French President Emmanuel Macron is to receive German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday evening for a working meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, news wires reported. According to Elysee sources, the meeting will focus on the situation in Afghanistan and the Sahel. They will also talk about the upcoming French presidency of the EU Council which starts in January.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Albania on Tuesday to urge the leaders of the six Western Balkan states to strengthen their regional cooperation in their strive for European Union membership, AP reported. Merkel hailed the cooperation initiative, saying “the more cooperation you have, the stronger the Berlin Process will be.” The Berlin Process is a programme she started in 2014 to boost regional cooperation among the western Balkan countries.

It’s in the European Union’s strategic interests to integrate the Balkan states into the bloc, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday as she urged Serbia and other countries in the region to do more on democratic reforms in order to join, AP reported. “All of us who are already members of the European Union should always make clear to ourselves that there is an absolute geo-strategic interest for us to really include these countries into the EU,” Merkel said at a joint news conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in the Serbian capital of Belgrade.

A nationwide vaccination campaign week kicks off in Germany on Monday in an attempt to speed up the rate of coronavirus vaccinations ahead of winter, dpa reported. In addition to the usual places where vaccines are offered anyone can get vaccinated without an appointment and free of charge at locations across the country, for example in some libraries, shopping centres and mosques.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to soothe fears over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline on Saturday, on a farewell visit to Poland during which she also struck a conciliatory tone on Warsaw's conflict with the European Union over judicial reforms, news wires reported. "I have made clear that it is our concern that Ukraine remains a transit country for Russian gas," Merkel told reporters at a news conference with Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Poland on Saturday, part of a goodbye tour of Europe for the continent's longest serving leader, risks being overshadowed by tensions over a gas pipeline and questions over her legacy in central Europe, Reuters reported. Having grown up in East Germany near the Polish border, Merkel, 67, was seen by some observers as a chancellor who could relate to the post-communist states of central Europe. However, on her farewell visit to the capital of emerging Europe's largest economy, her determination to complete the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Russia has soured relations.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that the outcome of Germany's election remains wide open, even as her party continues to struggle with falling ratings, dpa reported. "We are in the middle of the election campaign. I sense that there is also a real fight going on," Merkel said at a press conference on the sidelines of a meeting of the European People's Party (EPP) in Berlin.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and German Chancellor Angela Merkel officiated at the opening in Berlin on Wednesday of a pandemic early warning hub, dpa reported. The centre aims to prepare the world for future pandemics through the collection and analysis of large amounts of data.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel entered the electoral battle on behalf of her conservative alliance on Saturday with wholehearted support for her potential successor from the Christian Democrats (CDU), Armin Laschet, dpa reported. Describing him as the "future chancellor of Germany" at a showcase event in Berlin, Merkel praised Laschet as a politician driven by Christian values and dedicated to "building bridges" between people.

Germany’s coronavirus vaccination drive has slowed and those people who have not taken up the opportunity to have shots will have to take Covid-19 tests to take a full part in public life, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday. The government will stop offering free tests from 11 October, except for those for whom vaccination is not recommended, such as children and pregnant women, Merkel said, cited by Reuters.