Weekly proceedings in the German Parliament, Bundestag

Weekly proceedings in the German Parliament, Bundestag

Germany Announces Multiple Legislation Changes

Germany is set to undergo a series of legislative changes across various sectors, from data protection and consumer rights to urban development and vocational training.

Data Protection and Consumer Rights

As of late July 2025, no new draft bill amending the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) with defined new provisions on data protection and consumer rights has been confirmed or reported. The existing BDSG alongside the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) remains the applicable framework. However, discussions and broader legislative trends emphasize enhanced consumer protections, such as prohibitions on the use of single identifiers and stronger data privacy guarantees to prevent misuse and fraud.

The federal government is, however, discussing a draft bill for amending the BDSG to strengthen data protection. Additionally, consumer rights will be strengthened by establishing a legal basis for so-called credit scoring, preventing data on ethnic origin, bank account payment inflows and outflows, health data, personal information from social networks, and residential address from playing a role in the automated calculation of a person’s creditworthiness.

Vocational Training and Education

Germany and France have signed an agreement on cross-border vocational training. The reform includes the introduction of a study start aid of 1,000 euros, an increase in the limit for additional earnings, a further increase in allowances for the income of the parents, and the introduction of a flexibility semester. Moreover, a draft bill aims to strengthen vocational education and training and to provide for more digital procedures, including the establishment of a new procedure to determine and certify individual professional competence acquired independently of a vocational training certificate.

Urban Development and Municipal Cooperation

The traffic light factions are introducing the motion "Utilizing Municipal Potentials - Strengthening Development Policy Engagement at the Local Level" in the Bundestag. This motion calls for a strategy for decentralized development cooperation, a digital platform to facilitate international cooperation among municipalities, provisions allowing personnel from municipal enterprises to be seconded and exchanged, and the involvement of municipal representatives in German negotiating delegations at European and international levels.

Criminal Law and Public Safety

The federal government is concluding its review of the draft bill "on the adaptation of the minimum penalties of paragraph 184b, subsection 1, sentence 1 and subsection 3 of the Criminal Code - Distribution, Acquisition, and Possession of Child Pornographic Content". The amendment aims to enable law enforcement authorities to react appropriately to cases at the lower end of the criminal scale, where the penalty does not match the crime.

More leeway for the states in granting permits for cannabis cultivation associations is provided in a draft bill by the coalition factions, in response to concerns and wishes expressed by the federal states regarding the partial legalization of cannabis. The consumption bans provided for in the Cannabis Act, as well as the distances to be maintained from schools and youth facilities, will be evaluated after 18 months following the law's entry into force.

Taxation and International Agreements

The BEPS-MLI (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting / Profit Shifting and Profit Shifting) Multilateral Convention has been signed by 100 states and territories, and has entered into force in Germany on April 1, 2021. It aims to prevent profit shifting and tax avoidance. The German federal government is also discussing a draft bill that specifies changes to various bilateral tax treaties, amends the Tax Administration Act, and declares the Federal Central Tax Office as the competent authority for the implementation of the BEPS-MLI.

Human Rights and Minors

The federal government is presenting a report on its human rights policy, covering the period from October 2020 to September 2022, and addressing the situation and implementation of human rights in Germany, the engagement of the federal government for human rights in foreign and development cooperation, and the human rights situation in selected countries as well as Germany's activities there. The federal government is also introducing a bill to protect minors in overseas marriages, making marriages involving a person who has not yet reached the age of 16 invalid under German law and providing provisions for maintenance claims to protect the minor and a possibility for such marriages to be confirmed once the parties reach the age of majority.

Enforcement Proceedings and Road Traffic

Digitizing enforcement proceedings is proposed in a draft bill by the federal government, which aims to reduce the number of applications in hybrid form and enable more enforcement measures to be applied electronically. The federal government is also discussing a draft bill to amend the Road Traffic Act, which aims to introduce a THC limit (tetrahydrocannabinol, the active substance in cannabis) in road traffic, as well as an alcohol ban for cannabis consumers.

Building Statistics Act and BAFöG Amendments

The Bundestag is discussing the draft bill of the federal government for the revision of the Building Statistics Act, which aims to improve statistical surveys of construction activity and make them more timely and informative. The federal government is introducing a draft bill for the 29th amendment to the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG) to make funding more flexible and adapt it to real study conditions.

These changes are scheduled to come into force at the beginning of the school year 2024/25 or the winter semester 2024/25. Urban development promotion is the focus of a parliamentary debate this week, with a motion by the coalition factions of SPD, Alliance 90/The Greens and FDP calling for the strengthening of urban development promotion in the coming years. The consumption bans provided for in the Cannabis Act, as well as the distances to be maintained from schools and youth facilities, will be evaluated after 18 months following the law's entry into force. The draft also stipulates that the Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) will develop a continuing education offer for addiction prevention specialists in the municipalities.

1. The German government is discussing a draft bill to amend the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) to strengthen data protection and consumer rights, with a focus on preventing misuse and fraud, as well as prohibiting the use of certain data in credit scoring.
2. In the realm of education and self-development, Germany and France have signed an agreement on cross-border vocational training, aiming to provide study start aid, increase allowances for the income of parents, and introduce a flexibility semester, among other improvements.
3. Germany's political landscape is also seeing changes in the area of finance and international agreements, with the BEPS-MLI Multilateral Convention being signed by 100 states and territories, aiming to prevent profit shifting and tax avoidance.

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