The parliamentary record

Stem-cell import: the most far-reaching cross-party motion

In the free-vote debate on importing human embryonic stem cells, Reiche co-initiated, with Wolfgang Schäuble, Rita Süssmuth and Friedbert Pflüger, the motion that went furthest in permitting research. It supported controlled imports and a limited admission of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis.

Analysis The motion became one of two grounds cited by church and conservative critics when Edmund Stoiber named her to his campaign team in July 2002.

Chair, CDU/CSU working group on education and research

In the 15th term she led the opposition group's working group on education and research, the body that prepares the group's positions for the corresponding Bundestag committee.

"Bioterroristen": remark on militant opponents of genetic engineering

Reiche described militant opponents of genetic engineering as "Bioterroristen" (bioterrorists). The remark was reported by heise/Telepolis and Publik-Forum.

Criticism Biographical profiles list the remark among the contested statements of her early career. It is recorded here as part of her positions on biotechnology, not as an assessment of the protests.

Deputy chair of the CDU/CSU group: education, research, environment and nuclear safety

Elected in late 2005 (29 November according to German Wikipedia; recorded from 12 December in the Bundestag master data) under group chair Volker Kauder. Her portfolio covered education and research, and environment, nature conservation and nuclear safety, during the first grand coalition.

Political position In this period she supported longer operating lives for nuclear plants, in line with the CDU's position at the time (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 3 January 2006; heise, 2006 and 2008).

Deputy member: Mediation Committee, education and environment committees

The 2008 Bundestag biography lists her as a deputy member of the Mediation Committee of Bundestag and Bundesrat, of the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment and of the Committee on the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Full committee memberships in other terms are not documented in official sources consulted.

Coalition negotiations: environment, agriculture and consumer protection

Member of the CDU/CSU–FDP negotiating group led by Ilse Aigner and Michael Kauch. The coalition then appointed her parliamentary state secretary at the environment ministry.

For the extension of nuclear plant lifetimes

She voted with the coalition for the extension of operating lives of Germany's nuclear power plants.

Bild article against equal status for civil partnerships

Writing in Bild, she opposed placing registered civil partnerships on an equal footing with marriage. In July 2002 she had backed the challenge by Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia to the civil partnership law, calling it an "Angriff auf Ehe und Familie" (attack on marriage and family).

Criticism The 2012 article provoked a wave of protest; the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that she took her Facebook page offline for a time.

Mandate ends; seat left vacant

Her membership ended at the end of 4 September 2015, three days after she began work at the VKU. With the Brandenburg CDU list exhausted, the seat stayed empty until 2017. Bundestag profile

Greens' minor interpellation on compliance (Drucksache 21/1136)

The government's answer set out her voluntary disclosures, including options in Ingrid Capacity worth about €3,000, since sold, and confirmed that no special arrangements such as a blind trust or formal recusal had been made. Whether she must stay out of decisions affecting former employers was described as a "hypothetical" question.

Carbon Dioxide Storage Act amendment (KSpG)

Adopted by the cabinet on 6 August 2025 and passed by the Bundestag on 6 November 2025; in force since 28 November 2025. It permits industrial-scale CO₂ storage offshore on the continental shelf and in the exclusive economic zone, excluding marine protected areas and coastal waters.

The Tyrol summit before the economic affairs committee

Questions arose over her attendance at a private summit in Seefeld, Austria, in October 2025, co-organised by her partner Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, where the brochure listed her as minister. In an answer reported on 29 December 2025 the government confirmed she had not attended as minister. She was questioned in the committee for economic affairs and energy; the coalition blocked a public session.

Criticism The Greens' Michael Kellner: "Jede Wurstbude in Deutschland hat klarere Compliance-Regeln."

Public hearing on the Borkum gas-field agreement

The economic affairs committee held a public hearing on the unitisation agreement with the Netherlands, approved by the cabinet on 2 July 2025, which allows gas production from the German side of a cross-border field off Borkum. Environmental groups consider it contrary to EU law. Ratification status: not confirmed as of October 2026.

Hydrogen Acceleration Act

Passed by the Bundestag on 26 February 2026 and published in the Federal Law Gazette on 1 April 2026. It classifies hydrogen infrastructure as being in the overriding public interest and introduces digital permitting with deadlines. Cabinet adoption was in October 2025; sources differ on the exact date.

Fuel Price Adjustment Act (KPAnG): the "noon rule"

Proposed by Reiche during the 2026 fuel-price shock and modelled on Austria, the law allows petrol stations to raise prices only once a day, at 12:00, while cuts remain possible at any time. Passed on 26 March 2026, in force from 1 April 2026, with stronger powers for the Federal Cartel Office.

Criticism ADAC and others pointed out that prices kept rising; diesel reached a record €2.50 a litre on 7 April 2026.

First reading of the EEG 2027 reform

Reiche spoke in the Bundestag's first reading of the government bill for a "plannable, cost-efficient, grid-compatible and market-oriented" expansion of renewables. The bill ends fixed feed-in tariffs for new rooftop systems under 25 kW from 2027. It was referred to the committee for economic affairs and energy, with final votes expected in November 2026.