Germany is the country most reliant on cash in Europe, a new survey shows, with Austria a close second, making the neighbors Europe’s cash strongholds.

The survey by market research institute YouGov was conducted on behalf of consulting firm BearingPoint.

Of the 2,026 adults surveyed in Germany, 73% said cash was their most common payment method. This is even higher than last year’s 69%.

In Austria, 71% of the 1,000 surveyed also said they mostly use cash.

Coins and banknotes are used much less frequently in the seven other European countries surveyed.

Frequent cash use stood at 61% in Switzerland, 58% in Ireland, 51% in France and 46% in the Netherlands.

Nordic countries were even less reliant on cash, with Finland at 42%, Denmark at 32% and Sweden at 25%.

Some 27% of the respondents in Sweden said they don’t use cash at all, alongside 18% in Denmark. In Germany, this stood at a meagre 2%, with only 1% in Austria saying they don’t use cash.

Climate protection and sustainability are losing momentum among policies of German companies, a new report showed on Thursday.

The report, published by the Bertelsmann Foundation, said companies blamed political uncertainty and weak market incentives for the drop.

Over 800 companies were surveyed for the report. Almost 60% cited an internal decline in sustainability.

Some 73% of firms in the real and financial economy are still adhering to responsibility for sustainability at board and executive level. The figure is unchanged from last year.

However, many companies seem to be slowing their efforts. The share of companies planning new sustainability initiatives was down by 7 percentage points.

Jakob Kunzlmann, sustainability expert at the Bertelsmann Foundation, warned that sustainability risks entering a phase of stagnation, amid the absence of clear and reliable signals from policymakers and markets.

Meanwhile, 59% of companies were setting their own climate targets, up from 53%, with banks also up to 65%, from 46%.

The German government has committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2045, standing by that declaration despite rolling back projects and laws that would make it possible to reach that goal.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is on the second day of his official visit to China.

On Thursday, he visited Beijing’s Forbidden City, which served as the palace of China’s emperors for over 500 years.

Merz also visited the Chinese tech hub of Hangzhou on Thursday, accompanied by a delegation of German entrepreneurs including representatives of auto giants Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes.

Follow our blog here for more on Merz’s state visit to China.

Plans for a long-overdue renovation of the Bellevue palace, the official residence of the German president, have been made public, with the makeover set to cost around €600 million (roughly $709 million), ARD reported on Wednesday evening.

Citing the Federal President’s Office, the broadcaster said the €601-million figure includes a €71 million contingency for construction price increases and a €188 million for risk reserve, including potential pollutants that could be found at the building’s structure.

The renovations could begin as early as the summer, with eight years considered a “realistic” timeline, according to Petra Wesseler, head of the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning responsible for the project.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier would have to move to a temporary residency, probably an office tower block near the residence.

Steinmeier himself commented on the renovations, suggesting they were overdue. The president mentioned not being able to use the residence to its full capacity while hosting events due to safety risks, as well as plumbing leaks.

A passenger punched a train conductor on a long distance InterCity Express (ICE) train to the capital Berlin, public broadcaster ARD reported on Wednesday.

A 35-year-old female passenger showed an invalid ticket during a routine train inspection and then was asked to get off the train. She then proceeded to attack the conductor, who suffered abdominal pain, prompting him to cut his shift short.

The incident forced some 100 passengers to prematurely get off the train and wait for a replacement.

Criminal proceedings have been launched against the attacker, including for fraud, trespassing, assault and property damage.

The incident comes after the death of another train conductor in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate sparked a debate over whether more security measures are necessary aboard German trains. The conductor was also attacked by a passenger during a ticket check. He later died of his injuries.

According to official figures from national rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB), an average of five staff members are physically assaulted every day, with four more facing threats.

Good morning from our newsroom in Bonn, where sunshine is returning after a dark, cold winter.

Today, we look into the conversation over whether more security is needed on Germany’s trains, after another conductor was attacked and injured by a passenger during a ticket check.

Meanwhile, plans for renovating the official residence of the federal president have been revealed and could be set in motion as early as the summer.

This blog will bring you the latest news, background, videos and analyses on all things Germany. Stay tuned!