The CDU and SPD in Berlin are considering expropriating companies that do not meet “climate targets”
The Berlin Senate, under the coalition government of the CDU and SPD, is promoting a new legal framework that would allow for the expropriation of private companies that, in the view of the authorities, do not meet certain standards of public interest, particularly regarding environmental matters. The project, called Vergesellschaftungsrahmengesetz (Framework Law on Socialization), introduces legal tools for the state to intervene in specific cases.
According to parliamentary leaders Dirk Stettner (CDU) and Raed Saleh (SPD), this regulation could be applied to companies that repeatedly break the law, generate profits without reinvestment, or do not sufficiently contribute to the “climate targets” set by the European Union, the federal government, or the federal state of Berlin.
The CDU has insisted that this is not strictly about expropriations, although the text does allow for political intervention in the market in cases it defines as “clear and manipulative failures.” The broadness of this definition has sparked some debate over how the law would be practically interpreted.
The SPD, for its part, has explained that the goal is to create a “toolbox” for intervening in situations where economic functioning is deemed to stray from the “general interest.” The draft includes measures such as price controls, legal limits on profits, possible changes in ownership models, and, ultimately, the option for the state to take over the management of certain sectors.
The law envisions its application in areas considered essential to social well-being, such as housing, energy, and water. In these cases, the state could act if it concludes that a company has stopped contributing to the “common good.”
The draft itself acknowledges that there may be questions about its constitutionality. Therefore, its implementation would not be immediate: a two-year period is planned for the Constitutional Court to assess its legal viability.
This initiative fits into a broader context of debate over the role of the state in the economy and the ecological transition. In 2021, 58% of voters in Berlin supported a referendum to expropriate large real estate companies, which has served as a reference point for extending the model to other sectors.
