Overview

• Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt’s two bills won cabinet approval, suspending family reunification for refugees with subsidiary protection for two years and ending three-year accelerated naturalization.
• The coalition’s ‘Sofortprogramm’ introduces an investment booster allowing firms to write off 30 percent of capital expenditures from 2025 to 2027 and aims to streamline procurement and energy approvals.
• Additional relief measures planned for January 1, 2026 include a reduced VAT rate for gastronomy, higher commuter allowances and full agrardiesel refunds for farmers.
• Legislation will establish a €500 billion special fund for infrastructure and climate protection alongside a €100 billion fund for the federal states, with enabling laws to reach the Bundesrat before the summer recess.
• The government reaffirmed plans to maintain the pension replacement rate at 48 percent of average income and set up a commission to review electoral law reform.