After no from the Federal Council: How to proceed with the citizens’ income

In the dispute over citizen income, it is now the turn of the mediation committee. Who sits on the committee, how are negotiations conducted – and how long does it take?

The Federal Council has blocked citizen’s income. The bill failed to achieve the required majority in the state chamber. Several state governments led by or with the participation of the Union have refused to give their consent.

However, the departure from the Hartz IV system has not yet finally failed: the federal and state governments now want to look for a compromise in the mediation committee.

How does it go from here?

Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) relies on a quick solution. He announced in the Bundesrat that the federal government would “call the mediation committee today.” The panel could meet as early as next week. “With the good will of everyone involved,” a compromise could be found and decided at the next Federal Council meeting on November 25,” Heil said.

What is the specific task of the Mediation Committee?

If there is a dispute between the Bundestag and Bundesrat about a law, the Mediation Committee comes into play. The body should then look for a compromise, for example if a law that has already been passed by the Bundestag does not find a majority in the state chamber, as is the case with citizen income.

How is the committee composed?

The Mediation Committee consists of 32 members. The federal and state governments are equally well represented. Each state government appoints one member for each of the 16 members of the Bundesrat. The 16 members of the Bundestag, in turn, are distributed according to the strength of the parliamentary groups. The Union and SPD currently each have four seats on the mediation committee, the Greens three, the FDP and AfD two each, and the Left Party one. The composition is usually for the duration of one electoral term. The committee has not yet been constituted in this legislature, as there has not yet been a procedure.

How does the Mediation Committee work?

The Mediation Committee cannot deal with a law on its own authority, but only does so if the Bundesrat, Bundestag or the Federal Government invoke it on a specific legislative project. There are rules for that. For example, the Federal Council can call in the mediation committee for any law it does not agree with. The Federal Government and the Bundestag only have this option if the Bundesrat refuses to approve a law that requires the express consent of the Bundesrat.

What are the time limits for referrals to the committee?

If the Bundestag has passed a law that the Bundesrat does not agree with, the Chamber of States has three weeks to appeal to the Mediation Committee. There is no deadline for parliament and the federal government, but the committee should be contacted within a reasonable period of time.

How do the meetings of the Mediation Committee work?

The meetings take place in the Bundesrat building in Berlin. They are not public and the principle of confidentiality applies. Only the members of the committee or their deputies, members of the federal government, the managing director, employees of the office and two people from the stenographic service may take part.

Additional persons may be granted participation by the committee, but this has so far only been done in exceptional cases. In order to maintain confidentiality, the group of members is kept as small as possible, which is why each seat on the committee may only be changed four times within a parliamentary term.

How often does the Mediation Committee meet?

There is no set calendar of meetings for the meetings. The Mediation Committee only meets at the invitation of the chairperson, at the earliest five days after one or more legislative resolutions have been referred to the body. It is not specified how long a mediation lasts. However, a procedure should be set up in such a way that it can be completed within the current election period.

When is a mediation considered complete?

If the committee decides on a settlement recommendation, the procedure can be ended. The Bundestag and Bundesrat must agree to the compromise. If the recommendation is rejected by parliament or the chamber of the federal states, the law will have failed. When it comes to mediation on citizen income, an agreement this year cannot be ruled out.

What was the last successful mediation?

Last September, shortly before the federal elections, the mediation committee was able to reach an agreement almost at the last minute. At that time it was about all-day care in elementary school. The federal and state governments finally agreed that the legal entitlement should come from 2026 and how it should be financed.