25 percent less bureaucracy costs: Digital Minister wants to modernise the state

Germany's Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (CDU) wants to cut bureaucracy costs by 25 percent and reduce the burden on companies and citizens by ten billion euros. This is according to a draft "modernization agenda" from his ministry, as reported by Handelsblatt. The five-point plan envisages, among other things, relieving companies of reporting obligations and improving legislative projects involving the use of AI. Wildberger's newly created ministry is not only responsible for digital matters but also for modernizing the state, which includes reducing bureaucracy and digitalizing administration.

“The aim must be for citizens and companies to perceive the state as a competent and cooperative enabler,” Handelsblatt quotes from the draft. Among other things, a “one in, two out” rule is to be established by the middle of the legislative period, i.e., 2027. This states that for every new law that creates additional burdens for companies, two equivalent burdens are to be removed elsewhere. The aim is also to lobby for this at EU level. Practical checks in all federal ministries should ensure that any new laws can be designed to be less burdensome. And citizens and companies should be able to submit suggestions for less regulation via a bureaucracy reporting portal.

AI assists with the legal text

There should also be special training in the federal ministries for “lawmaking” when someone takes the lead for a legislative project for the first time. Employees should be able to access AI tools when drafting legislation. AI should then translate legal texts into visualized code, for example, or ensure that legal terms are used consistently.

A centralized advisory and support service for citizens and companies is also to be introduced for administrative services. It should then be possible to address concerns directly to the authorities by telephone or via digital channels. The ministry wants to develop a concept for this within a year, which will be implemented after two years. It remains to be seen whether the federal portal developed by Bundesdruckerei, which is intended to make administrative services centrally accessible, will play a role in this.

More efficiency, fewer staff

According to the ministry's plan, new skills in terms of digitalization, data analytics, and user-centric design of services are to be developed in the federal administration. But not through additional jobs: According to Handelsblatt, Wildberger's plan instead envisages an eight percent reduction in personnel in the ministries and federal administration by 2029. Instead, there is to be an “efficiency offensive,” for example, through the automation of standardisable processes with the help of AI.

Wildberger had also sent a letter to the other federal ministries at the beginning of August asking them to submit concrete plans for reducing bureaucracy by September 15. A spokesperson for the ministry told dpa: “We are now analyzing the feedback. We can already say that the federal government is pulling in the same direction and that important reductions are being initiated.” A cabinet meeting in October will focus on the topics of deregulation and reducing bureaucracy, according to the ministry.

(axk)