Temporarily putting an end to a controversy which has been dividing Germany for years, the Bundestag adopted, today November 9, with the votes from the conservative (CDU/CSU) and liberal (FDP) MPs, the bill introducing an allowance (Betreuungsgeld) for families deciding to raise their children at home until the age of 3. Starting on August 1, 2013, these families will receive EUR100 per month for each child aged 1-3. The bonus will be EUR150 after August 2014. Reminding that most people, employers’ organizations, unions and even the European Commission were against this “stay-at-home” bonus, Peer Steinbrück, social-democratic candidate for the Chancellorship, warned that, if the SPD won the legislative election in the fall 2013, this law would immediately be cancelled. (Ref. 120659)
Estimated cost: €1.2 billion a year. Seldom has a bill caused so much controversy and turmoil in the German political sphere and society (see, among others, our dispatch No. 110746). Up to the very last minute, employers’ organizations, the trade unions and economic experts from the Federal Council called on the MPs to stop a “conservative” and “detrimental” law – in vain. With 310 votes for, 282 against and 2 abstentions, the Bundestag adopted the bill today, November 9. Since it...
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