国际英语新闻:German Bundestag passes emergency laws in case of hard Brexit

BERLIN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Due to increasing risk of a hard Brexit, the German Bundestag has passed two emergency laws which will provide for transitional tax regulations and legal certainty for financial markets.

"With this, we are not sorting out everything but we are regulating the essentials," Antje Lezius, member of parliament from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, commented on the new laws passed on Thursday evening.

With regards to Germany's social welfare state, members of the German parliament agreed on a new regulation that will avoid financial disadvantages for British pensioners living in Germany.

Also, there will be no financial restrictions for German students in the United Kingdom who are benefitting from German subsidies for education, namely the Federal Training Act (BAf?G).

The second German Brexit law is expected to soften the protection against dismissal of highly paid bankers in order to make it more attractive for banks in London to move to Germany.

Left party member Jutta Krellmann criticized that there would still be gaps regarding German child benefit regulations as well as voluntary health insurances.

Carlo Cronenberg, member of Germany's liberal party (FDP), complained that it would still be unclear whether British citizens can obtain residence permits in Germany if they were relying on German governmental payments from the social unemployment program named "Hartz IV".