Research and federalism: The reform in 2004 of the german constitution. What has changed?

Effective as of January 1 2015, the latest reform of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany has re-drafted Paragraph 1 of Article 91b of the Basic Law, which regulates the relationships between the Federation and the Länder regarding the promotion of scientific research. The new provision has sought to resolve the serious consequences created by the wording given to same by the great federal reform of2006. The 2014 reform thus constitutes the response to the open debate in the last decade in Germany on the need to remove a regulation which prevented the Federation from participating financially alongside the Länder in research institutions of higher education establishments and of the Universities in particular. This Article analyses the scope of this new regulation, which has raised significant expectations for improved funding for these establishments, but also questions that will need to be specified in practice.