Germany

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank must remain a key stabilizer of the euro zone economy as the bloc is at risk of suffering longer-term damage from its pandemic-induced double-dip recession, ECB chief economist Philip Lane said on Saturday.

A sustained period of low activity reduces labour productivity, weakens corporate balance sheets and saps confidence, leading to a potential downward spiral, Lane said in a speech to the Spring workshop of The European House - Ambrosetti.

BERLIN, March 26. /TASS/: The construction of Nord Stream 2 will be finalized this year, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Russia’s gas producer Gazprom Viktor Zubkov told reporters on Friday.

"The active work is underway, with quite a bit remaining to be done," he said. "It will surely be completed this year, definitely," Zubkov added. The works have been fulfilled by 90-92%, he noted.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called an unexpected meeting with leaders of the federal states for Wednesday morning to discuss the coronavirus pandemic after they agreed early on Tuesday to extend the lockdown, government sources said.

The meeting comes as COVID-19 infections have been rising fast in a third wave of the pandemic in Germany.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet approved on Wednesday a debt-financed supplementary budget of 60 billion euros ($71 billion) which will lift annual new borrowing to a record high of more than 240 billion euros this year, a government official said.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz also suggested a draft budget for next year with additional net new debt of 81.5 billion euros for which parliament will have to suspend a constitutional debt brake for a third year in a row, the official added.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has extended its lockdown measures by another month and imposed several new restrictions, including largely shutting down public life over Easter, in an effort to drive down the rate of coronavirus infections.

Speaking early Tuesday after a lengthy video call with the country’s 16 state governors, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that restrictions previously set to run through March 28 will now remain in place until April 18.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Mark Branson, the head of Switzerland’s financial markets regulator, is to become president of Germany’s finance watchdog BaFin, Germany’s finance ministry said on Monday, as part of a shake-up at the regulator after the Wirecard accounting scandal.

Current BaFin president Felix Hufeld is leaving at the end of the month after coming under pressure for failing to spot wrongdoing ahead of the collapse of the payments company.

BERLIN (AP) — Protesters in Germany clashed with police Saturday over coronavirus measures, with officers using water cannons, pepper spray and batons against people trying to break through police barriers, German news agency dpa reported.

Protests against government measures to rein in the pandemic also were reported in several other countries across Europe, including Austria, Britain, Finland, Romania and Switzerland.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday he would be in favour of signing a national supply deal with Russia for its Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19.

“I can also well imagine that we conclude contracts - and conclude them quickly,” he told a weekly news conference, adding that Germany was in close contact with Russia on questions to do with the vaccine.

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right party suffered clear defeats in two German state elections on Sunday at the hands of popular governors from parties further to the left, according to projections. The setback comes six months before a national vote that will determine who succeeds the country’s longtime leader.

Sunday’s votes for new state legislatures in the southwestern states of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate kicked off an electoral marathon which features another four state ballots and the Sept. 26 national election.

BERLIN (AP) — Two German states choose new legislatures on Sunday, the first major political test of a year in which a national election will determine who succeeds Chancellor Angela Merkel. The weekend votes come at a challenging time for the longtime leader’s party.

They also are expected to highlight the increased popularity of the environmentalist Green party, which could hold the key to forming Germany’s next government and is expected to make its own first bid for the chancellery.