Many changes will take effect again from February 2023: Among other things, beer will be more expensive, masks will no longer be compulsory on public transport and insects can be used in food. All changes and innovations are available from FOCUS online.
New laws and changes in February 2023 affect the everyday life of many people. From the energy price brake to wind turbines or energy lamps, consumers are faced with a lot. You can get an overview of the changes and innovations here in the article.
Rising costs do not stop at German beer brewers either. As a result, beer becomes more expensive. The Bitburger Group will pass on the massive cost increases to consumers from February. Veltins already increased its prices at the end of January, and Krombacher corrected its prices on March 1st.
More detailed information is available here:
Tip: 7.5 euros for 0.5 liters? – Beer price in Germany: How expensive will beer be in the future?
A year ago, a new standard for car first aid kits was established, which will apply from February 2023. From February 1, 2023, the new DIN standard 13164:22 will apply to first-aid kits in cars. This stipulates that drivers must carry a first-aid kit with them, which contains two face masks in addition to the previous equipment. The triangular cloth and bandage cloth no longer need to be carried along for this purpose.
A new first aid kit does not have to be bought separately. However, the existing one must be expanded to include the two masks.
Tip: car – two masks in the first aid kit are mandatory: from when penalties are imminent
In some federal states, the mask requirement in local public transport was abolished at the end of last year. From the beginning of February 2023, masks will no longer be compulsory in long-distance public transport throughout Germany. According to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, the current pandemic situation allows people to take personal responsibility and be voluntary.
In Hamburg and NRW, the regulation applies from February 1, 2023. Hesse, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate have the deadline on February 2.
The change from February affects the obligation to isolate: In some federal states and cities, this does not apply after a corona infection. In Hamburg from February 1st, in Bremen and Lower Saxony from February 2nd and in Thuringia from February 3rd.
From February 2, 2023, the Corona Protection Ordinance for employers will be repealed. This innovation comes into force earlier than planned, actually it should take effect from April 1st. The Sars-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance regulated how employers should protect their employees from corona: with hygiene concepts, ventilation, air filters, etc. Now these measures are no longer necessary at the workplace, personal responsibility and voluntariness are the order of the day.
It is still possible to call in sick leave for up to 7 days if you have a cold or respiratory diseases.
By 2030, the federal government intends to double electricity from renewable energies. For this purpose, the “wind on land” law was passed, which will apply from February 2023. In essence, this is about significantly accelerating the expansion of wind turbines.
The federal government wants to achieve its goals by accelerating the approval process for the construction of wind turbines on land and by making more land available. The minimum distance is also newly regulated.
Surf tip:
A good decade ago, energy-saving lamps replaced light bulbs in German households. From February 2023 it will also be over with the energy-saving lamps. The federal government has passed a law to abolish lamps and lights, among other things because of the danger to health and the environment from the mercury built into them.
The change concerns the fluorescent lamps with plug-in base and in the form of a ring. They may no longer be produced from next month. The remaining stocks of energy-saving lamps may still be sold. Fluorescent tubes and high- and low-voltage halogen lamps will also be banned from August 2023.
The alternative are LED lamps, which are manufactured entirely without the toxic additive. Another advantage is that LED lamps require much less electricity than energy-saving lamps.
In the EU, four insects are now approved as food: the yellow mealworm, the house cricket, the locust and the buffalo worm may be processed.
However, it must be clearly marked for consumers that insects are included. They must at least appear on the list of ingredients and a note that allergic reactions to crustaceans, molluscs and house dust mites can occur when they are eaten.
Last year, the government decided on an energy price brake to relieve the financial burden on citizens, which will apply from March 2023. The months of January and February are capped retrospectively, but are not paid out or settled until March.
The price brake for electricity is 40 cents per kilowatt hour, for gas 12 cents per kilowatt hour. The new regulation also provides for a cap for long-distance heating: This is 9.5 cents per kilowatt hour.
The energy price brake refers to 80 percent of the consumption compared to the previous year’s consumption. The remaining 20 percent is remunerated at the provider’s fixed price.
According to experts, today’s interest rate decision by the Fed has already been decided. It will be exciting to see how things will continue afterwards – for both investors and savers.
Anyone who has submitted their property tax information in good time will soon receive a post. The tax office reports how the property was valued. If you find an error in the notification, you have to react quickly. Because the objection period is short.
