Germany news roundup: AfD youth wing rejects euro exit, Berlin shelter fire and Taliban delegation
Hundreds evacuated after a fire at a Berlin refugee shelter, the AfD youth wing breaks ranks over the euro, and a Taliban delegation visits Germany.
Quick Look
A weekend news roundup from Germany covers the evacuation of hundreds from a Berlin refugee shelter fire, the AfD youth wing's rejection of a euro currency exit, and reports of a Taliban delegation in Germany facilitating Afghan deportations.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The AfD's previous youth wing was labeled right-wing extremist by intelligence officials. A fire occurred at a Berlin-Spandau refugee shelter.
The youth wing of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has broken ranks with party leadership and called for Germany not to leave the euro currency.
"We do not want Germany to leave the euro, but to address the existing structural flaws in the euro system," Jean-Pascal Hohm, head of the Generation Deutschland (GD) youth organization, told the Bild newspaper.
The GD is due to adopt a position on the issue at a conference in the city of Magdeburg on Saturday.
A draft statement says the euro has strengthened the European single market but has "structural flaws," and calls for reforms that would improve stability without giving up Europe's economic unity.
In its 2025 election manifesto, the euroskeptic AfD has called for Germany to leave the euro, the single currency of 21 EU member states.
The GD was established last year as the AfD's new youth organization after the party dissolved its previous youth wing, the Junge Alternative (JA), after it was labeled right-wing extremist by intelligence officials.
A fire broke out early Saturday morning at a refugee shelter in Berlin-Spandau, a borough on the outer western edge of Germany's capital.
The dpa news agency reported that the blaze broke out on the fourth floor of a six-story building, designed to accommodate about 1,200 people.
Citing the fire department, dpa said furnishings caught fire in the hallway for reasons yet to be determined.
The smoke then spread to the fifth and sixth floors.
Four people were treated for smoke inhalation, the statement said. Three were taken to hospital.
Several hundred residents were evacuated from the shelter, with between 50 and 60 people moved to alternative accommodation.
Good morning from Bonn, where the Rhine River water level is creeping back up after hitting a low earlier this month during the drought.
Overnight, a fire at a refugee center in Berlin forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents.
A report by public broadcaster NDR reveals that the Taliban has sent a delegation to Germany to help facilitate the deportation of Afghan nationals, whose asylum claims have been rejected.
Also, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) wants to leave the euro currency, the party's youth wing has spoken out against the policy, calling instead for "structural flaws" in the euro system to be fixed.
Here you'll find our coverage of the latest news, sport and analysis from across Germany this weekend.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Generation Deutschland youth organization to adopt position on euro currency at Magdeburg conference
Very likely · Within days
Open Questions
- What caused the fire at the Berlin-Spandau refugee shelter?
- What are the specific terms of the Taliban delegation's discussions in Germany?
