Minister of Digital Affairs advocates for streamlining bureaucratic procedures across departments

In a bid to modernize the administration and reduce bureaucracy, Minister of Digital Affairs Karsten Wildberger has taken the helm of the Ministry of Digital Affairs and State Modernization. This move was made under the leadership of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), and the ministry has been tasked with improving networks, online citizen services, and data traffic, in addition to bureaucracy reduction.

Wildberger, a former top manager of MediaMarktSaturn, was appointed to his cabinet by Merz. The minister has been vocal about the need for state modernization and has been advocating for consistent removal of bureaucratic concrete that has accumulated over decades.

In an interview with "Bild", Wildberger emphasized the importance of trusting and empowering citizens and businesses more. He also highlighted that the upcoming October cabinet meeting will focus on "deregulation and de-bureaucratization".

To this end, Wildberger sent a letter on August 5, 2022, requesting plans for bureaucratic reduction from the federal ministries. The concrete plans submitted by these ministries by September 15, 2022, include measures for progressive debureaucratization. These measures focus on improving system efficiency, reducing redundancies, and developing roadmaps that emphasize context rather than detailed control, with tools such as artificial intelligence playing a role.

For instance, the Agriculture Ministry under Alois Rainer has pledged to reduce reporting and documentation burdens while also reintroducing agrarian diesel refunds to immediately relieve farms.

The specialist department of Wildberger's ministry will follow up with the departments regarding the status of these "bureaucracy reduction projects". The ministry's ultimate goal is to create a more efficient and less burdensome administrative system, empowering both citizens and businesses to thrive in the digital age.