Numerous laws: What the Federal Council has decided

Energy price brakes, more money for daycare centers, more staff for clinics, a new right of residence: the Federal Council approved a large number of laws at its last meeting this year. An overview.

Price brakes for energy

With the approval of the Federal Council, the price caps for gas, district heating and electricity have cleared the last hurdle. From March 2023, private consumers of gas, district heating and electricity will have a statutory maximum price for the majority of their forecast annual consumption. The price cap is also credited retrospectively for January and February.

For private customers and smaller companies, the gas price for 80 percent of the previous year’s consumption is limited to 12 cents per kilowatt hour, and that for district heating to 9.5 cents per kilowatt hour. The price of electricity for private consumers and small and medium-sized companies is to be capped at 40 cents for 80 percent of the previous year’s consumption. There are also price limits for industrial companies.

The price caps for electricity and gas are automatically handled by the suppliers. Consumers do not have to do anything to get the relief. The laws also contain hardship regulations for hospitals and care facilities as well as other social, research and cultural institutions.

There will also be payments for households that heat with pellets, oil or liquid gas: If the price doubles compared to the previous year, 80 percent of the costs will be covered, up to a maximum of 2000 euros.

Energy price flat rate for students

The Federal Council has also cleared the way for the planned 200-euro one-time payment for students and technical school students to relieve the energy crisis. The chamber of the federal states refrained from appealing to the mediation committee, despite major differences of opinion with the federal government about the practical implementation of the project. The approximately 3.4 million students and technical students still have to be patient. It is unclear when they will get the money. Work is still in progress on a planned online application platform. The federal and state governments still have to clarify questions about data exchange, data protection and the payment of the energy price flat rate. There is no central office that has all the data and account details of all students and technical students.

More nursing staff in clinics

Several changes in the law are intended to improve the staffing situation in hospital care. From next year, clinics should also be able to bill for treatments without a patient staying overnight in the hospital. The goal is more outpatient procedures in order to relieve hospital operations and thus also the nursing staff. More money is to be made available in the short term for the underfunded children’s hospitals and obstetrics, according to the Federal Ministry of Health around 380 million euros in each of the next two years. The money is to be provided from the liquidity reserve of the health fund. In order to improve the situation of the nursing staff in the clinics, the ideal staffing for the wards should be calculated and a corresponding number of nurses should be employed. The new personnel assessment tool will be tested for two years before it is to apply nationwide from 2025. The goal is a noticeable improvement in working conditions.

Germany ticket

After the Bundestag, the Bundesrat also approved the basis for financing the planned Deutschlandticket. The majority of state representatives voted in favor of increasing the so-called regionalization funds for the operation and expansion of local transport. Another billion will flow to the countries for 2022, which will use it to subsidize commuter trains and make them more affordable. Overall, the annual funds will increase to around ten billion euros for the federal states. In view of the development of energy prices and personnel costs, the sums are to increase by three percent annually instead of the previously planned 1.8 percent. Local transport is essentially a matter for the federal states, but the federal government is obliged to co-finance it.

New right of residence

The federal states have approved a new right of residence for foreigners who have only been tolerated in Germany for many years. People who have been living in Germany for five years without a secure residence permit on October 31 of this year are to be given the new status for 18 months in order to be able to prove that they meet the requirements for a permanent right of residence within this period. These include language skills, proof of identity and securing your livelihood. Anyone who fails to do so falls back into toleration. Offenders and their families are excluded from the right to stay. Around 137,000 of the approximately 248,000 tolerated persons who were living in Germany as of October 31 could benefit from the new right to stay.

The Federal Council also approved a law to speed up asylum and asylum court procedures. Individual detailed regulations should mean that a decision can be made more quickly in the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees and in proceedings before administrative courts. This includes, for example, the possibility of video hearings in the asylum procedure. The law also introduces asylum procedure advice that is independent of the authorities for the first time.

Billions for day care centers

The federal government will support the federal states in the next two years with almost 3.9 billion euros in financing their day-care centers. The Federal Council approved the so-called Kita Quality Act of the traffic light coalition. It follows on from the so-called Good Daycare Law of the previous government, through which the federal government had also made money available.

Actually, the day care centers are a matter for the federal states. The funds are intended for investments in the quality of the day-care centers, for example to promote early childhood education, good nutrition or language development, and to a limited extent also to reduce day-care center fees.

In order to accommodate the countries, the traffic light had recently made changes. For example, the federal government will continue to finance the “Language Kitas” funding program until the summer of 2023, contrary to what was initially planned.

Work-life balance

In the future, employees of smaller companies will also be entitled to a reason if they are denied time off from work to care for a relative. The Federal Council approved the implementation of an EU directive that is intended to make it easier for parents and carers to reconcile work and family life. The associated legal regulations are primarily aimed at small businesses. Where there are no more than 15 employees, employers have so far been able to refuse to grant full or partial leave for care without giving reasons. In future, bosses will have to make a decision within four weeks. A refusal must be justified. This also applies if mothers or fathers want to reduce their working hours during parental leave. A protection against dismissal will be introduced for the period of a leave of absence.

Annual Tax Act

Numerous tax changes may come into force in the new year. In the Bundesrat, countries with government participation from the Union also voted for the 2022 annual tax law. They helped the federal government’s legislative proposal, made up of SPD, Greens and FDP, which was passed by the Bundestag two weeks ago, to the required majority. The package includes a number of tax advantages, for example in housing construction, for solar power systems and for employees. On the other hand, other changes, such as the first-time excess profit tax for some energy companies, amount to tax increases.

Faster phase-out of coal

The phase-out of coal in the Rhenish mining area is being brought forward by eight years. According to this, the three lignite-fired power plants Neurath F and G and Niederaußem K will be taken off the grid in 2030 and not only in 2038, as previously stipulated. The agreement also means that the Neurath D and E power plant blocks, which were supposed to be shut down at the end of the year, will remain in operation at least until the end of March 2024 due to the energy price crisis.

Wages from vacation jobs

The so-called cost recovery of foster children is abolished. The Federal Council approved a change in the law, according to which young people can keep their earnings, for example from a holiday job. So far, they have had to pay up to a quarter of this income to the youth welfare office and thus contribute to the costs of their accommodation in a foster family or youth welfare facility. This also applies to training allowances or wages. The Bundestag unanimously approved the changes in November. According to the justification in the law, the cost collection contradicts the mandate of child and youth welfare. The young people will find it even more difficult to start an independent life.

Voting age from 16 in European elections

In the next European elections in 2025, 16 and 17-year-olds in Germany can also take part. The Bundesrat approved the lowering of the voting age from 18 to 16 for European elections, which had already been decided by the Bundestag, by refraining from appealing to the mediation committee.

Laws are going digital

In the future, federal laws and ordinances can also be officially announced on a digital platform. The Bundesrat approved an amendment to the Basic Law with the required two-thirds majority. So far, the constitution stipulates publication in paper form in the Federal Law Gazette. In the future, the electronic Federal Law Gazette should be “the sole publication organ for laws and ordinances,” explained the Federal Ministry of Justice.

In the future, Article 82 of the Basic Law will state that all details relating to the promulgation and the form of countersigning and issuing of laws and ordinances will be regulated in a federal law. The Federal Council also passed this law. It states: In the future, the Federal Law Gazette will be issued exclusively electronically on a new publication platform on the Internet and will be the exclusive publication organ of the federal government for laws and ordinances.

Commercial Agreement CETA

After the Bundestag, the Bundesrat also approved the ratification of the EU trade agreement CETA with Canada. Parts of the treaty have been in force provisionally since September 2017 – but only in those areas for which the EU alone is responsible and not the member states. The other parts are on hold until ratification is complete, such as investment protection and investment jurisdiction. Even though Germany is now on board, several states in the EU have yet to agree.

Ceta is intended to facilitate trade between companies in the EU and Canada by eliminating almost all customs duties and through common rules. According to earlier information from the EU Commission, European companies could save around 590 million euros a year as a result of the agreement. One of the criticisms of the trade pact is that it unilaterally protects corporate interests to the detriment of the climate, environment and social issues.