
After criticism of his proximity to suspected clan members, the Berlin left-wing MP Ferat Koçak is resigning completely from his seat on the Bundestag's Interior Committee in order not to burden his colleagues.
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Ferat Koçak had previously suspended his work on the Interior Committee due to allegations of being too close to suspected members of criminal clan structures.
Berlin. The Berlin left-wing MP Ferat Koçak is giving up his seat on the Bundestag's Interior Committee completely after criticism of being too close to suspected members of criminal clan structures. “I don’t want my colleagues and their important parliamentary work to be put under additional strain by attacks on me,” Koçak wrote on X. He had already suspended his committee work because of the allegations.
After the cabinet decision on nursing care reform, the SPD parliamentary group is calling for structural changes such as financial equalization between private and statutory nursing care insurance as well as a nursing care cap. Prime Ministers Rehlinger and Schwesig criticize the compromise as just business as usual and are calling for real reforms to relieve the burden on families and employees. The Greens and the Left also see the agreement as inadequate and accuse the SPD of outsourcing central demands to a commission.

The federal cabinet has approved a draft for nursing care reform that relieves the burden on the coalition, but does not offer a permanent solution. The removal of pension points for caring relatives was reversed and childless contributors were placed under greater burden. For spouses who are also insured without paying contributions, a surcharge will be introduced and the contribution assessment limit will be raised.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has hinted at a possible re-entry of the UK into the EU. The EU Commission declared itself open to suggestions from London and emphasized that Great Britain remains a close partner. Burnham criticized Brexit as damaging and called for new levels of growth and prosperity.
After a long dispute, the federal government has agreed on a reform of nursing care insurance: the premium surcharge for childless people will rise from 0.6 to 0.9 percent from 2025, while planned cuts in benefits and for caring relatives will be weakened. In addition, contributions for mini-jobs will be due from 2028 and a surcharge will be introduced for spouses who are also insured. General contributions remain stable at 3.6 percent.

Austrian MEP Lena Schilling (Greens) criticizes the spread of AI-generated nude images of female politicians as a form of violence against women and calls for effective enforcement of the planned EU ban on abusive nudifier apps as well as clear guidelines and adequately equipped authorities.
The article describes how the political enemy images of the center right in Germany have changed: Instead of against the Greens and the Bionade Biedermeier culture in Prenzlauer Berg, criticism is now directed more strongly against a left in Neukölln that is perceived as red and partly pro-Palestinian, with Markus Söder's attack on Berlin serving as an example of this change.