Germany’s political parties have converged on an unusual point of agreement: A law penalizing citizens for insulting politicians needs to change, following controversial investigations of people who mocked Chancellor Friedrich Merz as “Pinocchio” and “Lying Fritz.”

But while politicians across the spectrum agree the law needs fixing — they just can’t agree how, or when, to change it, according to a POLITICO survey of the lawmakers responsible for the issue from each of the parties represented in the Bundestag. 

“We take seriously the criticism that, in practice, it may have created the impression of a special legal privilege for politicians,” said Susanne Hierl, a lawmaker from Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). “Such preferential treatment was never the intention of the legislature.”

Moritz Oppelt, the CDU justice minister of Germany’s southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg echoed the sentiment, arguing the law should serve only its original intent of protecting local politicians, who are often subject to particular vitriol.

“Top politicians can and must be able to withstand tough criticism,” he said. “It is fundamental to our democracy, and part of our understanding of democracy in Germany, that people are free to discuss political decisions at the federal and state levels and criticize them very harshly. That does not mean that insults in the political sphere should become normalized. There are, of course, limits.”

Variations of this view find consensus across Germany’s fractured political spectrum. The far-left Left Party and far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party want the law abolished outright, while the CDU, Greens and center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) all support revising it. 

“Politicians like Friedrich Merz insult ordinary people in this country every day by calling them lazy or malingerers,” said Luke Hoss, a Left lawmaker, referring to the chancellor’s remarks that Germans should work more to boost economic growth. “The provision creates a special criminal offense that applies only to politicians and should be abolished.”

Tobias Peterka, an AfD lawmaker, said tough criticism comes with the job. “Anyone who voluntarily enters politics and exercises public authority must — as Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court has repeatedly emphasized — tolerate harsher criticism than private citizens, not less,” he argued.

While a version of the law giving special protection to politicians, Section 188 of the criminal code, has existed since 1951, former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government in 2021 strengthened the legislation as part of broader efforts to combat right-wing extremism and hate speech.

The reform came after the 2019 murder of CDU lawmaker Walter Lübcke by a far-right extremist and amid verbal and physical attacks on local politicians amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Lübcke had been an outspoken supporter of Germany’s refugee policy under Merkel.

The law applies to insults made publicly or through social media posts when they are linked to the politician’s public role and are deemed to significantly impede their work. Offenders face up to three years in prison or a fine for insulting politicians; defamation and “malicious gossip” carry stronger penalties.

But opinion has turned against the law following several recent investigations and prosecutions of regular people for insulting politicians. One man was fined for calling Merz “Lügenfritz,” or “Lying Fritz,” another for calling him “Fotzenfritz” (“pussy-hound Fritz”), a defamatory nickname coined by a satirical magazine. “Fritz” is a common nickname for Friedrich.

Andy Hüttner, a 66-year-old retiree from southwestern Germany, was investigated for writing “Pinocchio is coming” on a local police Facebook post about security measures for a planned visit by Merz.

“I thought calling Mr. Merz ‘Pinocchio’ was absolutely fitting because he promised so much and delivered so little,” Hüttner told POLITICO. “It never crossed my mind that anything could happen because of that comment.”

After the news of the investigation kicked off a media furor — and condemnation from U.S. Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers — the case was dropped.

Under German law, insulting any person (Beleidigung) can be a criminal offense, but the law for politicians makes the potential punishment for insults and defamation more severe.

But there’s growing agreement that the law attempting to provide extra protections for politicians has gone too far.

CDU lawmaker Hierl said local politicians still need protection. “We will therefore carefully review both the wording of Section 188 and the way it is applied,” she said.

The opposition Greens agree that the law should focus on protecting local politicians.

“Repealing Section 188 of the German Criminal Code would send the wrong signal,” Lena Gumnior, one of the party’s lawmakers, wrote in a statement. “I could, however, envision reforming Section 188 so that it applies only to elected officeholders at the municipal level.”

SPD Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said in June that politicians must be able to bear more criticism than regular citizens, broadly echoing the position of the Greens and CDU. In June, Germany’s state justice ministers called for the law to be narrowed so that it applies to municipal officeholders. 

For the moment, however, neither Merz’s governing CDU nor the opposition Greens are preparing a legislative push for after the summer recess. 

An AfD bill to abolish Section 188 was voted down by the Bundestag, and while the party has since introduced another bill, centrist parties have vowed not to work with the far right, maintaining a so-called “firewall” around the party.

The Left party has also introduced a parliamentary motion addressing Section 188, more evidence of the broad consensus around changing the law — even if mainstream politicians haven’t gotten around to it yet.

A German district court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for far-right Alternative for Germany lawmaker Maximilian Krah over unpaid legal fees stemming from a dispute with comedian Jan Böhmermann, according to various German media outlets.

In 2024, Böhmermann read out a listener’s letter on his podcast alleging that Krah, a former member of the European Parliament, had ordered 200 bottles of Champagne for an entire tent at Munich’s Oktoberfest. Krah denied the claims and called the story “complete nonsense.” Böhmermann later said that his research indicated the number of bottles was likely only 50.

Krah, who had already been dubbed “Schampus-Max” (Champagne Max) in some German media outlets, filed an injunction against Böhmermann over the claims for violation of his “personality rights,” according to Germany’s Der Spiegel, but the case was dismissed in December 2024. Krah was then ordered to cover litigation costs — which he is alleged to have failed to pay in full.

The outstanding amount is less than €300, reported Der Spiegel. A court bailiff applied for an arrest warrant in mid-July when the lawmaker did not appear for an asset disclosure appointment, according to the outlet.

Krah has since said he was neither aware of the appointment nor the outstanding costs.

The Bundestag would have to lift Krah’s parliamentary immunity in order for him to be detained.

Böhmermann had previously made headlines for triggering a diplomatic crisis after he insulted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a poem in 2016.

Böhmermann’s lawyer and Krah’s office did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

A spokesperson for the court did not confirm the arrest warrant, citing privacy concerns.

Authorities in Tokyo lashed out at Moscow after a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the disputed island of Iturup on Thursday.

The island, also known by its Japanese name Etorofu, lies northeast of Japan — around 100 kilometers from the coast of Hokkaido — in the Kuril Islands chain and is claimed by both Moscow and Tokyo. Like the other disputed islands in the chain, they are administered by Russia.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi wrote on X on Thursday: “Today, I was informed that Russian President Putin visited Iturup Island. The Northern Territories, including Iturup Island, are inherently Japanese territory both historically and under international law, and the Government of Japan strongly protests this visit.”

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the visit “incompatible with Japan’s consistent position on the Northern Territories” and “absolutely unacceptable.”

“Even amid the harsh state of Japan-Russia relations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Japan has made every possible effort,” wrote Takaichi on X, “but this visit can only be said to have further hardened anti-Russia sentiment within Japan and made medium- to long-term recovery of relations more difficult. I hope that the Russian side will take the gravity of this matter very seriously.”

Moscow, however, claims the island chain became part of Russian territory following Japan’s defeat in World War II.

The Kremlin also operates a strategically important military base on Iturup. In 2025, Japan protested a Russian shooting drill in waters in the area, including in Japan’s territorial waters, and said that the Kremlin’s “military buildup” in the area was “unacceptable.”

According to Russian state media, Putin visited a fish farm on the island. The report said that he was told that the waters of the Kuril Islands are currently filled with tuna weighing up to 300 kilograms — and he was also treated to caviar.

This story has been updated.

Russian authorities said Ukraine’s overnight bombardment of the western Krasnodar region killed two people and injured at least 12.

Andrei Kravchenko, mayor of the Russian city Novorossiysk, said the attack killed one child and injured eight people. Drone debris damaged four businesses and 21 residential buildings, including apartment blocks, he said. Krasnodar Krai regional governor, Veniamin Kondratyev, said on his Telegram channel that more buildings were damaged elsewhere in the region, killing one man and injuring four people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the attack on Wednesday but insisted that Kyiv’s forces had targeted the naval base in Novorossiysk, which he called “the last major stronghold of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea.”

“Our Palianytsia jet-powered drones, Neptune missiles, and unmanned naval systems successfully struck the designated targets. Hits on air defense positions, piers, and seaport infrastructure have been confirmed,” wrote Zelenskyy on X.

“The occupation fleet and all the infrastructure supporting it will not be safe as long as Russian aggression continues,” he warned Moscow.

Russia’s defense ministry said the country’s air defenses had intercepted and destroyed 502 Ukrainian drones over several regions and the Black Sea overnight.

Moscow has stepped up its missile attacks on Ukraine in recent months, killing dozens of Ukrainian civilians, while Kyiv has hit back at Russian targets, including oil refineries and warehouses belonging to Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries.

Last week, an intercepted Ukrainian drone crashed onto a Russian beach, killing seven people and injuring 40.

Latvian authorities have discovered a tunnel used by migrants to cross the border from Belarus illegally amid long-standing concerns that Minsk is weaponizing migration against the EU.

On Monday, border guards detected 15 people who had come through a 10-meter-long tunnel near the border fence between Belarus and Latvia, Riga’s Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava said Tuesday.

Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his regime has supported Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine and taken a hostile stance toward the EU.

Tunnels have previously been found in Lithuania, according to Baltic media, but this is the first time one has been used to cross into Latvia.

“This is the first case in which a tunnel has been used for illegal crossing of the state border into Latvia. No signs of violations had previously been detected in this exact location, and no detentions of persons illegally crossing the state border had occurred there,” Dombrava wrote on X.

Authorities returned all 15 people to their “country of departure” and are continuing to inspect the area around the tunnel.

Latvia launched an operation Tuesday to strengthen border security. Dombrava has described illegal border crossings from Belarus as a “hybrid threat.”

Authorities have prevented more than 9,000 illegal attempts to cross the border from Belarus so far this year, the Latvian State Border Guard said in a press release.

Russia bombarded Ukraine with North Korean missiles overnight, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Russian attack killed six people and injured at least 19 in Zaporizhzhia, said the city’s mayor, Rehina Kharchenko. Four apartment buildings and several non-residential buildings were damaged in the southeastern city, Kharchenko wrote on her Telegram channel.

According to Zelenskyy, the city was struck with North Korean ballistic missiles, Zircons and guided aerial bombs. In a post on X, he wrote: “It was a vicious attack, calculated to inflict maximum damage specifically on civilian infrastructure.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un have deepened ties since the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine began. In September last year during a meeting in Beijing, Kim vowed to do “everything we can to assist Russia.”

Zelenskyy also reported attacks on a Kyiv hospital and businesses overnight, with at least one person injured. The capital’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, urged residents late Monday to seek shelter.

Moscow also attacked substations in Kherson and Kharkiv, causing power outages, Zelenskyy said. Further attacks took place in the Donetsk, Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions.

“Every step Russia takes — increasing ballistic missile production, bringing in North Korean equipment, preparing for mobilization — all of this shows that Moscow is preparing not for peace, but for escalation,” Zelenskyy wrote.

Russia has stepped up its missile attacks this summer, with Zelenskyy urging Western allies to help Kyiv strengthen its air defenses and to heap sanctions pressure on companies fueling Moscow’s war. However, Europe is running out of Patriot interceptors to shoot down Russian missiles, according to the continent’s military officials.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has struck back, targeting Russian infrastructure including oil refineries and buildings belonging to e-commerce giant Wildberries.

Russian state media on Tuesday reported that two Wildberries warehouses in the Voronezh region, several hundred kilometers south of Moscow, caught fire following drone strikes, killing one person.

Right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and center-left Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Monday reiterated their push to combat illegal migration after thousands of unauthorized migrants surged into Spanish exclave Ceuta in late July.

“We are aware that many might be wondering about our cooperation. We come from very different political backgrounds, and we certainly do not agree on everything,” Meloni posted in a “joint message” on Facebook, sharing an archival photo of herself and Frederiksen.

“We do not accept uncontrolled immigration to Europe, and we have promoted a strict immigration policy, both in our Nations and in Europe,” the statement continued.

In response to the Ceuta crisis, which reignited Europe’s long-running debate on illegal migration, Denmark and Italy had sent a joint letter to the European Commission demanding immediate action at the EU’s external borders. The letter was co-signed by 20 other European heads of state and government.

Italy has since been one of the harshest critics of Spain’s left-wing government and its migration policies, with Rome announcing border controls for travelers arriving from Spain on Friday.

Meloni and Frederiksen argued that the adverse effects of illegal migration — “rising crime rates, growing pressure on public services, and an erosion of citizens’ trust” — were indisputable.

“For too long, ordinary people … have paid too high a price because of uncontrolled immigration,” they said.

“We are both proud of Europe’s Christian cultural heritage and want to protect it. We expect those who come to our countries and choose to make Europe their home to respect our values and not seek to impose ways of life on us that we do not share,” they said.

European People’s Party leader Manfred Weber has called for the swift establishment of migrant return hubs in Africa after tens of thousands of unauthorized migrants surged into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in late July.

In an op-ed for German outlet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that was published Monday, conservative boss Weber wrote: “Ceuta has shown that close cooperation with neighboring countries can work. Morocco immediately took people back. No one was able to travel onward into the Schengen area” and, he added, “Europe must quickly establish return hubs in Africa.”

After tens of thousands forced their way into Ceuta — which is situated in North Africa — several international leaders pointed the finger at Spain’s left-wing government and its migration policy. Madrid had previously granted legal status to half a million unauthorized migrants.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing government are among the harshest critics, with Rome introducing border controls for travelers from Spain on Friday and sparking retaliation from Madrid.

Weber echoed proposals made last week by EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, arguing that countries outside the bloc could be offered closer trade ties, economic collaboration and legal migration opportunities in exchange for accepting the installation of return hubs.

“Migrants who have no right to remain must leave Europe — no ifs, ands or buts!” he wrote, adding that returns must no longer depend on the political will of individual member countries.

Weber called for expanding the EU’s border and coast guard agency Frontex to 50,000 operational personnel, working alongside national forces and monitoring member countries’ compliance with the bloc’s border rules.

Weber also rejected internal border controls within Europe as a long-term solution. “They may be necessary in exceptional situations. But they do not address the root cause of the problem … There can therefore be only one answer: strong, joint European protection of the external border.”

In early June, the European Parliament and European Council announced new EU rules on migrant returns, including removals to countries outside the bloc in return hubs.

Weber also argued that the Ceuta crisis, which left around 100 dead, was the result of unilateral national action and said that the Spanish government’s “political signals” have had “an immediate impact on migration routes.”

This article has been updated.

BRUSSELS — EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner warned on Thursday the bloc is vulnerable to unauthorized migration if control of its external borders depends on the goodwill of neighboring countries.

Brunner’s remarks came at an extraordinary meeting of the European Parliament’s civil liberties committee, a week after a major migration surge from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, which has reignited debate over how the EU should secure its frontiers.

“What we have seen in Ceuta during the past few days was … a test of our resilience and also of the security of our external borders,” Brunner said.

“We must cooperate with our neighbors, of course. But as long as control depends on the goodwill of one neighboring state, we remain … vulnerable,” he added.

Brunner described last week’s events in Ceuta, when around 72,000 migrants forced their way into the Spanish exclave, as “solid proof that we need a strong and effective tool — and different tools — to combat smuggling.”

Ceuta Mayor-President Juan Jesús Vivas, who also attended the meeting, said that around 100 people died during the mass border crossing, and that between 3,000 and 5,000 remained in the exclave.

Brunner said the EU should use all available leverage to secure the cooperation of countries bordering the bloc.

“It’s about further strengthening the work with partners … [We need to] step up our migration diplomacy by reinforcing comprehensive partnerships to stem this illegal migration, secure effective returns and create the right opportunities for people at home,” he said.

Brunner said cooperation with non-EU countries was essential “because the goal there is to make sure such events never happen again.”

The conservative Austrian commissioner’s party colleague Integration Minister Claudia Bauer warned on Thursday in a written statement that “another attempted mass crossing” in Ceuta could happen on Aug. 15, quoting Spanish media.

“In light of reports of another attempted mass crossing, Spain must immediately and significantly reinforce border protection in its African enclaves and ensure that this time it will hold,” she said.

German counterterrorism authorities are leading an investigation into an explosive-laden drone that was found overnight at Leipzig airport, an important base for the NATO alliance.

An airport worker discovered the drone carrying an explosive device in a restricted cargo area late Tuesday, according to Dresden Public Prosecutor’s office and Saxony state police. A police bomb disposal robot examined the drone before officers disarmed the device by removing its detonator.

Airport officials temporarily suspended flights and diverted several aircraft. One of the diverted planes, a DHL cargo aircraft, struck another flying object while climbing away from the airport. After landing at Hanover airport, officials found signs of an impact on the aircraft’s nose.

Officials told WELT — which, like POLITICO, is part of the Axel Springer group — that the device’s detonator failed to function, preventing an explosion. They also said the drone was found just meters from a Ukrainian Antonov transport aircraft. According to the report, it contained Semtex, the explosive used in the bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground.

Leipzig airport hosts the base of operations of NATO’s Strategic Airlift International Solution (SALIS), which gives participating countries access to Antonov cargo planes to transport military equipment. The airport is DHL’s largest European air hub and serves as an aircraft maintenance base for some Ukrainian Antonov aircraft.

According to WELT, security authorities have internally classified the incident as an attempted attack. No suspects had been detained as of Wednesday evening.

Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt interrupted his summer vacation in Italy to meet officials in Leipzig.

Saxony’s Interior Minister Armin Schuster described the incident in a statement as “very serious security incident.”

Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, assumed Moscow could be behind the incident. “I hope that all the authorities in Germany will now establish the facts as well. But who else could it have been besides Russia?” he posited on WELT TV.

Russia’s embassy to Germany didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lennart Pfahler contributed reporting from Berlin. This article has been updated.

Former European Parliament President Klaus Hänsch has died, current Parliament President Roberta Metsola confirmed on Wednesday.

“His Parliament mourns the loss of a champion of Europe, who took office at a time of profound change for our continent, and who never stopped believing in the potential of this project,” wrote Metsola in a social media post.

“At our last meeting just a few weeks ago, his unwavering optimism shone through as he described his ongoing efforts to promote civic engagement and nurture young European leaders. Europe will miss him. May he rest in peace,” she added.

Hänsch, a German Social Democrat, served as Parliament president from 1994 to 1997, and was an MEP from 1979 to 2009.

He was 87 years old.