BERLIN/KABUL (own report) - With the commencement of forced deportations to Afghanistan, the German government faces accusations of breaking core human rights commitments. Its claims to upholding the centrality of “values” in policymaking, once so smug proclaimed by the coalition government, are now being jettisoned. This accusation is raised by human rights and refugee organisations in response to the deportation of 28 Afghans last Friday. The German government has sought to justify the move with the terrorist knife attack in Solingen and public anger. Yet it appears that deportations to Afghanistan had been planned for months. Berlin says it would only forcibly fly people out to Kabul if they have criminal convictions. Yet this position contradicts the European Convention on Human Rights and other treaties officially recognised by Germany, since they declare human rights to be universal. Under international law all people, including criminals, are entitled to human rights. The head of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Germany has warned that Berlin’s actions are “incompatible with our values”. There is now a growing clamour for irregular migrants from Afghanistan and Syria who have not committed any offences to be sent back in future. This is occurring against the background of disturbing signs of human and civil rights being disregarded by the German authorities at home. Read more

BERLIN/BEIJING (own report) - Economists are warning of a “China shock” for German industry. Increasing numbers of German companies are not only losing market share on the Chinese market to their Chinese competitors but also struggling to compete with Chinese companies in their other export markets. This pattern of decline can be seen in the Germany’s three most important industries. German automotive companies have fallen behind their Chinese competitors in the electric vehicle sector. Mechanical engineering companies from Germany are now languishing in the People’s Republic, while facing burgeoning Chinese competition in third markets. The chemical industry, too, is floundering, badly affected not least by the sharp rise in gas prices. Chemical giants like BASF are hardly able to keep up with Chinese companies, especially in the basic chemicals segment. Plants are being forced into closure. “Germany’s biggest customer is turning into its biggest competitor,” concludes Yanmei Xie, an expert from Hong Kong-based business analysists Gavekal. Specialists have been voicing “concerns about the German export model” as such, as German companies increasingly fail to keep pace with Chinese producers in previously attractive markets. Read more

BERLIN/WARSAW/KIEV (own report) – Germany’s close allies are blocking the investigation into the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines. It has even been designated a “legitimate target”. If the attack was carried out with the clear intention of preventing the sale of Russian natural gas to Western Europe, then it was completely justified, stated Czech President Petr Pavel last week. Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, had previously said that anyone who had ever favoured the construction of one of the two Nord Stream pipelines should now “apologise and ... keep quiet”. Indeed, Poland has been undermining the investigations by German authorities for some time. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) now attributes the attack to a group of private individuals, including several Ukrainians. Yet verification remains far off. According to media reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and possibly also Polish officials were aware of the attack plans. Yet experts still have serious doubts as to plausibility of the official German theory. Despite strong arguments in favour of a state perpetrator, most likely the United States, Germany will not conduct its investigations in this direction. Read more

BERLIN/KIEV (own report) - Following Berlin’s announcement that it would have to limit funding for Ukraine, Kiev is demanding direct access to Russian state assets frozen in the West. The German government recently decided against making any new spending commitments in support of Ukraine beyond the budget funds already earmarked for Kiev. The Western powers want to provide additional finance by syphoning off the interest accrued on the frozen assets of the Russian central bank kept in Europe. The Kiev government says this won’t be enough. It insists on seizing the assets themselves. The problem, however, is that such a move would set a dangerous precedent. Enabling the theft of foreign state property would have global consequences. The assets of Western countries held abroad would be at risk. The underlying problem driving this situation is that, despite enormous financial transfers, Ukraine remains effectively bankrupt. Hopes of a ceasefire and reconstruction were recently raised by statements from President Volodymyr Zelensky and the dispatch of his Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, to China. But they have since been dashed following Ukraine’s attack on Russian territory in the Kursk region. The attack has made talks impossible, diplomats are quoted as saying. Read more

BRUSSELS/BERLIN/BELGRADE (own report) - Thousands of people across Serbia have been on the streets protesting against the EU’s plans to extract the country’s lithium deposits. They fear that the mining project will result in serious environmental and social costs for their country, while the profits will flow to Europe. In July, senior politicians from Serbia, Germany and the EU, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, met with the heads of several leading corporations for what was called the Critical Raw Materials Summit. The talks centred on plans for extracting Serbian lithium. For its part, the Serbian government hopes the EU will enable the country to develop a processing industry alongside lithium mining. It wants to go beyond battery production and launch electric vehicle manufacturing. Brussels and Berlin are striving to gain a foothold in the expanding e-mobility market, now dominated by the Chinese. Speaking in Belgrade, Scholz compared the strategic importance of lithium deposits with that of crude oil. Economies were, he noted, dependent “above all” on lithium-ion batteries for electromobility. Serbia and the EU agreed in Belgrade a raw materials partnership. It is more than just a lithium extraction deal. The EU is keen to expand its political influence in Serbia. Read more

YEREVAN/BERLIN (Own report) – The German government is seeking to exploit the Armenian government’s efforts to sever the country’s decades-long alliance with Russia to strengthen Germany’s position in that Caucasus republic. Berlin is thus increasing the German contribution to the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA), a monitoring mission at the border with Azerbaijan. Whereas France is actively promoting Armenia’s rapprochement with the EU, the German government is still relatively restrained: Germany’s alliance with Azerbaijan and Turkey – two authoritarian states that have been engaged in a bitter conflict with Armenia for decades – is an obstacle to a stronger German commitment to the country’s direct integration into the EU. The power struggle between the West and Russia is unfolding on various levels in Armenia – from the intelligence services to energy policy. Yerevan is also seeking to reduce Russia’s military presence in the country. According to experts, however, for Armenia, to completely change sides is unrealistic. At best, it could be a question of diversification. Iran is also benefitting from this situation. Read more

SEOUL/BERLIN (own report) – On Thursday, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is arriving in Seoul for talks on the expansion of military cooperation with South Korea. Since 2021, a certain degree of cooperation between the two countries’ armed forces has been emerging, within the context of the German Asia-Pacific maneuvers. Last year, the Bundeswehr’s General Inspector, Carsten Breuer visited the South Korean capital for extensive talks. The objective is to integrate Germany into the broad-based Asia-Pacific alliance system being forged since some time by the United States. Until now South Korea had been a major customer of weapons from German companies, however it is not sure if this will continue in the future. In the meantime, that country has developed its own powerful arms production capacity and has even begun to expand its exports – even into the German industries’ traditional markets for their war materials. Poland, for example, has begun to buy South Korean K2 Black Panther battle tanks, instead of German Leopard 2s. While Berlin is forging ahead with military cooperation, demands are growing louder in Seoul for the production of its own nuclear weapons. Read more