Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany)

RB Leipzig will not host Liverpool in the Champions League later this month after authorities ruled the English club cannot enter Germany because of coronavirus mutations in the UK, the Interior Ministry said Thursday. The match was set to take place in Leipzig on February 16, but the German federal police responsible for border control (the Bundespolizei) rejected RB's application for a special permit that would have allowed Jürgen Klopp's Premier League outfit to enter the country.

"The Coronavirus Protection Order agreed by the federal government last Friday envisions only a few exceptions and no special arrangements for professional athletes," the German Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Germany is set to impose an entry ban for travellers from Portugal, Brazil, South Africa and the United Kingdom in an effort to curb the spread of more potent Covid-19 variants.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) said before a video meeting with his European counterparts that coordination with the EU had been unsuccessful because some member states remained too lax. "We cannot count on a European solution. That is why we are now preparing this nationally," Seehofer said.

Following a decision by the Administrative Court of Berlin on Wednesday, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) must make direct messages sent from the ministry's official account on Twitter publicly available.

It is still unclear whether details such as names or other information relevant to data protection law can or must be blacked out.

The journalist and activist from the Open Knowledge Foundation and the transparency portal "Frag den Staat" ("Ask the State"), Arne Semsrott, filed a lawsuit against the BMI in September 2018.

The German Interior Ministry announced that from August 10, unmarried partners of German residents from countries that Germany considers high-risk will have an exemption allowing them to visit the country provided some proof they were in a long-term relationship before the pandemic.

Partners from "high-risk" regions and countries will have to undergo mandatory testing and quarantine until they have a negative test.

Valid proof of the relationship could come in the form of a previous joint residence abroad or a documented in-person meeting in Germany. The partner living in Germany must also provide a visit invitation, and the couple must sign a joint declaration affirming the existence of their relationship.

The German minister of the Interior, Building and Community Horst Seehofer has publicly announced that he plans on filing a formal report to the police over an opinion piece that was published by the Berlin newspaper "tageszeitung" (taz). In the German publication "Bild" he stated that (translated) "A disinhibition of words inevitably leads to a disinhibition of deeds and to excesses of violence, just as we have now seen in Stuttgart. We must not accept this any longer". The satirically meant article in question had discussed the topic of abolishing the police and mentioned the option that they instead could be put on a landfill.

Germany will begin easing its border controls with France, Switzerland and Austria on Saturday, according to German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.

Border controls will remain in place, but only random checks will be carried out. Additionally, all border crossings between these countries will be reopened, rather than selected ones at present. The use of spot checks should ease traffic jams for commuters over the border, who have been allowed to cross.