Right to vote from 16, Paragraph 219a Abolished
These are the most important points of the coalition agreement
The new coalition agreement should give women back the power to make decisions about their bodies.
© Rena Schild / Shutterstock
After a few weeks of negotiation, the traffic light parties came to a conclusion. On Wednesday, November 24th, 2021, they presented the new coalition agreement. We have summarized some of the most important points for you.
The abolition of paragraph 219a
The controversial and much opposed advertising ban on abortion is to be abolished. “Doctors should be able to provide public information about abortions without having to fear prosecution,” says the paper. “Therefore we delete §219a StGB.” The self-determination of women about themselves and their bodies should be strengthened. Pregnancy conflict counseling should be possible online. There will be “legal measures” against harassment caused by anti-abortion activities.
Artificial fertilization
Unwanted childless should be given much better support. “Artificial insemination will be non-discriminatory, even with heterologous insemination, regardless of medical indication, marital status and sexual identity,” says the coalition agreement. The federal government assumes 25 percent of the costs regardless of state participation. In addition: “We make it clear that embryo donations in the pronuclear stage are legal and allow ‘elective single embryo transfer’.” The traffic light parties then plan to “return to full coverage of the costs. The costs of the Preimplantation Diagnostics A commission is to be set up to examine regulations for abortion outside of the penal code as well as possibilities for legalizing egg donation and altruistic surrogacy.
Basic child benefits
The basic child benefit is a bundling of previous financial support such as child benefit, benefits from SGB II / XII for children, parts of the education and participation package and the child allowance. “This achievement should reach the children directly without any bureaucratic hurdles.” It should consist of two components: an income-independent guarantee amount, which is the same for all children and young people, and a staggered additional contribution that is dependent on the parents’ income, according to the coalition agreement.
The transsexual law is to be abolished
The transsexual law is to be replaced by a self-determination law. “This includes a procedure at the registry office that makes changes to the gender entry in the civil status basically possible by self-disclosure, an extended and sanction-reinforced prohibition of disclosure and a strengthening of the education and counseling offers” says the contract. The gender reassignment treatments “must be fully covered by the GKV (editor’s note: Statutory health insurance).”
Furthermore: “We are setting up a compensation fund for trans and inter-people who are affected by physical injuries or forced divorce due to previous legislation”, according to the wording in the contract. A complete ban on conversion treatments is under consideration. “We are abolishing the blood donation ban for men who have sex with men, as well as for trans people, if necessary by law.”
care
The traffic light coalition wants to provide one billion euros for the care bonus. The care allowance for care at home is to be increased regularly from 2022 onwards.
Suffrage
The active voting age for elections to the Bundestag and the European Parliament is to be reduced to 16 years. In Germany, this requires an amendment to the Basic Law; for European elections, the coalition members could adopt this reform with a simple majority.
driver’s license
Accompanied driving should be possible from the age of 16 instead of the previous 17 years. Up to the age of 18 there is a requirement to drive the car only when accompanied by an accompanying person at least 30 years of age.
minimum wage
In a one-off adjustment, the minimum wage is to be increased to twelve euros per hour.
Bürgergeld
Hartz IV is to be replaced by a citizen’s benefit. The coalition agreement states that citizens’ benefits are granted in the first two years of receipt without crediting the assets and that the adequacy of the apartment is recognized.
cannabis
A controlled supply of cannabis to adults for consumption purposes in licensed shops is to be introduced.
climate
The coal phase-out should be brought forward – “ideally this will be achieved by 2030”, according to the agreement. By 2030, 80 percent of electricity consumption should come from renewable energies. To achieve this, wind and solar power are to be massively expanded. Overall, climate protection is to be included in the Federal Government’s decisions to a greater extent than before.
Reside
The goal of the coalition agreement is to build 400,000 new apartments per year, 100,000 of which are to be publicly funded. Among other things, the rent brake is to be extended and tightened. In areas with a tight housing market, the rent should only be allowed to rise by up to eleven percent within three years instead of the previous 15 percent.
Sources used: sueddeutsche.de, coalition agreement SPD, FDP and Greens, tagesschau.de