President of Germany

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier blows a match after lighting a candle as he poses for photos during the recording of his annual Christmas speech, at Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, Dec. 23, 2024.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz faced a confidence vote in the Bundestag on December 16, 2024, which ultimately resulted in a loss of support for his leadership. The vote, which had been initiated by Scholz himself, sets the stage for early elections. Following the expected loss of the vote, Scholz is expected to request the dissolution of the Bundestag from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The first formal step in holding early elections is expected to be completed later today, with the federal parliament meeting to give Chancellor Olaf Scholz a vote of confidence. Following the withdrawal of the Free Democrats (FDP) from the governing coalition, the government has now lost its majority and, barring the unlikely event, Mr Scholz will lose a vote of confidence today.

The President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou met Wednesday morning at the Presidential Palace with the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in central Athens, on Wednesday. Steinmeier is in Greece for a three-day official visit. [Petros Giannakouris/AP]

"Europe starts in Berlin and reaches Athens and goes through all the Balkans. Without the Balkans, without Greece, there can be no European Union," says the former president of Germany, Christian Wulff (2010-2012), in an interview with Kathimerini looking back on the difficult relationship between Greece and Germany during the years of the economic crisis.

Prime Minister Denys Shmygal will be the first high-level Ukrainian official to visit Germany in months on Sunday, in a sign of eased tensions after a rocky patch between Kiev and Berlin.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly vowed Germany's strong support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia's invasion.

German Ambassador to Greece Jens Ploetner is expected to take up duties as political director of Germany's Federal Foreign Office, Kathimerini understands.

A career diplomat, Ploetner took up his current post in July 2017 and is expected to leave Athens in April of this year.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Dec. 4 awarded two Turkish immigrants with the German Order of Merit for their voluntary work and their services to the culture of remembrance.

The German president signed a law to legalize gay marriages which will be active from this autumn, reports Associated Press.

The parliament accepted the law during the last meeting on the 30th June, before the parliamentary elections in September. This happened after the counselor Angela Merkel said the representatives of the party should vote according to their conscience.