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Chancellor Angela Merkel presses the button to begin the hydrogen plasma experiment

ANGELA MERKEL VISITS RESEARCH PROJECTSun-power experiment begins

Nuclear fusion is the attempt to harness the energy here on Earth from the fusion of atomic nuclei as happens in the sun. At the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald, the Chancellor has launched a crucially important phase in efforts to tap this inexhaustible source of energy. more

Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière meets the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (at right) in Kabul.

THOMAS DE MAIZIÈRE IN AFGHANISTANWorking together to reduce refugee numbers

Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière wants to join forces with the Afghan government to bring down the number of Afghan asylum-seekers coming to Germany. “In the long term we cannot take in 154,000 Afghans a year,” said Thomas de Maizière during his visit to Afghanistan.more

Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko at the joint press conference

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT IN BERLINWork continues to achieve a peaceful solution

The Chancellor is continuing to push for a peaceful solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, on the basis of the Minsk agreements. After almost a year the agreements have still not been fully implemented. Angela Merkel has discussed the issue with the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Berlin. more

MIGRATION AND ASYLUMGreen light for the second asylum package

The right for family members to follow refugees to Germany is to be suspended for a fixed period, the list of safe countries of origin extended and training for refugees promoted – these are the main points on which agreement has now been reached between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of the other coalition parties. more

REFUGEE IDENTITY CARD TO BE INTRODUCEDStandardised recording of refugees’ data

In future asylum-seekers are to be issued with a standardised refugee identity card. The Bundesrat, the second chamber of the German parliament, has now passed the relevant legislation. This identity card, officially known as the “arrival ID”, will ensure that essential details are recorded in a standardised manner. more

MATTEO RENZI IN BERLINWorking together to fight traffickers

To fight gangs of traffickers, the Chancellor has proposed a German-Italian training mission to be conducted in Tunisia for Libyan security forces. Germany and Italy have “maximum interest” in seeing Libya gradually once again become a stable state, said Angela Merkel. more