Bundestag Weekly Update
The German government is proposing a significant shift in technology, aiming to make USB-C the standard cable for all mobile phones, cameras, and headphones by the end of 2024. This move is part of a broader effort to streamline technology and reduce electronic waste.
Simultaneously, the German Bundestag is focusing on enhancing science communication and citizen engagement on nutrition. While specific proposals regarding this topic in the Bundestag are not detailed in the current search results, there are broader contexts on food and nutrition policy discussions, nutritional standards development, and health programme initiatives at European and UK levels.
Improving Access to Nutritional Information
Proposals to strengthen science communication and citizen engagement on nutrition often centre around improving access to clear, evidence-based nutritional information. This can include regulatory approaches to ensure food labeling transparency, educational initiatives in schools, and public campaigns to raise awareness about nutrient intake and healthy choices.
UK and European Initiatives
In the UK, recent discussions have highlighted government efforts to improve school food standards, restrict marketing of unhealthy foods to children, and develop multi-sector frameworks involving primary care and specialist services to tackle childhood obesity. At the European level, the EU4Health programme is emphasizing new priorities around non-communicable diseases, including nutrition-related conditions, with funding aimed at digital health solutions and improving public health communications.
Examples of Science Communication in Nutrition Policy
A concrete example of science communication applied to nutrition policy is the development of nutritional criteria for food products, such as the Ferrero Nutrition Criteria, designed to assess and improve product portfolios based on nutrient density and public health dietary guidelines.
Recommendations for Better Nutrition Policy
Typical recommendations found in policy forums and European initiatives include enhancing transparency and clarity of nutritional information for consumers, strengthening educational programs in schools, supporting citizen engagement and enquiry, collaborating across sectors, regulating marketing practices for unhealthy foods, and more.
In May 2023, a citizen's council on the topic "Nutrition in Transition: Between Private Matter and State Tasks" was established by the German Bundestag. The council has made several recommendations, including healthy, balanced, and adapted communal catering in hospitals, rehabilitation, senior, and other care facilities, an age limit for energy drinks, and more staff for food controls and better transparency.
Other Developments in Germany
Apart from these initiatives, the legal basis of the Federal Police is being reformed for the first time in almost 30 years, with the aim of specifically strengthening the capabilities and status of the Federal Police. The reform will also implement EU regulations in the field of data protection and ensure compliance with the Federal Constitutional Court's regulations for the collection of data obtained through covert measures.
The reform will also introduce a legitimization and identification obligation for police officers, control receipts for persons questioned, and additional supervisory powers for the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information. The draft bill also aims to prevent market fragmentation, improve user-friendliness, save resources, and reduce electronic waste.
Independent science journalism is being secured through a new foundation due to financial pressure in many newsrooms. The proposal emphasizes the importance of science communication, modern participatory approaches, and the need for the federal government to further strengthen science communication. Science communication should be considered more in research funding and the performance assessment of researchers and scientific institutions.
The federal government's bill proposes to increase the maximum amounts from the current 35,000 euros for single taxpayers and 70,000 euros for married couples filing jointly to 40,000 and 80,000 euros respectively to maintain the tax capacity gradient between municipalities of different function and size.
Lastly, the justice and interior ministers of the states, as well as the police, public prosecutors' offices, courts, and the legal profession, support a change in the law regarding the distribution, acquisition, and possession of child pornographic content. If researchers are attacked or threatened due to their statements, they should receive comprehensive and swift support.
[1] Source: UK Government, July 2025 [2] Source: Ferrero Nutrition Criteria [3] Source: EU4Health programme, 2025
- The German Bundestag is exploring science communication and citizen engagement in the context of health-and-wellness, particularly nutrition, with proposals centered around making nutritional information accessible and transparent.
- In the realm of food-and-drink policy, the UK government has been focusing on improving school food standards, restricting marketing of unhealthy foods to children, and developing multi-sector frameworks to address childhood obesity.
- An example of science communication in nutrition policy can be seen in the development of nutritional criteria for food products, such as the Ferrero Nutrition Criteria, aimed at improving product portfolios based on nutrient density and public health dietary guidelines.
- Besides nutrition-related initiatives, there are ongoing discussions in Germany about reforming the legal basis of the Federal Police, aiming to strengthen their capabilities, implement EU regulations in data protection, and introduce legislation for the distribution, acquisition, and possession of child pornographic content.
