Friedrich Merz, the politician likely to become Germany’s next chancellor, has vowed to restore Germany’s industrial competitiveness by putting climate policy on the back burner.

In a campaign speech in the western industrial city of Bochum on Monday, Merz, leader of the CDU, stated that Germany’s economic policies under Chancellor Olaf Scholz had been “almost entirely oriented towards climate protection.” He added, “I want to say this clearly: We will and must change that.”

Germany’s traffic-light coalition government, which collapsed in November over differences of opinion on spending and economic reforms, had pledged to “ideally” phase out coal by 2030, eight years ahead of the official target date. To achieve this goal, the coalition, which included Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens, greatly expanded renewables and subsidized energy-intensive companies to help them achieve climate neutrality.

As a result, Germany is the European Union’s industrial leader in the production of green infrastructure, with the largest number of plants for solar and wind technology. In heat pump production, it has the second-largest number of plants, behind Italy.

However, Merz suggested that he would radically change course. Referring to both coal and nuclear power during his speech, he argued that they had “agreed enough” in recent years on which energy source to phase out, but that decommissioning was out of the question unless there was “something to replace it.”

“If we continue to do so, we would greatly jeopardize Germany as an industrial center, and we are not prepared to do that,” Merz said.

Merz and his conservative alliance CDU-CSU are likely to win the early elections on 23 February, with 31 percent support in the polls. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is in second place with 21 percent support. However, since Merz has closed the door to an alliance with the AfD, he may have to form a coalition with the SPD and the Greens, who oppose his economic policies.

During his visit to Bochum, Merz also expressed skepticism about the previous government’s focus on “green steel”—steel mills powered by hydrogen from renewable energy—and told a panel that he “does not believe that the rapid transition to hydrogen-powered steel mills will be successful.”

ThyssenKrupp, once the national steel giant, received around €2 billion in state subsidies in 2023 to accelerate its shift away from CO2-emitting production by replacing its coal-fired steel furnaces with new hydrogen-fired ones.

In Bochum, Merz proposed carbon capture instead of completely avoiding emissions from steel mills with hydrogen. His main concern with hydrogen from renewable sources is cost. However, experts warn that carbon capture, an electricity-consuming technology, also has a high price tag and is not yet available on the scale needed to decarbonize the steel industry.

Robert Habeck, the Greens’ candidate for prime minister, disagreed with Merz’s comments about hydrogen-powered steel mills. “No one should believe that coal-fired electricity and coal-powered steel still have a chance on the world market,” Habeck told reporters on Tuesday.

SPD leaders also criticized Merz. Anke Rehlinger, premier of the southwestern state of Saarland, where the steel industry is a key sector, told the German daily Stern that anyone who wanted to back down now would destroy billions of euros in investments and tens of thousands of jobs.

NATO will deploy maritime drones, submarines, ships, and aircraft to detect and prevent sabotage attempts against critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. This decision comes after several power pipelines and data cables were damaged in recent months.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced the new mission, dubbed Baltic Watch, on Tuesday. The announcement followed Finland’s seizure of a ship belonging to Russia’s “shadow oil tanker fleet,” which is suspected of damaging submarine power cables last month.

During a meeting with officials from the Baltic Sea region in Helsinki, Rutte stated, “This is all about protecting critical submarine infrastructure. Whereas in the past we have discussed cyberattacks, sabotage, and energy blackmail as separate actions, what we want to show today is that NATO, together with our allies, will ensure our deterrence is in the right place.”

Over the past 15 months, three ships in the Baltic Sea have allegedly damaged underwater cables and pipelines by dragging their anchors on the seabed. This has prompted countries such as Sweden and Estonia to increase their maritime patrols.

NATO’s multinational troop groups are already deployed and reinforced in each of the three Baltic states. Additionally, NATO has been conducting an air policing mission over the region for an extended period.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times (FT), Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen noted that the likelihood of all three ships accidentally damaging underwater infrastructure was “close to zero.”

According to open-source intelligence experts, several ships from the Russian shadow fleet have exhibited “strange behavior” in the Baltic Sea and near Denmark. These ships have repeatedly crossed pipelines and experienced multiple breakdowns, raising concerns about potential accidents, further sabotage, or environmental disasters.

Rutte and other leaders praised Finland’s response to the latest sabotage suspicions. Last month, Finland helicoptered out and seized the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S tanker, which was carrying oil from Russia to Egypt.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who hosted the NATO meeting in Helsinki, revealed that a group of legal experts from the Baltic Sea states has been established. Their goal is to explore ways to restrict the freedom of navigation for ships belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet under international maritime law.

Valtonen acknowledged that “it is difficult to completely block the shadow fleet from the Baltic Sea” due to constraints imposed by international maritime law. However, she added that there are possibilities for “defense of territorial integrity or sovereignty.”

Stubb also highlighted a Finnish law that authorizes emergency action when an environmental disaster is feared.

Rutte declined to provide specific details on the number of ships, aircraft, submarines, and drones to be deployed, noting that these figures could change over time.

Sweden announced over the weekend that it would contribute up to three warships to the mission.

“The important thing is that we use the right military assets in the right places at the right time to deter destabilizing actions in the future,” Rutte emphasized.

Germany is also participating in the NATO mission with significant Bundeswehr capacity. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated at the Helsinki meeting, “We will participate with all the naval capabilities we have.”

The naval operation is being coordinated by a special staff at the Naval Command of the German Armed Forces in Rostock. The mission aims to deter saboteurs or, at the very least, ensure that sabotage operations can be investigated quickly.

“So that we can not only monitor but also take action,” Scholz said. He added that “additional possibilities within the framework of EU and national legislation” should be created, if necessary, to take action against suspicious vessels outside national waters.

Italy was rocked by protests over the weekend, prompting the government to call for the immediate approval of the controversial Security Bill, a key pledge of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government. The bill has divided the opposition, the Council of Europe, and the families of victims of mafia and terrorist attacks.

Protests in Rome and Bologna over the weekend, held in memory of Ramy Elgaml, an Egyptian teenager killed during a police chase in Milan, drew sharp reactions from government leaders. A recently surfaced video of the incident last month shows gendarmes chasing Elgaml and motorbike rider Fares Bouzidi, a Tunisian national. The officers are heard swearing after failing to overturn the motorbike and shouting “fine” when it falls.

Solidarity actions against police violence

The video shows the patrol car crashing into the motorcycle at the end of an eight-kilometre chase, which reportedly began when Elgaml decided to jump a checkpoint because he did not have a valid driving licence. It also shows police officers approaching a witness, possibly implying that he should erase evidence of the fatal accident.

The incident sparked several days of unrest in Corvetto, the working-class neighbourhood where the teenager lived, leaving several policemen injured. Additional clashes occurred during a “solidarity” protest organised by anarchist groups in Turin on Thursday night.

Reactions from the right-wing government: ‘Red criminals’

Meloni described the events as “shameful,” while Defence Minister Giuseppe Crosetto called for legislation to better protect law enforcement officers. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini sharply criticised the protesters, labelling them as “red criminals” who attacked the police.

The bill, already passed by the lower house of parliament, returned to the Senate for debate on Monday. Provisions include harsher penalties for property damage during demonstrations, extended city banning orders for those accused or convicted of protest-related offences, and prison sentences ranging from six months to two years for organising sit-ins that disrupt railways, roads, or motorways.

Right-wing government aims to strengthen law enforcement

The draft law also introduces measures to support law enforcement, such as allowing certain weapons to be carried off-duty without a licence and covering legal costs of up to €10,000 for offences committed in the line of duty. It also criminalises causing bodily harm to an officer or agent on duty.

One of the most contentious aspects of the bill is the extension of powers for the secret services. Under the proposed law, agents could commit certain crimes, including joining or leading terrorist organisations, without accountability if done in the name of national security.

EU and Italian opposition express ‘concerns’

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty criticised the bill in a letter to Senate President Ignazio La Russa on 20 December. O’Flaherty expressed concern that the bill is incompatible with European human rights standards, particularly regarding protesters, detainees, young environmental activists, and migrants.

The letter highlighted vaguely defined offences, such as non-violent protests blocking traffic or passive resistance in prisons and migrant centres, which are punishable by heavy prison sentences. “These provisions risk arbitrary and disproportionate application and have a chilling effect on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” O’Flaherty warned.

The opposition also condemned the violence, with Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein cautioning against politicising the events. Schlein emphasised the importance of statements made by Ramy’s family, who called for the tragedy not to be exploited.