At a glance
- Federal elections were held on 23 February 2025. The newly elected federal Parliament has come together for its inaugural session on 25 March 2025.
- Due to the principle of discontinuity, legislative processes, regardless of their progress, have to be reinitiated.
- This effectively puts a number of legislative proposals bought forward by the previous government on hold, making it unclear if, and when, any proposals will be reintroduced.
Federal elections were held on 23 February 2025. The newly elected federal Parliament (Bundestag) came together for its inaugural session on 25 March 2025, replacing the previous Parliament. This effectively halts all legislative proposals.
Principle of discontinuity
With the formation of the new federal Parliament, all bills and proposals that were not passed by the previous federal Parliament must be reintroduced and renegotiated. This principle of discontinuity applies regardless of how far a draft bill had already progressed in the legislative process.
Interim period
Until a new coalition is formed and a new government is appointed, the former federal government will remain in office on an interim basis. However, the former government coalition no longer holds a majority in the new federal Parliament, making it unlikely that any major legislation will be reintroduced during this interim period.
Overview of the formerly planned legislation
A new coalition is currently being negotiated. If the coalition partners find common ground, a coalition agreement will be published, indicating the direction the new government will take.
For now, the future of legislative proposals introduced by the previous government remains uncertain. This is particularly applicable to any proposals not based on EU legislation. Without any obligation to implement respective EU directives, proposals could undergo comprehensive revision by the new government, if they are reintroduced at all.
Below is a summary of the major legislative proposals from the former federal government that are now on hold:
- Draft of a new Employee Data Act: A draft Employee Data Act was presented by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in October 2024. While the draft does include a few references to existing EU legislation, it was not designed as a law implementing a specific EU directive. For more information on the draft, please refer to this news item.
- Draft law on collective bargaining agreements: Legislation aiming to tie the awarding of public contracts to compliance with collective bargaining agreements had been in discussion for multiple years. In December 2024, the previous government introduced an updated draft, which was not passed by the federal Parliament before 25 March 2025. The draft was not based on any EU directive. For more information on the previous developments, please refer to this news item.
- Drafting assistance on incentives for post-retirement work: The former federal government had published a drafting assistance (document type sometimes issued by the government at the beginning or during the legislative process) on possible incentives for work beyond retirement in September 2024. The drafting assistance was not based on any EU directive. For more information on the drafting assistance, please refer to this news item.
- Draft law on the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): Germany was supposed to implement the CSRD into national law by 6 July 2024. While the former federal government issued a draft law on 24 July 2024, it was not passed by the federal Parliament before 25 March 2025. For more information on the draft, please refer to this news item.
The European Commission opened infringement procedures against Germany as well as 16 other Member States in September 2024, which may lead to the new federal government reintroducing the bill in the near future. However, it should also be taken into account that the Commission has adopted a proposal on a possible amendment of the CSRD (please refer to this news item), which may again result in further delays of the implementation.
