German retail lobby pushes for full Sunday trading after government eases bakery and library hours
The Bundestag's economic committee and trade associations are calling for a sweeping liberalisation of Sunday shop opening hours, days after the government announced longer Sunday hours for bakeries and libraries from 2027.
Government's initial step
Last week the federal government announced that from 1 January 2027 bakeries, pastry shops and public libraries would be allowed to open for longer on Sundays. Under a draft from the labour ministry, bakeries could open for up to eight hours and libraries for up to six hours. The move implements a coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD.
Push for full liberalisation
That announcement has now emboldened the retail sector to demand a complete end to the Sunday trading ban. Christian von Stetten (CDU), chairman of the Bundestag's economic committee, told Bild newspaper he favours a "generous expansion" of the rules for both Sunday working hours and shop opening hours. FDP leader Wolfgang Kubicki backed him, arguing that forced closures harm city centres. The German Retail Association (HDE) and regional trade bodies want shopkeepers to decide for themselves whether to open on Sundays.
Anyone who wants to keep shops forcibly closed must not complain about dying city centres.
Tourism coordinator Christoph Ploß added that flexible hours would help bricks-and-mortar retailers compete with always-available online shops and make Germany more attractive to visitors.
- Government announces longer Sunday hours for bakeries, pastry shops and libraries from 2027.
- Economic committee chairman and FDP leader call for full liberalisation of Sunday shop opening.
- Trade associations, unions and churches intensify the public debate.
- New rules for bakeries (up to 8 hours) and libraries (up to 6 hours) take effect.
Opposition from unions and churches
Trade unions and churches are pushing back. Verdi board member Silke Zimmer called Sunday the only reliably free day for employees. The Evangelical Church in Germany warned that a work-free Sunday is valuable for society as a whole, creating space for family, friendships and volunteering. The Catholic Workers' Movement and the social association SoVD also stressed the constitutional protection of Sundays as days of rest and spiritual reflection.
Sunday is constitutionally protected and far more than an economic factor – it is an indispensable day for rest, family and social cohesion.
Current legal patchwork
At present a tangle of federal and state laws governs Sunday work. In Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg bakeries may work three hours on Sundays for production and delivery; in North Rhine-Westphalia the limit is five hours. Shops that also run a café often exploit a loophole by following hospitality law, which is more flexible. The retail lobby says the rules date from a pre-online era and need modernising.
Economic arguments
Stefan Kooths of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy said he expects no noticeable growth effects from liberalisation, but that it would signal less regulatory interference. The bakers' trade association supports the planned extension, saying the three-hour limit no longer matches production and competitive conditions, though it insists customer opening hours would not change.
