Weekly Updates from the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)

The German government has unveiled its annual draft bill for the European Recovery Plan (ERP) special fund, focusing on climate protection, social security, and economic growth. Here are some of the highlights:

Climate Protection and Energy

The government aims to accelerate the expansion of wind and solar energy, support the production of hydrogen from renewable sources, and improve the use of wind power and biomass.
To increase the production of bioenergy, the existing capacity limit for biogas plants in open areas will be suspended until the end of 2024.
The government seeks to improve the framework conditions for renewable energies in urban planning law.
A draft bill has been submitted for the fair distribution of CO2 costs for heating, although no specific updates are available as of August 2025.

Social Security Reforms

Around 1.4 million households will be newly or again eligible for housing benefit through the reform, bringing the total to approximately 2 million households in 2023.
The Citizen's Allowance, replacing the current basic security (Hartz IV), will provide a permanent heating cost component and a climate component to cushion rent increases due to modernizations for greater climate neutrality.
The asset test will be simplified, and allowance regulations will be improved.
The promotion for the social labor market will be made permanent, enabling social participation through work in long-term publicly funded employment.
A monthly further training allowance of 150 euros is planned to support long-term integration into unsubsidized employment.

Economic Measures

The economic plan provides financing assistance for the support of company foundations and takeovers, the promotion of performance improvement of medium-sized companies, and for exports of the industrial sector.
These funds will be provided in the form of low-interest loans and equity capital.
To relieve consumers of the costs for pipeline-bound natural gas and heat, the obligation to make agreed-upon advance or installment payments is waived in December 2022.
If beneficiaries participate in a measure that is particularly important for sustainable integration into the labor market, they will receive a Citizen's Allowance bonus of 75 euros.

Political Changes

The coalition factions propose to lower the minimum voting age for active voting rights in European elections from 18 to 16 years.
The federal government should continue to maintain political and diplomatic pressure on the regime in Tehran regarding the violent actions in Iran.
The establishment of a clarification mechanism at the United Nations should support the independent and comprehensive documentation and investigation of violence against protesters in Iran.

Healthcare and Energy Security

The federal government has submitted a draft bill defining procedures and criteria for deciding which patients should receive intensive care treatment in critical situations.
An ex-post triage, i.e., the termination of treatment in favour of other patients with a higher likelihood of survival, is explicitly excluded.
All three nuclear power plants can provide around five terawatt hours (TWh) of electrical energy until mid-April 2023 and simultaneously achieve a slight reduction in electricity generation in gas power plants.

Evaluation and Oversight

Decisions must be made according to the principle of multiple reviewers.
The triage regulation is to be evaluated by external experts by the end of 2025.
The regulations are intended to be indefinite and will be evaluated by December 31, 2025.

These measures aim to shape a sustainable future, prioritise public investments, and provide relief to citizens and businesses in the face of rising energy costs and demographic change.