The Federal Parliament (Bundestag) is being pressed by the Association of Family Business Owners to forgo its summer recess this year so that it can focus on debating and passing planned reforms instead. Christine Ostermann, the head of the association, told Redaktionnetzwerk Deutschland: “It must not happen that every individual measure gets torn apart by various interest groups over the long summer, resulting in hardly any, or no, relief for companies and their employees.”
Ostermann has sent a letter addressing members of all government factions. According to this correspondence, she demanded that the committees relevant to the reform package continue working during the summer break. The goal is that the Bundestag could approve the reform laws through second and third readings as early as August.
Furthermore, Ostermann warned: “Germany has fallen behind in key location conditions compared to the international middle ground, not to mention its former top positions.” She lamented the lack of investment, noting that for many businesses, profitability is questionable. Therefore, she insists that the first reading of the reform laws must take place before the parliamentary summer pause-no later than July 10th.
In her letter, Ostermann also highlighted the urgent need for companies to plan ahead. “Things have to move quickly so that the targeted improvements in business conditions can show effect soon.” Since investment plans across most companies are scheduled for approval in autumn, she argued that forecasts must be made-“based on passed laws”-before then.
