Germany offers something for everyone. Culture, shopping, sports, everything you could hope for from a trip. Capital: Berlin Official language: German Currency: Euro Passport and visa: A Finnish citizen needs a passport or identity card as a travel document. Time difference to Finland: -1
Agriculture and fishing
German agriculture accounts for less than one percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), even though about half of the country’s land is used for cultivation and animal husbandry. Agriculture is productive and about four-fifths of everything consumed is grown in the country. About six percent of agricultural land is used for organic farming.
CountryAAH: Comprehensive import regulations of Germany. Covers import prohibitions and special documentation requirements for a list of prohibited items.
Germany is one of the world’s largest exporters of agricultural products. The products that are most important for the agricultural economy are milk, pork and cereals, which were grown on just over half of the arable land in 2016. The most important areas for cereal cultivation are on the Baltic Sea coast and in the states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria. On the North Sea coast and in parts of Bavaria, where most of the farms are located, production is focused on dairy products and meat. Around the Ruhr area of North Rhine-Westphalia, fresh produce (preferably vegetables) is produced for the metropolitan markets. Along the middle Rhine River and in the Moselle Valley, the vineyard is significant. In Baden-Württemberg tobacco and fruit are grown, among other things.
In the western parts of Germany, agriculture is often family-run and somewhat smaller than in the eastern part of the country where large-scale agricultural enterprises, which during the communist era were collective farms, still dominate. In recent years, it has become more common for farmers not only to work on agriculture, but to depend on different types of extra income such as renting out to tourists, selling farms and contributing to renewable energy sources. For Germany defense and foreign policy, please check relationshipsplus.
Forests grow in almost one-third of Germany’s area, and harvesting covers two-thirds of the country’s needs for timber and timber. Nearly half of the forest is privately owned, close to one-third owned by the states, while two-tenths are owned by companies. The so-called forest deaths, which may have been caused by air pollution, are no longer as extensive. Sulfur dioxide emissions have been sharply reduced since the country’s reunification in 1990.
Fishing has decreased in size in recent years. Important fishing ports are Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven and Sassnitz.
FACTS – AGRICULTURE
Agriculture’s share of GDP
0.7 percent (2018)
Percentage of land used for agriculture
47.7 percent (2016)
Abbreviationfinder.org: Offers how the 3-letter acronym of DEU stands for the state of Germany in geography.
2016
October
Suspected terrorist arrest
October 10
A Syrian refugee who was planning bomb attacks is arrested in Leipzig after another Syrian had advised the police. In the man’s apartment, there were materials for making bombs, such as those used in the terrorist attacks in Paris 2015.
September
New setback for CDU in Berlin
September 19
The party gets just over 17 percent of the vote in the state election – CDU’s worst election result in Berlin so far. The result means that the CDU is no longer allowed to remain in the state government with the Social Democrats SPD. These receive the most votes in the election, even though the SPD backs 7 percent compared to the last election. The AfD gets 14 percent of the vote, which allows the party to take a seat in the state parliament. The AfD is thus represented in 10 of the 16 state parliaments. (19/9)
AfD larger than CDU in state elections
September 5
In the elections to the parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Alternatives for Germany (AfD) comes in second place with just over 20 percent of the vote, while the Social Democrats SPD gets the biggest with about 30 percent. Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats come in third place with 19 percent of the vote. The election is a heavy setback for Merkel, not least because her own constituency Stralsund is in the state.
July
Mass shooting in Munich
July 18
Nine people are killed when a young man shoots people outside and in a shopping mall in Munich on July 22. The attack begins at a McDonald’s restaurant and most of those killed are teenagers. Among the over 30 who are injured are several children. The attack takes place on the anniversary of Anders Breivik’s attack in Norway and the youngster who carries out the attack has shown a fascination for both Breivik’s deed and other mass shootings. The police suspect no connection to violent Islamism. The Munich attack will be the second of three in a week in Bavaria. A few days before the Munich attack on July 18, a 17-year-old asylum seeker goes into attack with an ax on a train outside Würzburg, injuring five people. A week later, a 27-year-old asylum seeker is killed when the bomb he is carrying explodes outside a bar in the city of Ansbach. The actual target of the attack seems to have been a well-attended concert in the city but the perpetrator is not let in as he lacks a ticket. Twelve people were injured in the explosion
Violence in East Berlin
July 9
A manifestation carried out by about 3,500 left-wing activists in the Friedrichshain district of eastern Berlin degenerates into violence. 123 police officers are injured and 86 protesters are arrested. Development projects in the district have meant that the middle class has moved in and some slum-like housing has been demolished. The dissatisfaction among the vulnerable in Freidrichshain has grown recently.
Extra funding for integration
July 8
The federal government is channeling an additional $ 7.7 billion to the states to increase efforts to successfully integrate new arrivals over the next three years. The grant also includes plans to build new housing.
Sharpened rape laws
July 7
Federation Day tightens the law on rape. Among other things, it should suffice that a rape victim has said no, no physical resistance is no longer required. It should also be easier to deport migrants who have committed sex crimes and to convict perpetrators of group rape.
May
The right-wing populist party AfD approves anti-Islamic attitude at congress
May 3
Among other things, the party believes that Islam does not belong in Germany.
April
Tens of thousands of people demonstrate against TTIP
April 24
A mass demonstration is being held in Hanover against the planned EU-US Free Trade Agreement (TTIP). On the same day, US President Obama and Angela Merkel held a meeting in the city to advocate for the trade agreement and its benefits.
Merkel accepts that Turkey is seeking prosecution against comedians
April 15
After the German comedian Jan Böhmermann performs a satirical poem in which he mocks Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey is demanding that a legal process be initiated for insult or slander. An old section of the German Penal Code makes it possible to prosecute if a foreign head of state is offended. The sentence can be up to five years in prison. A court will now decide whether to prosecute Böhmermann. Merkel’s decision is criticized by analysts for being a way of keeping up with Erdoğan at the expense of freedom of expression, so as not to jeopardize the EU’s agreement on refugee cooperation with Turkey.
More money for counter-terrorism
April 14
In connection with the integration agreement, the government also proposes counter-terrorism initiatives. It wants to provide more resources in the form of money and personnel for this purpose, among other things, the federal police should be able to use methods such as infiltrating operations to prevent terrorism.
The government agrees on legislative proposals on integration
April 14
After several months of disputes, the three parties in the government agree on what the country’s integration of immigrants should look like in the future. The bill to be tabled at Bundestag in late May contains both rights and obligations for migrants. For example, asylum seekers who refuse to participate in German education or to live in places designated by the authorities may be penalized for not obtaining a residence permit. According to the proposal, 100,000 new jobs will also be created for asylum seekers.
New figures for economic growth
April 14
GDP grew by 1.7 percent in 2015. Three leading German economic institutes predict growth to be marginally lower in 2016 (1.6 percent). But at the same time, they are optimistic and believe that economic development is moving in the right direction and that the economy is about to recover, partly because of low oil prices and German consumption.
March
Success for AfD in state elections
Alternatives for Germany (AfD) get about 24 percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt and come in second place after the Christian Democrats who seem to be able to retain government power in the state along with the Social Democrats. In Baden-Württemberg, the Greens are leading the state government, while the Christian Democrats’ results will be the worst so far with 27 percent of the vote. The AfD comes in third place with 15 percent of the vote. The Social Democrats SPD win in Rhineland-Palatinate, with CDU second and AfD in third place with close to 13 percent of the vote. The AfD’s success was interpreted by observers as a sign of many Germans’ dissatisfaction with Angela Merkel’s refugee policy.
January
Germans critical of Merkel
January 29th
An opinion poll shows that 40 percent of Germans believe Merkel should retire as Chancellor of the Republic because of his refugee policy.
Restrictions on refugee reception
January 26
The government announces that the number of asylum seekers received should be limited because asylum seekers from some countries will not have the right to be reunited with their families by giving them residence permits as well. In addition, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia will henceforth be regarded as “safe countries”, which means that it will be more difficult for asylum seekers from these countries to obtain asylum.
Terrorist act in Istanbul
10-year-old tourists are killed in a suicide attack in Istanbul. Another nine Germans are among the 15 people injured in the act, for which the Islamic State (IS) takes responsibility.
Mass abuse against women in Cologne
550 women report sexual and other harassment by gangs of men at a square in Cologne during New Year’s Eve. Eyewitnesses and police describe the men as “Arab and North African”. Popular protests arise against the police for not acting enough to disperse the gang and politicians are criticized for not reacting quickly enough to the police’s inadequate efforts. The fact that the perpetrators are described as having foreign appearance risks creating tension in Germany, which received around one million refugees in 2015 warns some observers. A number of suspects are being investigated for the abuses. Almost all immigrants have backgrounds, especially from North Africa and Arab countries. Several of them are also reported to be seeking asylum.
