Die Ergebnisse der zweiten Stufe der Föderalismusreform

This article is concerned with the second step of the »federalism reform« in Germany. The first step rearranged legislative powers between the Bund (federation) and the Länder. In step two, the main focus became the modernization of financial relations between the two levels of state. The article scrutinizes necessity and practicability of the resulting changes in the German Basic Law in July 2009, specifically focusing on their greater goal of limiting the national debt. The author identifies demands and limits set by European Union primary legislation as well as rivaling interests of the involved political actors - mainly the economically and financially better-off Länder in contrast to those receiving money from the Länder solidary transfer system - and their impact throughout the reform process. The most remarkable result of the constitutional reform's second step is the newly introduced popularly called »debt brake« (a debt limit) in article 109 section 3 Basic Law. Now for the first time not only the Federation, but also the Länder are restrained in public borrowing. This rule narrows the Länder's domestic constitutional law-making freedom but nevertheless does not infringe principles of federalism. However, a successful limitation of public debt will strongly depend on serious efforts by Bund and Länder and a restrictive interpretation of statutory exemptions.