Even though an important provider of machinery, with merely 4.1% of the world’s wind turbine installations itself, Germany is only a small player on the global market. Continue →

After the catastrophic events in the wake of Fukushima’s nuclear disaster, which shook Germany’s anti-atomic movement to new heights, RWE remains content on its energy strategy.

When the headlines of Japan’s nuclear accident hit Germany’s newsstands just over a month ago, the previously considerably diminished anti-nuclear movement immediately recovered to the full scale protest it was during the years following the Chernobyl disaster. With a now clear majority opposing nuclear power as an energy source, the government decided to issue an immediate shut down of a number of nuclear power plants – amongst them several owned by energy-giant RWE. While most energy suppliers complied politely, RWE decided to take a stand and is currently in the process of appealing the governmental decision on the grounds that it is not based on factual evidence, which would be the requirement set in the current laws regulating nuclear power.

Gaining most of it’s energy supply from coal and nuclear energy, RWE is in for hard times. In the light of the public opinion regarding nuclear fission power plants, the appeal was a controversial move at best – politicians criticized RWE’s decision as “clinging to antiquated technologies like coal power and nuclear energy”, while protesters gathered outside the recent shareholders’ meeting.

The current situation therefore requires further thought as to why RWE is taking the stance that it is: The company is Europe’s biggest producer of CO2, stemming from their continued use of coal power plants. Beginning in 2013, energy producers have to purchase CO2 certificates for their emissions – which will lead to RWE’s profits being reduced by around 1.5 billion €. Almost 50% of the company’s emission free production was based in the now deactivated nuclear power plants. As it stands now, the company has little choice but appeal the decision, lest it wants its profits to diminish considerably.

Meanwhile, RWE is facing massive protests even in its own ranks – at today’s shareholders’ meeting, several shareholders have announced that they will take a stand against nuclear power while still remaining with the company. It remains to be seen how the majority shareholders will decided the company’s future – at least when it comes to PR, RWE will doubtlessly have to be creative to solve their current crisis: Simply yielding to the government’s decision will lead to huge losses for the company, whereas being regarded as a “nuclear dinosaur” may prove just as bad.

A curious case stirs the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht): A Muslim employee refuses to stack beer – referencing religious freedom. The court agrees in its recent decision. The proceeding now goes into a new round.

According to the court, people of Muslim faith may refuse to handle liquor and other alcoholic beverages on grounds of their religious beliefs. This refusal may not be the reason to release the worker. Instead, the employer must take all reasonable steps to provide suitable alternative work within the company. Continue →

Defense Minister Karl-Theordor zu Guttenberg is facing allegations of plagiarism for his dissertation. According to German magazine “Der Spiegel”, Guttenberg commissioned a study on the relation of god to the American constitution at the academic council of the German parilament (Bundestag) and then proceeded to include the resulting paper almost entirely in his dissertation - even though members of parliament are only allowed to use the academic council for their official functions. On friday, the former minister of economic affairs admitted having made mistakes in regards to the plagiarism allegations and apologized in a public statement. Guttenberg has chosen to not use his PhD until the investigations by his former university have concluded.

Meanwhile, chancelor Angela Merkel has stuck to her defense minister: “She has full confidence in the defense minister”, said government speaker Steffen Seibert at a press conference on monday. He also extended this trust on behalf of the entire cabinet. Meanwhile, several members of the cabinet have expressed the notion that Guttenberg is indeed a fine defense minister, and that these allegations do not make him any less suitable for the job.

In a guest commentary in German trade newspaper “Handelsblatt” published on January 28th., German Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth; Kristina Schröder has announced a plan for more women in leading positions in business.

The core of this multi step plan is to be constituted by a provisional obligation for self-regulation which would force enterprises over a certain threshold of employees to implement a woman’s quota in their business and publish the numbers of this quota. Continue →

At it’s annual stockholders meeting on January 25th, Siemens stockholders decided to cut the bonuses for board members and keep their pay on a fixed level. According to the evaluation of the chairman of the advisory board, Gerhard Cromme, this would facilitate a more independant board, and grant a further improvement of the checks and balances system. He further pointed out that the amount of work and the risk of legal liability for board members has increased tremendously over the last decade. Continue →

Germany may just be on its way to a devestating blow in agricultural exports. After toxic dioxin had been found in eggs and other chicken products just a few weeks ago, the repercussions may be dire. The state attorneys office is currently investigating several bird feed producers under the suspicion that the toxic substances had not, as theorized earlier, contaminated the food supplies by accident, but rather by a planned Continue →

The Swedish energy group Vattenfall recently announced it would invest about €1 billion ($ 1.4 bil.) along with Germany’ Stadtwerke München in a 80-turbine offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

The building of the site is supposed to start in 2012 and be completed in 2014. The wind farm will be located some 70 kilometers (43 miles) off the German island of Sylt, near Denmark. With a set capacity of 288 megawatts - enough power to supply 500.000 households - the farms is one of the main offshore projects in the world. “Dan Tysk” - so the name of the joint venture - will be held at 51% by state-owned Vattenfall, and at 49% by Stadtwerke München. 80 wind turbines will be delivered by the German Siemens Energy AG.
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Sixt, one of Europe’s largest car rental and leasing companies, will expand their range of products in the years to come. Mark Thielenhaus, board member of the Sixt Leasing AG, announced that the company will add up to 100 electric vehicles to their leasing fleet by the end of this year. The cars that will contribute to the Full-Service Leasing branch of the company will be manufactured by German E-Cars, a subsidiary company of the automotive supplier Fräger, located in west-central Germany.

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Stuttgart 21, a multibillion railway and urban-redevelopment project is going ahead in Stuttgart, despite the fact that it offers hardly any benefits for the German rail network and that the money would be better spent on other, more promising projects.

It is the aim of the controversial project, to eliminate the biggest bottleneck on the high-speed route from Paris to Bratislava. A tunnel system and new highs-speed trains are supposed to create a high-speed rail connection throughout Europe. Beside the facts that the 13 hour train ride from Paris to Bratislava can not at all be competitive with air travel, and that for example the improvement of the railway between Stuttgart and Paris would be a more promising and significantly cheaper project, two other reasons for opposition are prominent these days in Germany: Trees, and money.
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