Overview
- Several hundred people marched through central Berlin to oppose cuts at Deutsche Welle, ending at the Brandenburg Gate beside a giant Jacques Tilly sculpture.
- The unions Verdi and the German Journalists' Association led the rally and warned the reduction hands a win to autocrats and weakens independent news.
- The federal grant for 2026 fell by about 10 million euros in a step a Culture Ministry spokeswoman said happened in the parliamentary budget process.
- DW says the cut forces 21 million euros in savings this year, costing about 160 full-time jobs and shutting the Greek service while scaling back other languages.
- Culture State Minister Wolfram Weimer called DW a vital voice of freedom that should be strengthened, even as work on the 2027 budget proceeds under fiscal tightening.