Reforms Proposed to Slash German Bureaucracy

Government ministers have approved draft legislation, drawn up by Germany’s new Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernization, that reduce bureaucratic burdens in eight areas: 

• construction and energy efficiency certification
• real estate contracts
• residence registration
• foreclosures
• traffic regulations
• medications
• passports and identity documents
• taxes.

The proposed reforms focus on a combination of lifting regulations and using digital technologies, including AI, to increase efficiency. Initial savings are projected to be some EUR 100 million. But the cabinet also lists a series of “next steps,” to be taken at the latest by the end of 2026, that promise to save far more time and money.

“In terms of scope, structure and thoroughness, this is the sort of result Germany hasn’t seen in many years,” German Digital Affairs and State Modernization Minister Karsten Wildberger told German business newspaper Handelsblatt. “If it turns out in the end to be five billion [saved], I’ll be satisfied.”

Wildberger also said the government would stage a contest next year for start-ups with ideas about how to automate state administrative processes.