Good morning, dear readers,
As a journalist, you should use the term “historic goose bumps moment” as sparingly as possible. But Joe Biden’s surprise visit to Kiev was such a moment for me. A US President visits a war zone with no American troops stationed to protect him: Yesterday, at least, nobody could remember that this had happened before.
symbolic politics? Yes, sure, but of the powerful kind. The most powerful man in the world is walking together with the democratically elected President of Ukraine through the streets of the capital, in which, according to Moscow’s original plans, a puppet by Russia’s grace was supposed to rule for months. There is no clearer way to signal to Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin that he has miscalculated.
At the same time, of course, the military threat to Ukraine is far from over – as if to remind you, the air raid sirens wailed in the background during Biden’s walk.
And: How cheap in comparison do many of the oaths of allegiance to Ukraine from the weekend, made on the stage of a Munich luxury hotel, seem.
“The Americans stand by you,” Biden said to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “as long as the war lasts.” But at the same time, as analyzed by our Washington correspondent Annett Meiritz, Biden made it clear: There are certain limits that the US cannot cross. The fear of a direct military conflict with Russia is too great.
The US President’s trip was not publicly announced for security reasons.
(Photo: AP)
Powerful symbolism was yesterday. Starting today, it’s all about the realities of war again. And it’s worth remembering that Putin’s latest attack on Ukraine didn’t start on February 24, but already a year ago today. On February 21, 2022, Russia recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk “People’s Republics” under Russian influence. On the same day, Putin ordered the Russian army to advance there and thus into Ukrainian territory.
These three days of difference become significant when it comes to possible scenarios for a ceasefire. Those who demand that Russian troops withdraw to the February 23 positions as a prerequisite – as former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger did in his peace plan – indicate a willingness to accept Russia’s rule over Donetsk and Luhansk. Anyone who really wants Putin not to gain ground from his recent war of aggression is better off using February 20 as a reference point. Unless one immediately leans towards the Ukrainian position that Russia must also evacuate the occupied Crimean peninsula before the war ends.
The anniversary of the Russian war of aggression also concerns us in our question to you, dear readers: From your point of view, what has changed since then? How do you remember February 21 or February 24, 2022? What help does Ukraine still need, what should Germany contribute? Write us your opinion in five sentences [email protected]. We will publish selected articles with attribution on Thursday in print and online.
Volkswagen wants to wait for the written reasoning of the court.
(Photo: imago/Steve Bauerschmidt)
Do you still remember the happier times when the greatest excitement in the republic was Volkswagen’s emissions fraud? In the processing of the diesel scandal, the German Environmental Aid (DUH) has now asserted itself with a lawsuit against the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA).. The Schleswig-Holstein Administrative Court has declared the KBA release notice for software updates in a VW Golf model to be illegal.
The process involves so-called thermal windows. At low outside temperatures, these reduce the emission control. The thermal windows are included in the updates that Volkswagen used to get rid of the original illegal defeat devices. They recognized whether a car was on the test stand and only then complied with the emission limit values.
Volkswagen explained that they wanted to wait for the written justification and then decide on further steps. A trip to the higher administrative court or a so-called jump revision to the federal administrative court is conceivable.
The DUH regards the legal dispute as a model case for a series of further disputes with the KBA. DUH boss Jürgen Resch explained: “Today is a good day for clean air and the health of everyone in Germany – and after seven years of unlawful camaraderie between the transport minister and the diesel companies, finally help for the customers cheated by the diesel cartel.”
He announced that he would now take action against other manufacturers, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz and the VW subsidiaries Porsche and Audi. Lawsuits against 118 approval notices are already pending, including those against foreign car manufacturers.
The application made by Mercedes-Benz for its plant in Bremen is not illegal, but at least questionable: The carmaker wants to introduce short-time work there despite billions in profits. This was confirmed by a group spokeswoman for the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (FAZ).
According to the works council, around 700 employees will be affected for eleven working days from the beginning of March. In the past year, Mercedes had increased sales and profits significantly. Operating profit climbed 28 percent to 20.5 billion euros in 2022, more than expected. Sales increased by twelve percent to 150 billion euros. The deputy chairman of the CDU social wing, Dennis Radtke, told the FAZ: “Short-time work and billions in profits don’t go together.”
Profits in the billions like at Mercedes are nice from the shareholders’ point of view. It’s even nicer when a company manages to increase its profits over as many years as possible. This long-term, profitable growth is something like a business sundae with whipped cream and sprinkles – simply the best of everything.
Among today’s DAX corporations, Symrise has been able to enjoy this rich mixture for the longest time. The flavorings specialist from the Weserbergland region has been making non-stop profits for 13 years.
As our graphic shows, Symrise has achieved an exceptional performance: only six of the 40 DAX companies have managed to continuously increase their net profits compared to the previous year at least since 2019.
Key figures expert Ulf Sommer has analyzed how such successful series come about – and in which cases the ice is about to melt.
I wish you a day with cream, crumbles and lots of aroma.
Best regards
Your Christian Rickens
Editor-in-Chief Handelsblatt
