The German Constitutional Court ruled last February that current welfare policies are unconstitutional because they do not meet a standard of “dignified minimum.” The government is now discussing revisions of its welfare policies to meet that standard. The outcome is not likely to be exactly a basic income guarantee, but it does seem that the German Constitutional Court believes that providing an income that allows for a dignified minimum for all citizens is a duty of the state. The movement for basic income in Germany has made great strides recently. More than thirty members of the German Parliament endorse the idea. The Basic Income Earth Network will hold its 2012 conference in Munich.

An article in Deutsche Welle on this issue is online at:
https://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5231015,00.html