The German cabinet approved a draft law on Wednesday to abolish supervised alcohol consumption for 14- and 15-year-olds, establishing a strict minimum age of 16 for the purchase and consumption of beer, wine, and sparkling wine. The proposal, championed by Family Minister Karin Prien, would end a long-standing exception that allowed younger teenagers to drink under parental supervision.
The measure is embedded in a broader 56-page legislative package aimed at restructuring Germany's child and youth welfare system. In 2024, federal, state, and local governments spent 78.8 billion euros on child and youth services, with roughly two-thirds going to daycare and a quarter to educational support programs. A 2025 Forsa poll commissioned by the Kaufmännische Krankenkasse found that nearly two-thirds of adults supported ending supervised drinking.
The draft now moves to the Bundestag for debate.