03/03/2021

The Due Diligence Act: Making globalisation more socially just

Today (3 March 2021), the Federal Cabinet adopted an act on corporate due diligence. The Bundestag will now decide on this draft bill. The act provides that companies have an obligation to actively and transparently tackle risks such as forced and... 

03/02/2021

The Western Balkans: #EuropeUnited doesn’t end at the EU’s external borders

Europe’s “strategic sovereignty” is unthinkable without close ties to the Western Balkans. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is therefore holding talks with Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Xhaçka, Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selaković and... 

03/01/2021

Preventing hunger together

Germany has agreed to provide aid to the tune of 200 million euro in 2021. The catastrophic humanitarian situation in Yemen is growing even worse: After more than six years of armed conflict, some two-thirds of the population, or 21 million people,... 

02/24/2021

The long road to stability and peace for Afghanistan

One of the purposes of the mission is to help maintain the conditions that are needed to conduct the intra-Afghan peace negotiations.

For the past four decades, daily life in Afghanistan has been marked by war and violence. Nevertheless, functioning... 

02/22/2021

Myanmar, Russia and transatlantic relations the focus of Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels

The EU and the United States are moving closer together again on issues of foreign policy. One important sign of this is the virtual meeting of the EU foreign ministers with their US counterpart Antony Blinken at the Foreign Affairs Council in... 

02/19/2021

Fighting COVID-19 together in a spirit of solidarity: Germany is contributing a further 1.5 billion euro to global efforts to fight the pandemic

1.5 billion euro for vaccines, diagnostics and medication

The pandemic can only be overcome if it is brought under control all over the world. Nobody is safe until everybody is safe. Germany thus chose early on to focus on finding joint responses to... 

02/19/2021

Anniversary year “1700 Years of Jewish Life in Germany” goes international

1700 years of Jewish history

The aim of the #2021JLID anniversary year is to commemorate the 1700 years of Jewish life in Germany and to portray it in all its facets. The historical starting point and point of reference is an edict from 11 December... 

02/18/2021

Virtual conference “Unboxing Hate Speech – European Impulses for Respect and Solidarity on the Web” with Foreign Minister Maas

Hatred, exclusion and verbal violence not only violate individuals’ personal rights, but pose a growing threat to our liberal democracies. Countless messages of hate are posted online every day, spreading around the world with a single click.... 

02/16/2021

Ta’ziz partnership with the countries of North Africa and the Middle East

Ten years after the upheavals of the Arab Spring, many hopes have not been fulfilled. Changes in the countries concerned range from democratic awakening to the restoration of authoritarian regimes, open armed conflict and utter collapse. In view of... 

02/16/2021

International commitment to the Sahel: G5 summit in Chad

January 2020: summit meeting in Pau

From terror attacks to the effects of climate change to grinding poverty, the Sahel region in the north of the African continent faces enormous challenges. In January 2020, the heads of State and Government of the... 

02/12/2021

Against repression and violence: An action plan for civil society in Belarus

The Federal Foreign Office is now going to expand its support for civil society.

The political crisis in Belarus is now at more of a dead-end than ever. The regime under strongman Lukashenko continues to respond to the peaceful demonstrations with... 

02/12/2021

Enabling a safe return: mine and ordnance clearance in Iraq

Many parts of Iraq are minefields, in the truest sense of the word: during its retreat from areas it formerly controlled, the Da’esh terrorist organisation left behind IEDs, concealed explosive devices, and improvised mines. Added to this are threats...