Contemporary Developments in Germany's Federal Parliament

Contemporary Developments in Germany's Federal Parliament

In a series of significant developments, Germany is set to witness several reforms across various sectors, with the amendment of the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) being a key highlight. Here is a round-up of the latest changes and proposals that are shaping the German landscape.

**Modernising Data Protection Rules**

The draft bill to amend the BDSG, referred to as BDSG-new, aims to modernise and align German federal data protection rules with evolving EU standards, particularly the GDPR and new legislation such as the proposed EU Data Act and AI Act. The new law will strengthen alignment with EU legislation, enhance data protection requirements, and adjust supervisory authority roles to better regulate data processing, including employee monitoring and the introduction of AI-related compliance rules.

**Strengthening Consumer Rights**

To protect consumers, the draft bill also seeks to create a legal basis for so-called credit scoring, preventing data on ethnic origin, 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.

**Cross-Border Vocational Training**

Germany and France have signed an agreement on cross-border vocational training, which includes the introduction of part-time vocational training, the provision of standardized bilingual model contracts and training agreements, the possibility of facilitated access, and the clarification of funding issues.

**Urban Development Promotion**

The parliamentary debate this week focuses on urban development promotion, with a motion by the coalition factions of SPD, Alliance 90/The Greens, and FDP titled "For strong neighborhoods, an attractive living environment, and a good life in the neighborhood - Urban Development Promotion." The coalition factions call on the federal government to increase urban development promotion in the coming years according to urban development needs and within the available budget, and to continue concluding multi-year administrative agreements with the states to enable more flexible and long-term handling of funding measures and projects.

**Reform of Vocational Training Act**

A reform of the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG) is being discussed to better adapt the funding to actual study conditions and make it more flexible. Students will have an additional semester to change their field of study and a 'flexibility semester' can be taken without giving any reasons.

**BEPS Project**

The BEPS project aims to coordinate action against harmful tax competition and aggressive tax planning by internationally active companies. All OECD and G20 countries, as well as developing and emerging economies, have joined the project.

**Data Protection Supervisory Authorities**

The Conference of Independent Data Protection Supervisory Authorities for the Federal and State Governments (Datenschutzkonferenz /DSK) will be established to achieve and further develop a uniform application of European and national data protection law.

**Other Notable Developments**

- The draft bill of the federal government proposes to reduce bureaucracy in enforcement proceedings by applying future enforcement measures more frequently in purely electronic form, digitally transmitting the evidence of enforcement prerequisites, and justifying the powers and duties of the bailiff. - The revision of the Building Statistics Act is being discussed, which aims to improve statistical surveys of construction activity and make them more timely and informative. - The federal government is presenting a report on its human rights policy, which addresses the situation and implementation of human rights in Germany, the federal government's engagement for human rights in foreign and development cooperation, and the human rights situation in selected countries as well as Germany's activities there. - The draft bill of the federal government aims to implement more leeway for the states in granting permits for cannabis cultivation associations, preventing commercial cultivation models, and adjusting the frequency of club inspections to the respective risk situation. - Companies and research institutions will be able to contact a single supervisory authority in certain cases, even if their projects span multiple federal states. - A new regulation must be enacted by June 30, 2024, to protect minors in international marriages, declaring invalid marriages involving or between minors under the age of 16 and providing claims for maintenance to protect the minor and a possibility for cure. - The draft bill of the federal government currently under consideration specifies the changes to various bilateral tax treaties and amends the Financial Administration Act, designating the Federal Central Tax Office as the competent authority for the implementation of the BEPS-MLI. - The amendment to the Road Traffic Act aims to introduce a THC limit (Tetrahydrocannabinol, the active substance in cannabis) in road traffic, as well as an alcohol ban for cannabis consumers. - The traffic light factions are introducing a bill to utilize municipal potentials for development cooperation, which includes a strategy for decentralized development cooperation, the introduction of a digital platform for international cooperation among municipalities, exemptions and secondments for personnel from municipal companies, and the strengthening of cooperation of trilateral partnerships. - The federal government is concluding its review of the draft bill to amend the minimum penalties of paragraph 184b (1) sentence 1 and (3) of the Criminal Code - Distribution, Acquisition, and Possession of Child Pornography, which aims to enable the law enforcement authorities to react appropriately to cases at the lower end of the criminal spectrum. - The Vocational Training Report 2024 describes the situation on the training market and provides an overview of the training year 2022/2023, showing that the training market is gradually recovering, with approximately 500,000 young people beginning training in 2023, three percent more than in 2022. - The amendment to the Forced Auction Law aims to prevent the misuse of derelict properties, granting communities the right to apply for judicial administration in a forced auction procedure.

As of July 2025, the draft bill to amend the Federal Data Protection Act is in an advanced stage and planned implementation activities continue, including consultations on further data-related legislation like the Data Act, scheduled from September 2025. No final enactment date or detailed changes on supervisory authorities were explicitly provided in the search results as of late July 2025.

1. A key development in personal-finance and education-and-self-development sectors is the draft bill that aims to prevent data on ethnic origin, payment inflows and outflows, health data, personal information from social networks, and residential address from influencing a person's creditworthiness.
2. In the realms of politics and policy-and-legislation, the Conference of Independent Data Protection Supervisory Authorities for the Federal and State Governments (Datenschutzkonferenz /DSK) is to be established for a uniform application of European and national data protection law.
3. The urban development landscape in Germany is to receive a boost, with the proposal to increase urban development promotion in the coming years according to urban development needs and within the available budget.
4. On the finance and general-news front, Germany is involved in the BEPS project, an international effort coordinating action against harmful tax competition and aggressive tax planning by internationally active companies.

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