The Federal Association of Consumer Centres (VZBV) has criticized the current Federal Government, nearly a year after taking office, for deficiencies in its consumer policy achievements. According to an assessment conducted by the VZBV, the government has made little headway on several consumer issues.
Of 23 consumer policy initiatives-some explicitly promised by the CDU, CSU, and SPD in the Coalition Agreement-the VZBV found that nine had not even been initiated. For the remaining 14 projects that have begun or been completed, the association graded the implementation efforts into three categories: six were rated as “strong” six as “mediocre” (“so lala”), and two as “weak”.
The VZBV specifically categorized the measures taken regarding the reduction of electricity prices for private households as “weak”. They also noted that the attempts to simplify data protection while maintaining its protective level require the government to apply greater pressure at the EU level against anticipated changes proposed by the European Commission.
Conversely, the association praised certain progress. Measures taken by Consumer Protection Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) to challenge a proposed overhaul of passenger rights initiated by the EU Council were deemed “strong” as did the comprehensive reform of private retirement provision, which the VZBV called a “milestone”.
The implementation of the extended Deutschlandticket, decided upon last November, was rated as “mediocre”. The coalition had promised that the price increase for users would not occur until 2029; however, the ticket’s price rose to 63 euros per month at the turn of the year. Despite this price hike, the VZBV acknowledged that the ticket’s future stability for the coming years is now secured.
VZBV Managing Director Ramona Pop commented that some new laws represent genuine progress from the consumer perspective, but pointed out that in certain crucial areas, little progress has been made at all.
Pop also announced plans for an upcoming meeting with Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU), stating that consumers are a relevant economic factor through their private consumption. Calling for this meeting, Pop noted that several organizations had recently criticized Minister Reiche for meeting with corporate representatives but failing to engage with environmental and consumer protection groups.