Fight against child poverty - Hardly any progress on basic child protection - associations furious
Parliamentary negotiations on introducing a child allowance continue to be difficult. According to the current schedule of the Bundestag, the plenum will not deal with the draft law again before the summer break. "The negotiations in the Bundestag are ongoing, we want to make good progress", said Andreas Audretsch, deputy faction leader of the Greens, to the German Press Agency. It is, however, unclear when exactly such progress will be achieved.
The cabinet had already approved the draft in the autumn of the previous year. For weeks, the Bundestag has been deliberating over it. Originally, the child allowance was intended to be introduced on January 1, 2025.
Associations and scientists are again urging for a quick implementation. The "Alliance for Child Allowance", which consists of 20 associations and 13 scientists, lamented that the draft has been stuck in parliament for months. While members of parliament went into the summer break, poor families in Germany were lacking money for vacation trips and visits to public pools, stated Verena Bentele, chairwoman of the Social Association Germany.
SPD and FDP do not support the draft
It is currently unclear how the project can be implemented at all. Politicians from the SPD and FDP have recently expressed objections to the draft by Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) and hinted that even after weeks of negotiations, there would still be a need for talks on fundamental issues. SPD faction vice-chair Sönke Rix recently told the "Rheinische Post" that only a phased introduction was realistic.
There is hardly a political project from the coalition agreement "on which we have made such arduous progress - especially because compromise readiness and necessary realism are lacking", stated the deputy FDP faction leader Gyde Jensen in the newspaper.
The child allowance is considered the social flagship project of the Greens. The traffic light coalition wants to "improve the lives of all children in Germany" with this social reform, emphasized the Green politician Audretsch. The social benefits, such as child benefit, benefits from citizens' aid for children, or the child supplement, are to be bundled. The goal of the federal government is to reach all children who are entitled to social benefits in the future. However, it is still unclear how this will be achieved.
- Despite the ongoing Parliamentary negotiations, the draft law for a child allowance will not be discussed again in the Bundestag plenum before the summer break, as per the current schedule.
- Lisa Paus, the Green Party's Family Minister, is spearheading the child allowance project, which is deemed a significant social flagship for her party within the coalition agreement.
- The Alliance for Child Allowance, an association of 20 organizations and 13 scientists, has voiced concerns about the draft law being stagnant in Parliament for months, affecting poor families in Germany.
- The child allowance, initially planned for introduction on January 1, 2025, is currently facing opposition from both SPD and FDP politicians, who are uncertain about the draft's implementation.
- Andreas Audretsch, deputy faction leader of the Greens, expressed hope for progress in the negotiations, stating, "We want to make good progress," to the German Press Agency.
- Gyde Jensen, the deputy FDP faction leader, admitted that the child allowance project has faced challenging negotiations, saying, "There is hardly a political project from the coalition agreement 'on which we have made such arduous progress.'"
- The progressive goals of the traffic light coalition include improving the lives of all children in Germany with the child allowance, aiming to bundle various social benefits such as child benefits, citizens' aid for children, and child supplements, to reach all entitled children.
