Update from Berlin #3 | Skilled Labor Immigraton, Procurement Legislation, Google Court Hearing

Welcome to Update from Berlin for the week of April 24th 2023.
Parliament is in session this week, so we’ve got a full agenda on our plate. With that said: Got suggestions? Topics? Questions? Get in touch! You’ll find my contact info at the end of the video. Also: Let us know if you’d like to receive an e-mail alert whenever we upload a new episode. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

So let’s start with the Bundestag:
The Federal Government has a couple of bills, that it introduced, being discussed.
For one, a bill designed to increase immigration by skilled workers is having its first reading. While everybody seems to agree, that Germany needs to enable skilled workers to come here to work, that’s right about where the consensus between opposition and coalition parties ends.

Another bill by the Government that’s being discussed concerns changes to Germany’s public procurement law. This bill is scheduled to have its second and third reading.
The Government also will present a couple of reports. One will be on the Carbon Dioxide Storage Act and another on the Natural Climate Protection Action Program.

The Opposition is also introducing a couple of acts. For example the Left Party would like to see rail construction take precedence and the CDU/CSU is presenting draft legislation on the expansion of Germany’s hydrogen economy as well as on heating in Germany.

Just to mention one case that’s being heard by the federal courts in Germany this week: The BGH will hold oral arguments on when search engines – specifically Google – need to delete search results with certain personal information. This hearing comes after the Court of Justice of the European Union provided a preliminary ruling on the matter.

That’s it for this week. Again, if there’s anything we can help you with or if you have any feedback or comments, please let us know!