Coalition Agreement in Germany

Will Germany finally spend 2% of its GDP on defence? The short answer is no. Although Germany sticks to the 2% target set at the 2014 NATO summit in Wales, the target is not mentioned in the coalition agreement. This should come as no surprise: no party in Germany is a fan of the goal. The argument is that spending as a percentage of GDP is not a meaningful way to measure military output or contributions to collective security. The new coalition agreement commits the government to a 3% target that combines development, diplomacy and defense spending. Compared to the current level of spending, this means that there will be increases – the question is where the money will go. All three parties say they want to allow the notoriously under-equipped Bundeswehr to conduct both territorial defense and crisis management operations in the future. If they are serious, they must continue the increases in the defence budget of recent years. If they reduced funding instead, overheads would absorb the funds needed to develop and acquire capabilities and undermine Germany`s ability to meet its responsibilities to NATO. So the long answer is that we have to wait for the federal budget to get an idea of the credibility of this new administration`s commitment to investing in its armed forces. If, as expected, all parties lend their support, the coalition agreement will be signed on Tuesday. Scholz could then be elected chancellor in the Bundestag on Wednesday and his cabinet sworn in.

Under the heading “family time”, the coalition has planned a series of innovations in parental leave and parental allowance. From the point of view of labour law, the most relevant aspect is that the special protection against dismissal of employees on parental leave is extended by three months after the end of parental leave. Currently, special protection against dismissal ends at the same time as the end of parental leave. The reason for this change is to ensure the return to work after parental leave. The coalition agreement stipulates that Germany will accede to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as an observer. In addition to becoming a member, which would prohibit Germany from participating in NATO`s nuclear policy as a whole, Germany, which is seeking observer status for the treaty, nevertheless annoys many of Berlin`s allies. NATO rejects the TPNW, which it sees as a naïve distraction from arms control negotiations, which include the nuclear powers. NATO allies also fear that Germany`s membership as an observer will inspire other member states to do the same, dividing the alliance. The future federal government – led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP – has presented a coalition agreement that initiates a wide range of changes in asylum and integration policy.

Measures are planned to give persons with a status of patience the possibility of obtaining a right to remain in Germany, in particular young people and persons or families who have tried to belong to German society. People in a situation of “chain compatibility” now have access to a one-year residence permit after five years of residence in Germany. People with a status of patience who are undergoing formal education should also receive a residence permit. Restrictions on the right to family reunification for persons enjoying subsidiary protection will be lifted so that they have the same access to family reunification as persons enjoying Convention status under the Status of Refugees. Unaccompanied children in Germany can be reunited with their parents and siblings. Pro Asyl: “For many people in Germany, concrete improvements can now be made because family reunification needs to be improved, work bans abolished and residence rules simplified.” The coalition is also committed to offering integration courses upon arrival and providing funding, including to migrant-led organisations and professional language courses to support integration into the labour market. The leaders of the SPD, the Greens and the Free Democrats met in Berlin to officially sign their tripartite coalition agreement. Will Germany crack down on China? The sound will certainly be sharper. The new government speaks of “systemic competition” with China, and the coalition agreement mentions Taiwan, repression by security forces in Hong Kong and human rights violations in Xinjiang. This change has been coming for some time. It has three main factors: First, Beijing has played badly in Germany – China`s outsized response to EU sanctions against Chinese officials for human rights violations against Xinjiang in early 2021 has changed the perception of China among many German policymakers. German politicians are aware of the bipartisan consensus in the US on the fight against Chinese influence and have received a clear message from the Biden administration that it wants to coordinate Chinese policy with the Europeans – the coalition agreement calls for a transatlantic policy of China.

And the new coalition has pledged to work more closely with its EU partners and end the excessive focus on exports and investment in China, which Merkel herself recently called “naïve.” In addition, the coalition plans to introduce a two-week paid leave for the partner after the birth of a child. However, it is not clear in the coalition agreement whether it will be a government benefit or employer-funded. Scholz said: “This is a morning when we are on the road to a new government.” He said that the results of the negotiations of recent weeks have allowed progress and that the fight against the coronavirus crisis will first require the full strength of the new coalition. “Germany needs a stable and reliable government capable of meeting the challenges facing our country,” the parties wrote in a previously published draft agreement. “Our discussions have shown that we can succeed.” Changes are also planned in the area of co-management. This applies above all to digitalisation, in which the pandemic has shown that we need to catch up. According to the coalition`s plans, works councils should decide for themselves whether they want to work in analogue or digital form. Digital works council elections are also to be tested as part of a pilot project. This would be a big improvement for employers, both in terms of time and money, if digital works council elections were possible. Germany`s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) signed a coalition agreement with leaders of the environmentally conscious Green Party and the neoliberal Liberal Democrats (FDP) at a ceremony in Berlin on Tuesday. The new German coalition – made up of the Social Democrats, the Greens and the neoliberal FDP – has agreed on a political roadmap.

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