Frei rejects plastics tax as SPD points to continuing talks

Thorsten Frei, leader of the CDU and CSU parliamentary group, has rejected the proposed plastics tax, calling it economically and environmentally wrong. SPD parliamentary leader Matthias Miersch said coalition talks were continuing and the initial draft remained on the table.

The draft bill provides for a charge of €550 per tonne of plastic in packaging from July 2027. Without the tax, Germany would need to replace around €670 million in expected revenue in its 2027 federal budget.