Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care

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What you need to know

• The federal Health Ministry is reportedly planning to increase elder care contributions for childfree adults.
• Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is headed to Canada for a five-day trip as Europe pivots away from reliance on the US for security.
• Germany's TÜV consumer safety firm is on trial over a fatal dam collapse in Brazil.

Below are the latest headlines from across Germany on Tuesday, May 26.

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Skip next section Pistorius to make five-day Canada trip05/26/2026May 26, 2026

Pistorius to make five-day Canada trip

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is set to begin a five-day trip to Canada on Tuesday, with his most important mission to press Ottawa to award a contract to build 12 submarines to German shipbuilder TKMS.

Several EU countries, including Germany, have increasingly courted defense cooperation with Canada as relations with the United States deteriorate under President Donald Trump. Earlier this month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney became the first non-European leader to attend the European Political Community (EPC) defense summit.

Pistorius announced on Monday that he would cancel a planned trip to Washington that had been scheduled after his Canada visit. According to German media reports, the minister changed his plans because his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, will not be in Washington and was therefore unable to meet with him.

https://p.dw.com/p/5EKVNSkip next section Germany sweats under May heat wave05/26/2026May 26, 2026

Germany sweats under May heat wave

While Germany might not be setting records like the UK and France, it is still experiencing unusually high spring temperatures as climate change continues to impact the weather around the world.

Read our full report here: Unseasonal May heat wave grips Europe

https://p.dw.com/p/5EJeZSkip next section Police union sounds alarm over outdated facilities05/26/2026May 26, 2026

Police union sounds alarm over outdated facilities

The Police Union (GdP) has complained about a large number of dilapidated police stations within the Federal Police and is urgently calling for better infrastructure.

"It's clear that nearly one in three stations has significant defects or is dilapidated," Andreas Rosskopf, the GdP chairman for the Federal Police division, told the Rheinische Post newspaper. The condition of many buildings and stations is “no longer acceptable.”

Rosskopf added that police were not asking for any "luxury," but basics like break rooms and changing rooms that reflect a more gender diverse force. This week, he added, the union plans to start an official campaign to ask for more funding from federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.

From train tracks to roads, schools, and military equipment, decades of austerity politics have rendered much of German infrastructure significantly outdated.

Crumbling infrastructure: Germany's growth killer?

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https://p.dw.com/p/5EJWYSkip next section Class-action lawsuit against TÜV opens in Munich over Brazil dam collapse05/26/2026May 26, 2026

Class-action lawsuit against TÜV opens in Munich over Brazil dam collapse

Preliminary hearings have begun in Munich against TÜV Süd, the Bavaria-based branch of Germany's mostly highly regarded safety testing firm.

The suit was brought by residents of the Brazilian town of Brumadinho. On January 25, 2019, a dam broke outside an iron ore mine owned by the mining company Vale. The collapse caused a mudflow that covered several buildings belonging to the mining operation as well as parts of the town, killing at least 270 people.The release of toxic chemicals from the mine also created a major environmental disater for the entire area.

Thirteen people, mostly Vale employees, have been arrested for negligence over the disaster. Two of those suspects were TÜV Süd engineers who had been part of the team contracted to carry out safety checks on the dam.

https://p.dw.com/p/5EJLPSkip next section Childfree adults to pay more in elder care contributions — report05/26/2026May 26, 2026

Childfree adults to pay more in elder care contributions — report

According to a report from German media group RND, federal Health Minister Nina Warken has prepared a draft bill that would have adults without children pay a higher percentage of taxes towards publicly-funded elder care.

The bill would have contributions from childfree adults increase by 0.7% over a period of years, meaning they would pay 2.5% of their income each month. Their employer will be expected to pay 1.8%. For adults with children the rates will remain the same: 1.8% for people with one child, 1.55% for people with two children, and 1.3% for people with three or more children.

Under the proposal, all adults over the age of 23 who are working full-time would be affected. 

It is unclear when Warken, a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), will submit the draft to the cabinet. Her ministry had originally said it would present a proposal for elder care reform in mid-May. With a long-stagnating birthrate mildly buoyed by immigration, Germany needs to act fast to make sure older generations can be taken care of without placing an undue burden on young people.

Who's going to care for Germany's aging population?

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https://p.dw.com/p/5EJHJSkip next section Welcome to our coverage05/26/2026May 26, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

Elizabeth Schumacher | Richard Connor Editor

Good morning from DW's newsroom in a sunny, summery Bonn.

Today we will be covering the heatwave that has much of Europe sweltering, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius beginning a five-day trip to Canada, and the start of a class action lawsuit against German consumer safety firm TÜV.

Check back here for reports, analyses, and headlines from across Germany throughout the day.

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