“In the upcoming Bundestag election campaign, the parties will use their content concepts to win the votes of the citizens. This is part of the democratic process.
Before federal politics fully switches to election campaign mode, cross-party majorities should be found for projects that the cities have long been committed to.
The example of the Deutschlandticket shows that this is possible. Despite early elections, financing for the ticket could still be secured for 2025. That was a good signal. We now need similar pragmatism in other laws.”
Building and living
When it comes to building and living, several projects are currently stalling, especially the reform of the building code and the extension of the rent cap. The amendment to the Building Code would have enabled cities to build housing in many places without complicated planning procedures. And if the rent control at the federal level is not extended, the corresponding state regulations will expire in series in the new year. The rent cap is an important component against ever-increasing rents. The President of the City Council said:
“All in all, it’s a problematic mix. If both projects fail, it would send a bad signal to all the people in our cities who urgently need more affordable housing.”
In addition, the General Railway Act (AEG) urgently needs to be corrected. The AEG had recently been changed in such a way that it became almost impossible to carry out construction projects on former railway land. This affects many already planned projects in cities across the country with thousands of residential units. This change to the AEG must be reversed as quickly as possible.
Digital Pact 2.0 for schools
A successor to the school digital pact, which has now expired, is also uncertain due to the end of the traffic light coalition. The discussions between the federal and state governments on the Digital Pact 2.0 should definitely continue. Lewe said:
“The incumbent Federal Education Minister must now finish negotiating the new digital pact agreement with the states and then give it as a recommendation to the future federal government. We cannot afford to start negotiations on the digital pact 2.0 from scratch after the federal election.”
Lewe continued: “If it remains unclear how digitalization in schools should be financed, this will have tangible consequences for schools and students. Tablets and laptops must be constantly replaced if they are old or defective. And also the IT infrastructure Further funding must be provided for reliably running networks. If this does not happen, there is a risk that the digital equipment in schools will even be dismantled. This would be a disgrace for Germany, in particular budgets will deteriorate again.”
Funding programs for the heat transition
With a view to the missing federal budget for 2025, the cities are also concerned about federal funding for which a funding decision has already been received but no money has yet flowed. A loss of this funding would be particularly critical for the expansion of heating networks and the renovation of public buildings. “These are both important building blocks of the local heating transition and projects in which the cities and their municipal utilities have to invest a lot of money,” explained Lewe. “For this we need investment and planning security. The loss of funding and prolonged uncertainty as to what will happen next would be poisonous for the heating transition. Because district heating projects may not even get started.” Lewe said:
“We therefore need a crystal clear commitment from all parties in the Bundestag that the cities can rely on promised funding and financial commitments from the federal government even after the new election – regardless of who makes up the new federal government.”
