drew handguns on peaceful activists protesting outside a Rheinmetall site in Berlin, arresting them. The protest group 'Peacefully Against Genocide' condemned the disproportionate force and vowed to continue demonstrations against Rheinmetall's planned ammunition production for Israel, which they accuse of committing genocide in Palestine and Lebanon.

Climate activists in Germany blockaded a KNDS tank factory and a pipeline production site in Mülheim, and around 150 people broke into a power plant in Gelsenkirchen, as part of protests linked to a climate camp attended by Greta Thunberg in Hamm. The actions targeted CO2-intensive steel use in armored vehicle production. The protests highlight ongoing tensions between environmental activism and industrial policy in Germany.

Ahead of the FDP's leadership election, internal divisions emerge over ending the 'firewall' (Brandmauer) against the far-right AfD. Designated party vice-chair Henning Höne opposes any cooperation, while leadership candidates Wolfgang Kubicki and Martin Hagen advocate for ending political exclusion and not making parliamentary votes dependent on AfD support. The debate reflects the FDP's struggle to regain relevance after falling below the 5% threshold in polls.