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Frank Felix Debatin
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The central register for foundations, originally set to launch in January 2026, has been put on hold. The reasoning doesn’t add up. According to the German Federal Ministry of Justice, the technology needed for the register won’t be ready by January 1, 2026. Yet expanding the existing registry system would only take a few weeks, by most estimates. And there’s been plenty of time: The Bundestag, Germany’s federal parliament, approved the registration requirement back in 2021. The new start date is now pushed to 2028.
Small, idealistic, and charitable foundations are not opposed to greater transparency. But foundations also serve as convenient vehicles for financing lobbying, exerting political influence, or concealing the movement of wealth. For those players, transparency is a dirty word. Even tiny companies must meet strict disclosure and reporting obligations. There is no good reason why wealthy foundations should be exempt.
