Bureaucracy revolution: Amthor is planning a digital revolution for the state!

Bureaucracy revolution: Amthor is planning a digital revolution for the state!

On June 5, 2025, Philipp Amthor (CDU), Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for State Modernization and Digitalization (BMDS), emphasized that state modernization was not directed against the administration. Rather, the goal is to bundle the structures and make the state more efficient. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has made digitalization a priority and given the new ministry comprehensive responsibilities that include digitalization and general state modernization.

State modernization should be addressed across the state. Amthor calls for an exchange between the federal levels in order to increase efficiency in administration. A comprehensive modernization agenda is to be presented by the end of 2023, which will, among other things, bundle “service units” at the federal level.

Job cuts and increased efficiency

A central element of this agenda is the plan to cut eight percent of positions in the ministerial administration. Amthor emphasizes that better work can be done with fewer staff. These savings should not come at the expense of service quality, but rather serve to review and optimize existing tasks.

The package of measures also envisages critically reviewing existing dual structures and leveraging synergy effects. As part of state modernization, the aim is to make state services easier, faster and digitally accessible. Under the “once only” principle, citizens should only have to provide their data once, which promotes internal data exchange within the administration.

Technological advances and reduction in bureaucracy

In order to further increase efficiency, automated processes are implemented that relieve staff of routine activities. Flexibility in working models and a modern management culture should strengthen the public service. The aim is also to use artificial intelligence and agile methods to promote a contemporary administrative culture.

An immediate program to reduce bureaucracy provides noticeable relief for small and medium-sized companies. The plan is to eliminate unnecessary documentation and reporting requirements and to reduce federal administrative regulations by 20 percent. The goal is to reduce bureaucratic costs for the economy by 25 percent and to significantly reduce the compliance costs for companies, citizens and administration.

Stefan Heumann, Managing Director of Agora Digital Transformation, welcomes the combination of digitalization and state modernization in one ministry. He also calls for digitalization to be used wisely to reduce bureaucracy and suggests that this be transferred to a “strong implementation agency” such as the federal government’s DigitalService.

The BMDS will work actively to achieve the goals set out in the coalition agreement and to lead the German administration into the digital age. These comprehensive reforms are a step towards a modern and citizen-friendly administration.