Digital Minister wants to make Germany the "driving force of Europe"

Contents

The new Federal Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (non-party) has set himself ambitious goals on taking office: "The new ministry will be the driving force behind concrete, visible progress in digitalization and a modern administration capable of taking action", Wildberger announced in a press release on Wednesday afternoon.

The entire state apparatus is to be modernized. Wildberger has set the bar high for his success: "Our clear goal is to make Germany the driving force behind digitalization in Europe." The establishment of the Digital Ministry is a sign that these issues are a high priority for the German government.

Wildberger heads the newly founded "Federal Ministry for Digital and State Modernization" (Bundesministerium für Digitales und Staatsmodernisierung, BMDS), as it is now officially called. Volker Wissing (non-party), the outgoing Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport, handed over the reins to the former Ceconomy manager in the early afternoon.

The expectations of the state are high, said Wildberger. There is no switch that can be flipped, but transformation must always take place "step by step by step". Opportunities and risks must be considered at the same time. He is convinced that those who "master the technology [...] can also master the risks". The current geopolitical situation also underlines the strategic importance of the topic: Germany must formulate its claim to leadership here.

BSI: Servant of two masters

The responsibilities assigned to Wildberger's new office are diverse. In principle, cybersecurity will also be one of them. However, responsibility for the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) will be split: Legal oversight will remain with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU). The Wildberger Ministry is to be responsible for some of the BSI's tasks in future – It is still unclear how the long-standing conflict of objectives between the best possible security and the requirements of the security authorities can be resolved.

"As the security authority with digital know-how, we are keen to contribute to the success of digitalization with our expertise in cybersecurity", says BSI President Claudia Plattner. The BSI sees itself as a bridge builder here, doing what is necessary to enable secure and resilient digitalization.

The FDP and the Greens had repeatedly called for the BSI to be made largely independent of its responsible ministry during the coalition between the two parties. There is no longer any mention of this in the black-red coalition agreement, but the authority is to be further strengthened.

Departments under one roof

The core of the BMDS is formed by four departments, which have come from various previous ministries under one new roof. From Wissing's BMDV, these are the departments for digital policy and digital infrastructures. The latter is responsible for broadband expansion and mobile communications, frequency allocations and the migration from copper to fiber optic networks. However, legal supervision of the Federal Network Agency remains with the Department of Economic Affairs, which is now called the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).

The Digital Policy Department will be expanded to include responsibility for the Data Act, which was previously part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (BMWI). The responsibility for the AI Regulation, which is shared between the BMWI and the Consumer Department, will also be transferred to the new BMDS. In the previous legislative period, the shared responsibilities had repeatedly caused displeasure and lengthy coordination processes –, particularly regarding Germany's positioning in the EU.

In contrast, the transfer of responsibilities from the Federal Chancellery to the new BMDS is a downgrade: there are so-called mirror departments for each ministry, which are supposed to ensure and coordinate a consistent federal government policy. However, according to the organizational decree, it is precisely this department that is now to move from the Chancellery to the BMDS. The work would then have to be taken over by other departments in Friedrich Merz's office under Chancellery Minister Thorsten Frei (both CDU)).

Administrative digitization should really work this time

One of the main tasks for the new office is to modernize the administration. To this end, Wildberger will not only receive two departments from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, one for Digital Administration and one for Digital Society, but also responsibility for the federal government's networks and the management of federal IT. Responsibility for the Federal Information Technology Center (ITZ) is also transferring from the Federal Ministry of Finance.

The civil servant State Secretary Markus Richter, who has been responsible for the digitalization of the administration since 2020 and has also been the Federal CIO since 2021, is also moving to the new ministry from the Ministry of the Interior – and who has recently been repeatedly cut funding for project implementation in the Ministry of the Interior. The new digital minister also echoed this sentiment: central tasks should no longer be de-prioritized, he said at the handover of office.

To achieve more efficient, cost-effective and uniform management of federal IT projects, – and this is actually a novelty – a new regulation for "essential IT expenditure" is being introduced. All other departments, with the exception of the Ministry of Defense, may then only procure larger projects with the approval of the BMDS. Previously, such a reservation only existed for the Ministry of Finance – but the associated encroachment on the departmental sovereignty of the other ministers is likely to cause some disputes.

(wpl)