claims it saw a draft proposal by the government to increase the age of retirement by three years Chancellor Merz has proposed that Ukraine become an ‘associate’ member of the European Union

Politicians have been reacting to a report from German tabloid Bild that the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz is planning to raise the age of retirement from 67 to 70 years old.

According to the report, the age will be raised to 68 in the 2040s, 69 in the 2050s, before finally reaching 70 in the 2060s. Bild wrote that the 13-person committee working on the reform proposals also wants to reduce the rate of pension payments slightly in order to keep the system sustainable.

The alleged proposal was heavily criticized by opposition parties, unions, and even the workers’ rights arms of Merz’s own center-right Christian Democrats (CDU).

However, later on Thursday, a spokesman for Merz’s office dismissed the Bild report as speculation. Junior coalition partners the Social Democrats (SPD), who control the Labor Ministry, said they would decline to comment on unsubstantiated reports.

Even without a victory, Freiburg prove they have something special

Bundesliga side Freiburg might have lost their first ever European final to Aston Villa, but their European run is a reminder that success in football can be achieved without big spending or a loss of identity.

Read our analysis of yesterday’s Europa League championship game here: Freiburg’s Europa League final proof another way can work.