Everything that changes in Germany in April 2025
Cuts to
Elterngeld
Elterngeld
(or parental allowance), which mothers and fathers receive as a partial wage replacement benefit while staying home after the birth of a child, is to be reduced in scope from April onwards.
Going forward families with a high income level will no longer be eligible for the benefit. Instead it will be limited to single parents and couples who have a taxable annual income of €175,000 or less.
This new limit applies to children born on or after April 1st this year.
Trial period begins for digital vehicle registration documents
A test run for digital vehicle registration documents will begin in April.
From the beginning of the month, interested motorists will be able to test an app developed jointly by the Federal Motor Transport Authority and the Federal Printing Office.
The app allows user to show their vehicle registration documents on their smartphone. If it proves successful, drivers would no longer need to obtain and keep a physical copy of these documents in their vehicles.
A physical vehicle registration certificate. In April a trial period will begin for people who would rather keep a digital copy of the certificate in their smartphone. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Marijan Murat
New questions added to the theoretical driving test
Speaking of driving, anyone who wants to get a driver's license will face a slightly revised list of questions on the theory test from April 1st.
Some questions have been deleted due to legal changes while others have been added.
DPA reported that questions on turning right, on right of way regulations at intersections, and on certain traffic signs have been changed, for example.
The official list of the potential questions used for drivers' licence theory tests in Germany is changed every six months. A significant change to the questions
was made in April of last year
.
LISTED:
The non-EU countries that have drivers licence exchange agreements with Germany
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Electronic Travel Authorisation required for travel to Great Britain
Anyone who wants to travel to the UK from countries without visa requirements, such as Germany and other EU states, will need an electronic travel authorization (ETA) in addition to their passport starting in April.
According to the British Home Office, the new regulation will apply to Europeans from April 2nd, 2025.
An ETA costs 10 pounds (roughly €12) and must be renewed after two years at the latest.
READ ALSO:
ETA application glitch bars entry to UK for some British dual-nationals
Electronic patient records on the horizon
A trial run for the electronic patient record (ePA) has been running since January 15th,
so far only in three regions
with around 300 participating practices.
In mid-March, the majority federally owned digital agency Gematik wants to check whether the system is stable and can be introduced nationwide. If the agency gives a positive verdict, this could be possible from April.
For patients who don't opt out of the system, all of their health records such as X-rays, doctor's letters and laboratory results would be stored in the ePA.
The system is intended to make it easier for different medical practices and pharmacies to more easily share and review patients' files.
According to the plans of the Federal Ministry of Health, every insurance patient in Germany is to receive the ePA – unless they object.
READ ALSO:
The big healthcare changes in Germany in 2025
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Easter holidays from April 18th to the 21st
Workers in Germany can enjoy two public holidays in April: Good Friday on April 18th and Easter Monday on the 21st.
Easter Sunday, of course, falls between the two on April 20th this year.
A Swiss chocolate Easter egg is seen in craft fair. Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
If you want a bit more of a vacation than the four day weekend, you could request off April 14th to the 17th to effectively have a 10 day block off - from Saturday April 12th until Monday the 21st.
Note that most businesses - including supermarkets - will be closed on the public holidays on Friday and Monday, in addition to Sunday as usual. You'd be advised to stock up on everything you need for the holiday weekend ahead of time, as shops are typically extra busy on the Saturday in between.
READ ALSO:
What's open and closed in Germany over the Easter weekend?
Germany set to get a new coalition government
Germany's incoming chancellor candidate, Friedrich Merz, has repeatedly said he wants to form a new government "by Easter", meaning before Sunday, April 20th.
That would be a markedly fast formation of a new coalition government for Germany, but so far leaders of the conservative CDU/CSU parties and from the Social Democrats (SPD) have demonstrated their ability to move quickly, having already begun coalition talks and
brought fourth a radical new spending proposal
.
According to an internal document leaked in the German press on Tuesday, the CDU wants to sign off on a coalition agreement in the week of the 14th.
If all goes to plan, Germany could officially elect Friedrich Merz as Chancellor as soon as April 23rd.
TIMELINE:
How soon will Germany get a new government?
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Wage increases for certain craft workers
According to a report by Bonn's General Anzeiger newspaper, some craft workers can expect a salary increase from April.
In the construction industry, wages are to rise by 4.2 percent in the west and by five percent in the east. This is to apply to workers in building construction, civil engineering or road construction.
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2 hours ago
- DW
NATO likely to hike defense spending, amid economic concerns – DW – 06/05/2025
The military alliance looks set to satisfy US President Donald Trump's demands to commit to a massive increase in defense spending. Some creative counting proposed by NATO head Mark Rutte could soften the financial blow. NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday showed "broad support" for signing off a historic hike in defense spending at a crunch summit later this month. This was their response to the growing threat from Russia and a "more dangerous world" in general, the military alliance's Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters. "I will propose an overall investment plan that would total 5% of gross domestic product in defense investment," Rutte announced, following months of pressure from US President Donald Trump for allies to more than double the present target. Current NATO guidelines encourage states to spend 2% of their economic output on their militaries. But not all of the alliance's members meet this target, raising questions of how they will reach an even higher spending goal. Splitting the bill In response, NATO chief Rutte has specified a division of the new spending goal that could allow Trump to claim a headline figure, while giving the other 31 nations room to maneuver their national budgets. Thus, of the 5%, 3.5% of national GDP could be allotted to "core defence spending", while the remaining 1.5% could be diverted to "defense- and security-related investment like infrastructure and industry," he said. Allied defense ministers gathered at the NATO headquarters in Brussels Image: Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu/picture alliance Trump has long criticized NATO allies for relying on the US' large military might as a strategy to defend the European continent. In 2023, more than two thirds of the 32 NATO countries' collective $1.3 trillion (€1.14 trillion) military spending came from Washington, according to data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). On Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth drove home the message to the rest of the alliance once again. "Every shoulder has to be to the plough. Every country has to contribute at that level of 5% as a recognition of the nature of threat," he said. Leaders of the world's most powerful defense alliance are set to gather in three weeks in the Dutch city The Hague. Topping the agenda will be discussions on the ongoing war in Ukraine, and Russia's resulting massive rearmament drive. It seems likely that NATO members will officially commit to the 5% goal at these upcoming talks. Giving in to pressure Under US pressure, and with Europeans alarmed by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO military spending has already burgeoned in recent years. Most countries now meet the 2% threshold, which was agreed upon 11 years ago. But around one third of the alliance still doesn't, including Portugal, Italy, Canada, Belgium, and Spain. Most NATO states had indicated willingness to spend more, but the 5% goal was considered far-fetched when Trump floated the idea earlier this year. Almost half a year on, the message seems to be resonating with many in the alliance. Earlier this week, 14 NATO states, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the five Nordic states, published a joint statement in which they said they were "moving towards reaching at least 5% of GDP on defense and defense-related investments." Specter of war: Are Europeans really ready to rearm? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Last month, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadepuhl also indicated Germany could get on board with the goal. Several NATO countries, including Poland, Estonia and Lithuania, have already committed to spending more 5% or more in the future. All are former Soviet states, and two of them share a border with Russia. Since taking office in January, the "America-first" president has strained the NATO alliance with threats not to help defend alliance members that didn't meet spending targets should they be attacked. His designs on the semi-autonomous Danish territory Greenland have also alienated allies, as have his attempts at bilateral talks to find an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, which sidelined European partners and left Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy largely marginalized. Questions remain There are still many open questions to be answered, one of them being the timeline. On Thursday, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur spoke of committing to reaching 5% within five years. "We don't have time for ten years, we don't even have time for seven years, to be honest," he said. But the official focus at this week's meeting was on working out what exact capabilities NATO would need and may currently be missing to defend itself if a member of the alliance were attacked. After the talks, Rutte spoke of the need to upgrade air defense systems and long-range missiles, among other things. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany might need as many as 50,000 – 60,000 more troops in its standing forces to meet defense needs in the coming years. Increased spending amid economic downturn While consensus appears to be forming, it is also clear that increasing military spending to 5% of GDP would be an enormous strain on public finances, particularly as Europe's two major economies, Germany and France, face tough times. Paris and Berlin are touting increased defense spending as a chance to fuel economic growth in Europe, but there is a risk of public backlash. In April in Rome, the opposition Five Star Movement led a protest against an EU drive to rearm the bloc — a move supported by the government of far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — reportedly drawing tens of thousands of people. According to Cullen Hendrix, an expert from the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a US think tank, a 5% spending target would essentially put NATO countries on "war footing." us secretary of State Pete Hegseth was in Brussels for the last NATO gathering before next month's summit Image: Bob Reijnders/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images "In 2023, just nine countries spent 5% of GDP or more on defense: Algeria, Armenia, Israel, Lebanon, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and South Sudan," Hendrix wrote in February. "Most are, or were, at war. Five of these are authoritarian petro-states, unencumbered by competitive elections or the need to tax their populaces to fund this military largesse." There is also a risk ithat increased spending will make Europe less safe, Hendrix warned. "Increasing military spending to this extent would likely catalyze an arms race with those near-peer competitors." On Thursday in Brussels, Rutte argued there was little choice but to spend significantly more on defense, pointing to recent comments by the German Chief of Defense Carsten Breuer, who posited that Russia would be ready to amount an attack on NATO states by 2029. "We live in a more dangerous world," Rutte said. "We are safe today, but if we don't do this, we are not safe in the foreseeable future." Edited by: Maren Sass
DW
a day ago
- DW
High hopes as Germany's Merz meets US President Trump – DW – 06/04/2025
Will German Chancellor Friedrich Merz convince US President Donald Trump to be a reliable partner to Europe? Expectations are high for Merz's first visit to Washington. Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump have already exchanged private cell phone numbers and they are on a first-name basis, but aside from a brief encounter in New York years ago, this Thursday will be the first time that the two leaders meet. The new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is on his inaugural visit to Washington. Merz, like former chancellor Angela Merkel, the British Queen Elizabeth and French President Charles de Gaulle before him, has been invited to stay at the Blair House, directly adjacent to the White House. It was only a few weeks ago that Merz expressed strong disapproval of events in the Oval Office in March, when the US president publicly ridiculed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and blamed him for Russia's war against his country. Merz also took issue with Vice President JD Vance and other Trump associates for expressing support for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD). How Merz aims to regain Germany's standing on foreign issues To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Committed to trans Atlantic cooperation Recently, the German chancellor told public broadcaster WDR how his first telephone conversation with Donald Trump went: "It's always important not to talk for too long, but to keep it short and also let him talk." According to Merz, every second or third word the president said was "great." "You have to adapt your approach and work with him. At the same time, we mustn't make ourselves smaller than we are," said Merz. "We are not supplicants." Carlo Masala, professor of international politics at the Bundeswehr University in Munich, also thinks Merz needs to be confident going into his meeting with Trump. Masala told public broadcaster NDR: "He needs to be assertive, but at the same time make Trump feel respected as a great statesman with a strong vision. I believe that flattery combined with European self-confidence is the best strategy, although there is no guarantee that it will ultimately be successful." The talks in Washington are likely to focus on three major issues: the war in Ukraine, the tariff disputes, and the question of Europe's contribution to its own security. On security issues, Merz can now point to some achievements. Trump has repeatedly complained about the low defense spending of some European NATO partners, including Germany, and threatened to withdraw US protection. Now Merz can say that Germany is planning a massive military build-up: Five percent of Germany's GDP will be allocated to defense in the future, with 3.5% going directly to the military and 1.5% to defense-related infrastructure. German FM: Germany to ramp up defense spending To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Tariffs and defense Germany is also seeking to assume a greater leadership role in Europe. The joint visit made to Kyiv by the heads of state of Germany, France, Great Britain and Poland to show their support, which was initiated by Merz, demonstrated Europe's willingness to meet the American demand that it takes responsibility for its own security affairs. In return, Merz and other European leaders hope to work with the US to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. On the issue of tariffs, Merz has no authority to negotiate because trade policy is a EU matter. But as an export nation, Germany is getting hit hard by trade barriers. On the day Merz departed, US import tariffs on European steel and aluminum doubled to 50%. The chancellor is likely to urge both sides to avoid an escalating trade conflict in which everyone loses. Friedrich Merz is very much a trans Atlanticist. He is likely to try to convince Donald Trump that it is also in his own interest for the US to remain committed to Europe. But political scientist Carlo Masala is pessimistic: "I believe that any long-term strategy that can work must assume that the United States will pull out of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine." Europeans will have to be prepared for the US, as Ukraine's most important supporter, to withdraw, Masala said. "And to move quickly when it comes to the question of European defense capabilities and sovereignty," he said. "That is the long-term strategy." Trump threatens 50% tariffs on EU imports To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Will Trump visit his ancestral home in Germany? With the new federal government made up of the conservative CDU/CSU and the Social Democrats (SPD), a new style has also emerged in foreign policy. Former Green Party Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was sometimes criticized for being moralizing and patronizing. The new government now wants to focus more on common interests and finding compromises, even with difficult partners, such as the Trump administration. The conflicts between Germany and the US are numerous, and Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump are very different characters. But the German chancellor is determined to engage openly with the US president. Echoing a move by former Chancellor Angela Merkel, Friedrich Merz has invited the US president to visit the homeland of his ancestors. Trump's grandfather, Friedrich Trump, grew up in the winegrowing village of Kallstadt in the Palatinate region of Germany before emigrating to the US. It is not yet known whether Trump will accept the invitation this time. This article was originally written in German. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.
DW
a day ago
- DW
EU gives green light for Bulgaria to join the euro – DW – 06/04/2025
The EU has approved Bulgaria's readiness to adopt the euro, clearing the way for a 2026 switch. The move follows inflation reforms and marks a milestone in the country's EU integration. The European Commission on Wednesday approved Bulgaria's readiness to adopt the euro, saying the country was sufficiently ready to switch to the common currency. A commission report found that, after successfully reducing inflation, Bulgaria was in a position to become the 21st European Union country to use the euro. When will Bulgaria adopt the euro? Bulgaria, an EU member since 2007, had initially aimed to adopt the euro in 2024 but delayed the move due to an inflation rate of 9.5% at the time. The European Commission now expects Bulgarian inflation to ease to 3.6% this year and drop to 1.8% by 2026. The latest decision confirms that Bulgaria meets the necessary economic criteria to adopt the common currency on January 1, 2026. How do Bulgarians feel about possibly joining the eurozone? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The European Central Bank (ECB) also assessed Bulgaria's economy as sufficiently prepared. "The government in Sofia has shown tremendous commitment to implementing the necessary changes," said ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane. Why does Bulgaria want to be part of the euro? Adopting the euro gives Bulgaria access to the European Central Bank's monetary policy and financial backstops, reducing the risk of currency crises. It lowers interest rates on government and business loans and eliminates currency exchange risk with eurozone countries, boosting investor confidence. Using the euro simplifies cross-border transactions, making trade and tourism with other EU countries easier. "Congratulations, Bulgaria!" said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "The euro is a tangible symbol of European strength and unity." "Thanks to the euro, Bulgaria's economy will become stronger, with more trade with euro area partners, foreign direct investment, access to finance, quality jobs and real incomes," she said. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov said the EU's approval confirmed the progress made by the Balkan country. "A remarkable day. Another step forward on Bulgaria's path to the euro... This follows years of reforms, commitment and alignment with our European partners," he said in a post on X. Is everybody happy about joining the eurozone? The push to adopt the euro has sparked a significant backlash in Bulgaria. Protests have taken place in Sofia and other cities, and recent surveys indicate that nearly half of those polled oppose joining the eurozone. Some 1,000 people demonstrated Wednesday outside the National Assembly in central Sofia, protesting the planned change. Holding signs that read "Preserve the Bulgarian lev," "No to the euro," and "The future belongs to sovereign states," the crowd voiced concern that joining the eurozone would erode national sovereignty and economic stability. Pro-Russian opposition party Vazrazhdane, which has led several similar rallies in recent months, organized the demonstration. Protesters against the change gathered in Sofia on the day the euro green light was announced Image: BGNES "If Bulgaria joins the eurozone, it will be like boarding the Titanic," said Nikolai Ivanov, a retired senior official, during another recent protest, reflecting fears that euro adoption could harm savings and dent the Bulgarian economy. What is Bulgaria's currency right now? Bulgaria's national currency, the lev, has served as the country's official tender since 1881. At a value of €0.51 ($0.58) is subdivided into 100 stotinki. The name "lev" translates to "lion" in old Bulgarian, reflecting a traditional symbol of national pride. The lev has undergone three major revaluations, most recently in 1999, when 1 new lev replaced 1,000 old leva. Since then, the lev has been pegged to the euro at a fixed exchange rate of 1.95583 BGN to 1 EUR under a currency board system. Fellow EU countries and the European Parliament must still approve Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone, though approval is widely expected. Bulgaria's path to joining the eurozone has been marked by political instability, with the country holding seven elections in just three years — the most recent in October 2024. Despite the turbulence, Bulgaria has made steady efforts to align its economy with eurozone standards. With a population of 6.4 million, it remains the European Union's poorest member. Under EU treaties, all member states except Denmark are required to adopt the euro once they meet the necessary criteria. Bulgaria is one of six EU countries yet to do so, alongside Poland, Romania, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Edited by: Wesley Rahn
