On the initiative of FRFG, members of parliament from the CDU, SPD, FDP and Green Party drafted a cross-party motion to enshrine intergenerational justice in the German constitution.
Jens Spahn (CDU), Peter Friedrich (SPD), Anna Lührmann (Green Party) and Michael Kauch (FDP) formulated a joint proposal in several meetings, moderated by the FRFG. The FRFG also convened renowned constitutional lawyers to help in proceedings. The proposal, presented on 14 July 2006, called for the state to be assigned a new function in article 20b of the Basic Law (the German constitution): “The state must observe the principle of sustainability in its actions and protect the interests of future generations”.
Article 109(2) was also reworked to limit borrowing by federal and state governments. It read: “Federal and state governments must take into account the macroeconomic balance, sustainability and the interests of future generations in their budgetary planning”. The FRFG pressed for a more far-reaching solution but the representatives could not agree one.
The bill was submitted to the Bundestag on 22 November 2006 by 104 members of parliament of all age groups and from four parties. Almost a year later, on 11 October 2007, the motion was debated in the plenary session of the German Bundestag and was subsequently referred to the Legal Affairs Committee for further deliberation and delayed for further discussion. It was ultimately not adopted.
The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Sustainable Development finally took a lead and in October 2008 convened an expert hearing at which Dr. Dr. Jörg Tremmel of the FRFG was also present.
Following the banking and financial crisis in 2009 and their various stimulus packages, the foundation urged that the members make agreement conditional on a debt brake being introduced into the Basic Law that went beyond what had been discussed in 2006. The debt brake was enshrined in the constitution in spring 2009.