Overview
- The cabinet draft of the Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz creates a general duty to remove barriers but lets private companies opt out when changes would cause an “unverhältnismäßige und unbillige Belastung,” a phrase that the bill explicitly treats as including structural alterations.
- The parliamentary expert hearing on June 22 exposed sharp criticism from the Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte and activists who say the exemption and the lack of clear penalties mean the draft fails to meet Germany’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- Official health‑sector data cited in government responses show large gaps in access: as of June 30, 2025, 64% of active outpatient practices had no accessibility features, 75% of psychological practices were inaccessible, and only 39% of physiotherapy practices were barrier‑free.
- The draft delays mandatory removal of structural barriers in federal buildings to 2045, later than the coalition’s earlier 2035 goal, and contains no strong sanction mechanism for private noncompliance, a timetable and enforcement gap that activists call unacceptably slow.
- Activists have staged protests and a ministry occupation and delivered petitions to press ministers, while trade and employer groups argue for support measures over broad legal duties; coalition negotiations on the bill’s final wording are ongoing with no vote date set.