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Germany Sets €16 Billion Bureaucracy Cut Target as Experts Question Initial Steps

Fragmented digitalization across states and municipalities plus a growing rulebook constrain quick gains.

Overview

  • The federal Entlastungskabinett introduced November measures to relax reporting duties and simplify applications in pursuit of €16 billion in savings.
  • Normenkontrollrat vice chair Sabine Kuhlmann called the package a partial step that will not deliver the stated goal.
  • A guest commentary by DIW economist Alexander S. Kritikos argues the government lacks a coherent strategy and notes eight draft laws risk being offset by new rules elsewhere.
  • Despite a surge in legal volume to nearly 40,000 pages over 15–16 years, the Statistisches Bundesamt index shows company bureaucracy costs about 4% below 2012 levels.
  • Experts cite disjointed IT rollouts that force municipalities to build parallel systems and urge unified online portals and log-ins, while Hessen has installed a dedicated minister for deregulation.