Talking Europe hosts the head of the largest political group in the European Parliament, the centre-right European People's Party. Manfred Weber, a prominent German CSU politician, is hoping that the June 9 EU elections will re-confirm the EPP's pre-eminent position, but he is cautious on the possibility of alliances with the hard-right ECR group. We also touch on the "Russiagate" and "Piepergate" controversies, the EPP's contentious plan to reform the EU's asylum system, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron's "unwise" – according to Weber – remarks about potentially sending French troops to Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has met with US President Joe Biden in Washington, urging the US to make good on its promised assistance to Kyiv. Both leaders stressed the need for continued aid to Ukraine, which has so far been blocked by the US Senate.

Germany's chancellor has commented further on the country's reluctance to send longer-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. He said range, and the need for German troops to help operate them, were problematic.

US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agree on the need for continued aid to Kyiv. Meanwhile, France has announced it will deliver more missiles and bombs to Ukraine.

The German chancellor urged people to "stick together" while visiting flooded areas of Verden in northern Germany. Thousands of emergency forces have been combating rising rivers amid heavy rainfall across the country.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has addressed lawmakers about his coalition government's budget crisis. Ministers must fill a hole in state finances after a bombshell Constitutional Court ruling on borrowing.

Olaf Scholz became the first German chancellor to light Berlin's central Hanukkah menorah, in what he called a sign of "solidarity" with Jews amid a surge of antisemitism during the Israel-Hamas war.

At COP28 in Dubai, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a phase out of fossil fuels, the US announced $3 billion in new climate funding and France pushed for nuclear energy as a way to reduce emissions.

The government is under pressure to increase financial support for Germany's 16 states to deal with asylum seekers. The opposition says the number of irregular migrants and refugees must go down.

German Chancellor Scholz called for "an enlarged and reformed" European Union that is more "geopolitical" in outlook and actions. His speech came as lawmakers celebrate the post-WWII peace among European Union members.

Africa has become a strategic and economic attraction point for Germany. Europe’s biggest economy wants to build stronger ties, and Olaf Scholz's visit to Ghana and Nigeria sought to do just that.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is visiting Nigeria as part of a three-day visit to West Africa. Part of his mission is to agree an energy partnership to diversify Germany's energy sources.