Germany news: Investment summit draws billions in commitments

Investors have pledged to pour billions into Germany at a major summit in Berlin, officials say. This comes as Germany agrees to deepen cooperation on AI with US tech giant Nvidia. DW has more.

This is a round-up of top stories from and about Germany on Tuesday, October 20, 2026:

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Chancellor Friedrich Merzhas indulged in an abundance of the most common cliches about his country and compatriots while trying to portray Germany as the ideal place to do business at an investment summit.

"Germans are hardworking, going to bed early, rising before dawn," he told the domestic and international guests at the Invest in Germany Summit. 

"Worst traffic is in the morning between 6 and 7," he said.

"On holidays, we are first on the beach, spreading towels before breakfast. If we agree on delivery dates, we stick to it. If you invite friends from Germany for dinner at 7, we will arrive at 6:58.

"We are reliable, predictable, precise, and unsurprising," the chancellor continued. "We are, in short, what investors like most."

Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil also used blunt humor in his appeal to potential investors, saying in his speech simply: "I want your money."

Both pitches appear to have succeeded, with investment commitments worth billions made at the summit. 

Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) said on Tuesday that it was looking into the theft and subsequent online publication of emails stolen by unidentified hackers during a cyberattack last month.

An AfD spokesperson said the hackers had targeted a hosting provider used by the party and appeared to have copied data from a small number of mostly inactive email accounts.

"The recent online publication of what is presumably a portion of this data is currently being investigated," the spokesperson said. "A preliminary assessment can only be provided once this investigation has been concluded."

Although the spokesperson did not say how much data was stolen, an earlier report by the mass-circulation daily Bild put the number of AfD-linked emails published at more than 420,000.

According to Bild, the material published included not only emails sent by party figures such as co-leader Alice Weidel but also bank statements, academic certificates and membership lists.

The website hosting the material was offline by Tuesday afternoon.

However, archived versions showed a volume of 281 gigabytes of data under the headline "The party's own records, unedited."

The emails and other materials published have not yet been certified as authentic by any independent body.

The AfD, several state chapters of which have been classified as "confirmed right-wing extremist" by regional branches of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, has been topping recent national opinion polls and made gains in recent state elections.

Some politicians and civil society groups have called for it to be banned, arguing that the party is a threat to democracy, an accusation the party has rejected.

More than €225 billion ($252.5 billion) has so far been pledged in investments in Germany at a summit in Berlin attended by top business leaders, German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said on Tuesday.

Reiche did not give any details about the commitments made so far, but told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that the figure only included deals above a volume of €100 million.

Among those planning to invest in Europe's largest economy is online retail giant Amazon, which said it intended to pour some €16 billion into Germany next year for various schemes.

The company said these would include "the expansion of data centers and AI infrastructure, high-speed satellite internet through Amazon Leo, new logistics projects across the country, and a major new production slate by Prime Video."

 "Germany is a hub of innovation and one of the most attractive investment opportunities in Europe," David Zapolsky, Amazon's chief global affairs and legal officer, was quoted as saying in a statement.

"That is why we have invested more than €100 billion here since 2010, and why we plan to invest an additional €16 billion in 2027. We want German businesses, communities, and creators to have the infrastructure and tools they need to compete and grow."

More than 200 German and international executives from large corporations, investment banks and funds are attending the gathering, entitled the Invest in Germany Summit.

The Left Party in Berlin, which has faced accusations of being antisemitic, is holding a meeting to discuss how to deal with its parliamentarian Vanessa Emde, who has raised controversy with pro-Palestinian statements.

Among other things, Emde has supported the idea that there is no right to exist for states, but only for people — thus seemingly going against Germany's firm support of Israel's right to existence.

Emde has refused to retract any of her statements.

She has also criticized a statement on antisemitism that she had signed along with all other members of the Left's parliamentary party in which the signatories committed to upholding Israel's right to existence.

This comes as both the Berlin Green Party and the Social Democrats (SPD) confirmed that they were ready to begin coalition negotiations with the Left Party on forming a joint government in the city-state.

The Left Party is due to decide on the issue on October 31 at a party conference.

The three parties held preliminary discussions on the accusations of antisemitism and links to organized crime leveled at the Left Party before beginning the exploratory talks that precede final coalition negotiations.

The Left Party emerged from September 20 elections in Berlin as the strongest party with 25.7% of the vote.

Both the Greens (14.3%) and the center-left SPD (12.1%) came in behind the conservative Christian Democrats (18.8%), wh…