Podcasts about christian democratic union cdu

President Donald Trump is hosting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House on Thursday to discuss a wide range of pressing issues, with the Ukraine war, defense spending, and transatlantic trade tensions topping the list. The meeting marks the chancellor's first visit to Washington since his election victory in May. Merz, the leader of Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has established a personal rapport with Trump, according to German media. The meeting comes just 10 days ahead of the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada, where both leaders are scheduled to attend.Trump and Chinese communist party leader Xi Jinping agree to send delegations for a meeting on trade. The two spoke by phone Thursday as tensions remain high over the ongoing US-China trade dispute.Israel has recovered the bodies of two Israeli American hostages taken in the Hamas terrorist organization's attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the remains of elderly married couple Judith Weinstein and Gad Haggai were recovered and returned to Israel in a special operation by the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet internal security agency. Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel announced the deaths of Weinstein, 70, and Haggai, 72, both of whom had Israeli and U.S. citizenship, in December 2023. Weinstein was also a Canadian citizen.

He's the former corporate lawyer, who has a pilot's licence and loves music, but has never before been a government minister.Friedrich Merz was born in the west German town of Brilon in 1955 into a prominent conservative, Catholic family. He joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) while still at school, before going on to study law.Merz then worked as a lawyer and judge for a few years, but he always had his eye on politics.He was elected to the European Parliament in 1989, and his journey to the top has been a winding one.Sidelined by Angela Merkel before she became chancellor, he quit parliament entirely to pursue a lucrative series of corporate jobs and was written off as yesterday's man.Yet he now looks set to clinch the job he has coveted for so long, as Stephen Smith has been finding out.Production TeamProducers: Arlene Gregorius, Caroline Bayley, Chloe Scannapieco Editor: Ben Mundy Sound: Neil Churchill Production Co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele, Sabine Schereck, Janet StaplesAudio of Friedrich Merz at the Munich Security Conference by Bayerischer Rundfunk Audio of swearing-in ceremony of Angela Merkel, 2005, by ZDF Audio of French President Macron at the White House courtesy of the White House

1)Trump-Putin Peace Talks: Trump and Putin are having discussions of how to end the Russian war in Ukraine. This includes offering Russia part of the territory it has already seized, and denying Ukraine membership in NATO. Europe and Ukraine are upset to be left outside the bargaining table. So EU member Prime Ministers just met in Kiev to express support for Ukraine's independence. What is happening?2)Who's Paying For This War?: President Trump last week claimed the US provided $350 billion in military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since start of Russia's war three years ago. He now demands Ukraine pay him back by giving up 50% of Ukraine's 'rare earth' minerals. President Zelensky disputes the dollar amount of US aid, and claims it was a 'grant' from the US Congress, not a 'bank loan'. Who is right? Should Ukraine pay for the war, or Russia?3)Germans Election Results?: This weekend, elections were held in Germany, which saw the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Freidrich Merz replace the Social Democrats leader Olaf Scholz as Chancellor. Also, the far right AfD Party's Alice Weidel won second place. What does this say about Germany?4)Is Israel's Cease Fire in Gaza Collapsing?: Last weekend, Hamas released six Israeli prisoners to the Red Cross. But Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu refused to release about 600 Palestine prisoners as part of this deal. Is he trying to sabotage the cease fire process and restart to war?

Today Radio Schuman chews over the confidence vote in Germany, expected to hand a clear lead to the SPD's conservative rivals, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian counterpart, the Christian Social Union (CSU), with Olivia Stroud, Euronews Berlin correspondent.Chancellor Olaf Scholz's political future is precarious. His coalition government of Social Democrats and Greens has lacked a majority since the liberal FDP exited.On the international stage, Germany faces mounting challenges. The war in Ukraine continues unabated, Syria's new coalition government is fragile, and Donald Trump's return to the US presidency presents significant issues for Germany, the EU's largest nation. Meanwhile, unprecedented political instability in France has left the Franco-German alliance—the engine of European integration—effectively stalled.What lies ahead for Germany? Why are conservatives poised to reclaim power, and what coalition could take shape?In the second segment of the podcast we look at the most important issues under discussion at today's foreign affairs council.In the last part of the show, Radio Schuman reveals the side jobs of some members of the European Parliament.Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with journalist and production assistant Eleonora Vasques, audio editing by David Brodheim and Georgios Leivaditis. Music by Alexandre Jas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month's election in Germany's largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia, saw a resurgence of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), growing support for the Green Party, further decline of the Social Democratic …

This month's election in Germany's largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia, saw a resurgence of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), growing support for the Green Party, further decline of the Social Democratic …

The outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel was a ubiquitous figure during the Greek crisis, often making her a target for the frustrations generated by the austerity policies she and her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), advocated.Some of that is water under the bridge now and her recent visit to Athens was accompanied by compliments and diplomatic niceties.As she continues her farewell tour, before a coalition led by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) assumes power in Berlin, we look back at the legacy of Merkel's rocky relationship with Greece, during which she dealt with six different Greek Prime Ministers, and where it leaves ties between Berlin and Athens.Input comes from the head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's (KAS) office in Athens, Henri-Giscard Bohnet, and Christos Katsioulis, who was in charge of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation's (FES) office in the Greek capital between 2012 and 2017, at the height of Greece's economic crisis.Useful links:Konrad Adenaeur Foundation Office, Greece: https://www.kas.de/en/web/griechenlandFriedrich Ebert Foundation Office, Greece: https://athens.fes.de/gr/gia-mas/to-fes-stin-ellada See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After sixteen years at Europe's helm, Angela Merkel is stepping down from power. The federal election in September also marked an end to the long-term hold her political party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), had had over German politics. Merkel's likely successor, Olaf Scholz, is now looking to forge a “traffic light coalition” between his Social Democratic Party (the SPD, whose trademark color is red), the Greens and the Liberals (yellow). While Scholz and his allies have made ambitious commitments to modernise Germany, it remains unclear what, if anything, this portends for foreign policy. Foreign affairs have so far taken the back seat during coalition negotiations, eclipsed by domestic concerns. Still, Germany's new chancellor will be forced, however reluctantly, to contend with tremendous geopolitical shifts on the continent and further away. This week on War & Peace, Hugh and Olga are joined by Jana Puglierin, Head of the European Council on Foreign Relations' Berlin Office, to make sense of Germany's future under a new chancellor. They discuss the deprioritisation of foreign policy, possible sticking points between coalition members, the future of the transatlantic alliance with the United States, and increasingly bitter relations with Russia, Turkey and China. They ask whether Scholz's chancellorship will chart a new course for Europe, and how Germany and the continent are poised to contend with a world of great-power competition. For more information, explore Crisis Group's work on Europe and its neighbours by checking out the regional pages on the left hand side of our website. You can follow Jana's work on the ECFR website. If you want to hear more about Merkel's legacy, make sure to check out EuroPod's latest podcast, available in four languages. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

According to the latest polls, Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) hits a historic low just before the federal election which takes place on September 26. What caused the current crisis in the party? To what extent will it be able to renew German Conservatives if their defeat is actually inevitable? What role does the German 'media class' play in all this? Our guest was Werner Patzelt, political scientist, professor emeritus of the Technical University of Dresden, and visiting fellow at MCC's German-Hungarian Institute. Host: Péter Heltai, editor-in-chief, Corvinák.hu.

Chancellor candidate for the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and North Rhine-Westphalia premier Armin Laschet held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Wednesday. The visit comes just weeks before critical elections, with Laschet vying to become Germany's n --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/global-reportage/support

It took security researcher Lilith Wittmann only a few hours to crack open the app of Germany's ruling political party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).In May, party campaigners were using the app CDU Connect to gauge public opinion in the lead-up to September's federal election.Some chatter online made Wittmann, 25, take notice."I was a bit like, ‘Wow, they are collecting, like, super personal data about people,' … where they are living and what is their political opinion," Wittmann told The World in an interview at a Berlin park.Related: US and allies accuse China of hacking campaign Lilith Wittmann is a security researcher in Berlin.  Credit: Jennie Russell/The World  When she downloaded the app, she quickly discovered that it lacked common security practices and its programming interface was surprisingly easy to penetrate.The fallout from what Wittmann says was a well-intentioned hack to improve the app's security highlights a long-standing concern for security researchers and ethical hackers in Germany, whose law does not differentiate between ethical and malicious hacking.Wittman discovered that she could access a massive amount of data on the app that was supposed to be protected: the confidential, personal information of nearly 20,000 CDU members — and the political opinions of more than half a million people the party had door-knocked.Campaigners' canvassing visits, recorded in the app, were tied to voters' locations and sometimes included notes with house addresses and names."They just didn't have any kind of serious security measures."Lilith Wittmann, security researcher, Berlin, Germany"They just didn't have any kind of serious security measures," Wittmann said."When you collect lots of this data, based on house coordinates, basically, then you can do a lot of bad stuff," she said. "And you never want to have that out in the open."Wittmann reported her findings to German technology authorities and the CDU, adhering to the industry principle of "responsible disclosure" that security researchers and ethical hackers often use when they find vulnerabilities. She also posted about her findings online.But this discovery — one of the biggest security findings of the young researcher's career — may come at a personal cost.'It said that I am a suspect'Shortly after her report, Wittmann received a phone call from the CDU's federal managing director, Stefan Hennewig. She said he offered her a half-hearted thank you, a job offer she turned down, and then a warning that the party might file a criminal complaint against her.A few weeks ago, she received an email from the Berlin police."[Police] said that I am a suspect in this investigation about the CDU Connect app and that they want to know my address."Lilith Wittmann, security researcher, Berlin, Germany"It said that I am a suspect in this investigation about the CDU Connect app and that they want to know my address," Wittmann said.There is no dispute about what triggered the police investigation. The CDU, which yanked the app offline in May after admitting Wittmann found a security flaw, also admitted to filing a criminal complaint about the data breach and specifically mentioned Wittmann.The party, pressured to backtrack after ensuing public backlash on social media, now says it has withdrawn its complaint, which Hennewig maintains was supposed to be about another alleged data breach — not Wittmann's hack.Wittman, however, said police have confirmed they are still investigating her."It is super absurd," she said of the CDU's complaint. "I really hoped that this wouldn't happen when you report something to them." Related: Germany's anti-immigrant AfD party looks to make inroadsChange to hacking lawWittman's experience calls attention to gaps in Germany's hacking laws, according to lawyer David Albrecht, whose Berlin firm represents both hackers and organizations that have been hacked. "The German law doesn't really differentiate between so-called ethical hacking and hacking that is with a bad intention."David Albrecht, lawyer, Berlin, Germany"The German law doesn't really differentiate between so-called ethical hacking and hacking that is with a bad intention," Albrecht said.  David Albrecht is a lawyer representing hackers and organizations who have been hacked, in Berlin. Credit: Jennie Russell/The World  Previously, he said, Germany's criminal code stipulated a person had to obtain secure data to have committed a crime.Then in 2007, a CDU-led parliament broadened the law in response to rising cybercrime and to comply with EU legislation. The amended law clearly prohibits any form of hacking — regardless of intention."From that point on, it was sufficient that the offender only gains access to the data," he said.Albrecht said he hopes Wittmann's case will prompt more discussion of a legal framework he called "not really adequate to handle cases of ethical hacking."Related: Six Russian intelligence hackers indicted'We really should take care of this data'Michael Prinzinger runs a security consulting firm and co-founded one of Berlin's largest meetups of researchers and ethical hackers.He said strong reactions like the CDU's have become increasingly rare. "The backlash on organizations that persecuted people [who] report vulnerabilities was, and — as we can also see in this case — is huge."Michael Prinzinger, security consultant, Berlin, Germany"The backlash on organizations that persecuted people [who] report vulnerabilities was, and — as we can also see in this case — is huge," he said.Prinzinger hopes Wittmann's experience doesn't have a chilling effect on others doing work he says is vital."The message might be that people will feel like a criminal when they actually do the right thing and report a vulnerability that can lead to others suffering from privacy loss or data about them being leaked," he said.Berlin's data protection authority is investigating CDU Connect and could level sanctions against the CDU if it finds the party did not adequately safeguard users' data.The CDU did not respond to several interview requests.Related: Biden and Putin both place a 'high priority' on cybersecurityWittmann, meanwhile, has hired a lawyer. She is steadfast in her belief she acted responsibly.She said she realized what was at stake if the app's data was left so vulnerable — even if it is politically damaging for the CDU to admit."There is half a million data points about public opinion in there," she said."And so we really should take care of this data, or maybe it shouldn't even exist."

Many people are still missing as record rainfall led to severe floods in Germany and Belgium. A major rescue effort is ongoing. German President Frank- Walter Steinmeier visited some of the worst hit areas and said that Germany stood together in the time of need. Also in the programme: the winner of this year's Palm D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival which has divided critics; and the world's rarest postage stamp. (Photo: North Rhine-Westphalia's state premier and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Armin Laschet speaks with volunteers as he visits the emergency accommodations for flood victims. CREDIT: Sebastien Bozon/Pool via REUTERS)

Armin Laschet is the new leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the main political party in Germany. Why is this relevant? Because he is likely to become Angela Merkel's successor as German Chancellor later on this year. To talk about this topic I sit down with Joshua Dario Hasenstab, General Coordinator at RAIA Group, a global politics Think Tank. Germany faces great challenges when it comes to climate change and digital transformation. It is also a key player in the EU's foreign policy decisions. Our goal is to give an insight into Laschet's stance on these issues and his political goals. As I have said, Laschet is leader of the CDU, this does not mean that he will also be the candidate the party put forward for the general election in September 2021. This is decided together with the Christian Social Union (CSU), their sister party. Give the episode a listen to find out who the other candidates might be!

In the week when Germany's governing party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), elected Armin Laschet as its new leader, and Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States, Jeremy Cliffe and Emily Tamkin are joined on World Review by Constanze Stelzenmüller, Fritz Stern Chair on Germany and Transatlantic Relations at the Brookings Institution. In this episode, they discuss what these new appointments mean for the future of relations between Europe and the US, and how the rise of China will play out for the transatlantic alliance.We'd love to hear from you! Send us your You Ask Us questions at youaskus.co.uk. Find us on Twitter: @jeremycliffe and @emilyctamkin.Subscribing to the New Statesman helps us keep producing this podcast. You can now subscribe for 12 weeks for just £12. Visit newstatesman.com/subscribe12More audio from the New Statesman: listen to our twice-weekly UK politics podcast The New Statesman podcastIf you are a New Statesman digital subscriber you can get ad-free access to this podcast by visiting newstatesman.com/nssubscribers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In October 2018, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced she would not run again. Since then, her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has struggled to find a successor to lead the party and the country. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Merkel's preferred successor, won a party leadership election in 2018, but has since failed to establish her authority. In February 2020, Kramp-Karrenbauer  announced her resignation as CDU leader, leaving the party in a familiar crisis of leadership. Jen talks to Judy Dempsey about what differentiated Angela Merkel from other German leaders and where the country will go next.

This is your daily roundup for Saturday, September 14, 2019. Square Crypto announced a $100k grant to fund the development of BTC Pay Server, Hodl Hodl released open source code for it’s exchange, and Consensys announced the launch of it’s DeFi project called Codefi. ☕ Buy Me A Coffee: https://glow.fm/mota Today in Crypto – September 14, 2019 Square Crypto announced a $100k grant to fund the development of BTC Pay Server, an open-source bitcoin payment processor. Square Crypto says this is just the first of many grants to support open-source bitcoin projects. The grants can be used to create anything, as long as it’s free and open-source software that improves the security, scalability, privacy, user experience, or fungibility of bitcoin. In response to BTC Pay Server being a competitor, Square Crypto tweeted “This isn’t an investment in a competitor, it’s an investment in the future of money—something that Square obviously has a stake in.” Square Crypto is the crypto-focused branch of mobile payments company Square. Hodl Hodl Releases Open Source Code Peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange Hodl Hodl is planning to make its software freely available for anyone to launch their own version of the exchange. Hodl Hodl CEO Max Keidun told CoinDesk “History teaches us that if a government wants to shut you down, it will” Keidun says that anyone can fork the code from Github to launch their own exchange in the case that Hodl Hodl gets shut down. The exchange also doesn’t require any KYC. Hodl Hodl’s CTO, Roman Snitko stated “We think KYC/AML does more harm by exposing law-abiding users to fraudsters and criminals. The information and documents users upload to exchanges has been stolen many times in the past.” Hodl Hodl is a non custodial exchange that provides an escrow service in which the seller locks bitcoin in a multi-signature smart contract until the buyer sends fiat. Releasing the bitcoin requires 2 out of 3 signatures, belonging to the buyer, seller, and Hodl Hodl.  ConsenSys Launches Codefi Project  ConsenSys is entering the DeFi ecosystem with the launch of Codefi, a software suite for processing data, networks, assets, and payments on the blockchain. Co-head of global fintech at ConsenSys Lex Sokolin compared Codefi to Twilio and Stripe, serving businesses in the form of a payment processor. ConsenSys has already incubated several startups offering similar services, but Sokolin said that ConsenSys leadership noticed a divide between startups’ products and enterprise clients’ needs. ConsenSys chief of staff Jeremy Milar, stated “There are a series of smart contracts and workflows and capabilities that everyone needs. It doesn’t make sense for every organization or team working in DeFi or institutional assets to rewrite the same code.” Codefi will likely onboard enterprise clients and eventually be a core pillar of ConsenSys’s business model.  German Government Favors “State-Backed Digital Currency” According to German publication Spiegel, the German government plans to approve its proposed blockchain strategy this September, favoring crypto projects and state-backed digital currency over Libra. Thomas Heilmann of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) stated, “Rather than Libra capturing the market in Germany, authorities appear to be in favor of creating a state-backed digital currency.” Part of Germany’s proposed blockchain strategy involves creating a framework for crypto startups in the country.  According to Heilmann, authorities in Germany are hoping that the blockchain strategy will help local crypto startups enjoy competitive advantages over their foreign counterparts. Santander Settles Bond on Ethereum Santander has settled a $20 million bond trade on Ethereum. Santander used an ethereum token to represent the $20 million debt issuance and settled it with another set of ERC-20 tokens representing cash held in a custody account. However, Santander issued the blockchain bond to itself and no outside investors were involved in the trade.

After a series of tough electoral setbacks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced yesterday that she will not seek another term as the head of her governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. Merkel has led the party for almost two decades and governed Germany for over a decade.

Following two politically damaging federal state election results, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Monday 29 October that she would not seek re-election as the head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party at leadership elections in December. ICIS experts Roy Manuell and Tasmin Chowdhary discuss who might replace her and how the changing political situation could affect energy policy and the work of the German coal exit commission.

What does Angela Merkel’s decision to stand down as leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) mean for Germany and Europe? Mark Leonard discusses with Josef Janning and Susi Dennison the political implications and expectations for party leadership: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Friedrich Merz, Jens Spahn. Bookshelf • ECFR’s EU Coalition Explorer www.ecfr.eu/eucoalitionexplorer • Counter-Revolution - Liberal Europe in Retreat by Jan Zielonka https://global.oup.com/academic/product/counter-revolution-9780198806561?cc=de&lang=en& • Fauda https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4565380/ The podcast was recorded on 31 October 2018. Picture: (c) The European Union