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Karin Prien is Federal Minister for Family Affairs in the German federal government. She belongs to the CDU. Community service is discussed as a possible alternative or supplement to existing voluntary services.
Federal Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) is speeding up her plan for a new social service by law. “We will put our draft law into the political arena in the next few weeks,” said Prien on the way back from a visit to Kiev. “We actually want to create a legal entitlement, a guarantee that everyone who wants to provide social service can do so,” announced Prien. “The service should be made more financially attractive than the current voluntary services, so that it is not a question of the parents' wallet as to whether they can afford it.
Prien returned from a trip to Ukraine. Among other things, she visited a kindergarten in Kiev that has been the target of Russian drones several times.
Kosovo's parliament has elected Justina Shiroka Pula as the new president, thereby preventing a fourth parliamentary election within two years. The election came after an agreement between Prime Minister Albin Kurti's government and the opposition, which received its support in exchange for a law limiting the powers of the Kosovo Special Tribunal in The Hague.

On the anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Chancellor Friedrich Merz reaffirmed Germany's full support for Israel and emphasized the need for a Palestinian state alongside Israel. He warned of growing anti-Semitism in Germany and promised consistent action by the federal government. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described the attack as the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust and called for social commitment against anti-Semitism. Commemorative events were held in Berlin and other cities, including a church service and the projection of the Israeli flag at the Brandenburg Gate.

The black-red coalition has submitted a joint application for the new line between Hanover and Hamburg. The Transport Committee will deliberate on Wednesday and the Bundestag will decide on Thursday evening. Despite progress, it could be decades before the first trains run on the new route.

The chairman of the Parliamentary Control Committee, Marc Henrichmann, comments on the suspicion of espionage against the former BND employee Hanning and warns of a loss of trust in partner secret services. He emphasizes the need for complete information, transparent reforms and strengthening control while simultaneously expanding the BND's operational powers.
Felix Banaszak, federal chairman of the Green Party, criticizes the election of Tobias Rausch from the AfD as the first state parliament president since 1945 as a sign of the normalization of right-wing extremism. He points out that some CDU MPs voted against their parliamentary group leader's recommendation to abstain and sees this as a bad sign for the upcoming election of the Prime Minister.
After the election victory of the Berlin Left Party, around 80 people from politics and civil society warned in an open letter against a coalition with the party. They fear that the safety of Jews in Berlin would no longer be guaranteed. The signatories include Wolfgang Thierse, Joschka Fischer, Peter Altmaier as well as representatives of the Jewish community and the Ibn Rushd Goethe Mosque.