In the future there will be more transparency about the origin at the meat counter and Amazon Prime users will receive advertising when streaming – if they don’t want to pay extra. An overview of what’s changing in February.
Additional payments at the pharmacy
Prescription medications in the pharmacy usually require a co-payment of at least five euros. Previously, if the desired pack size was not in stock and they bought several packs instead, consumers had to pay an additional payment for each pack. This is now cheaper: from February 1st, the additional payment is only due once, regardless of whether you buy 100 tablets in one pack or in two packs of 50, for example.
Promoting climate-friendly heating
The federal government’s support for climate-friendly heating is gaining momentum: applicants are expected to be able to register with the KfW development bank from February 1st. Applications for the subsidy will be possible from February 27th.
Labeling of origin at meat counter
Anyone who buys meat at the counter will have more transparency from February 1st: the labeling of origin will be extended to meat from pigs, sheep, goats and poultry. This applies to packaged goods, as well as to beef from the counter.
Advertising on Amazon Prime
Customers of the paid Amazon Prime offer have to be prepared for advertising from February 5th when they watch films or series via streaming. If you don’t want that, you have to pay 2.99 euros a month in addition to your Prime fees.
Digital rules also for small companies
The European rules (Digital Services Act – DSA) for online offers also apply to smaller operators from February 17th. The DSA obliges you to take action against illegal content. The EU Commission is already responsible for monitoring online giants like Google. For smaller providers in Germany this is the Federal Network Agency.
Feed-in tariff for solar systems
There will be a small change for owners of those solar systems that will be put into operation from February 1st. According to the consumer advice center, the feed-in tariff then drops by around one percent – so owners get a little less money when they sell electricity into the grid.
Halved substitute prison sentences
Anyone who fails to pay a fine no longer has to spend as long in prison as before. Previously, the number of days that the person concerned had to spend behind bars as a substitute prison sentence for failing to pay a fine corresponded to the daily rates to which they were sentenced. In the future it will only be half of the daily rates.
Berlin is voting – again
In Berlin, after the glitch election in September 2021, the federal election will be repeated in parts on February 11th. After the partial repetition, the result of the 2021 federal election will be determined again – nationwide. A change in the balance of power is not expected, but smaller shifts are possible.
One day plus
Because 2024 is a leap year with 366 days, February will be extended by one day to 29 days. Why is this still the case? Because the Earth takes exactly 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds to orbit the sun and the calendar can only consist of whole days, the excess time must be compensated for somehow. So an extra day will be added again this February.
