Bureaucracy in Germany: Making business more difficult and slowing down innovation

Bureaucracy in Germany: Making business more difficult and slowing down innovation

The federal government is under pressure to rethink the growing bureaucracy in Germany. Burdened with over 12,000 reporting requirements, entrepreneurs struggle with costs of around 50 billion euros every year. Small and medium-sized companies in particular complain about resources being tied up due to bureaucratic obligations. This burden means that nine out of ten companies in the northern German metal and electrical industry feel suffocated by excessive bureaucracy, which inhibits innovation and harms Germany in global competition.

Folkmar Ukena, President of NORDMETALL, calls for an industrial policy that unleashes the forces of the market through tax and duty cuts in order to improve the oppressive conditions. Despite almost 450 concrete suggestions from companies and associations last year, only a few have been included in the current bureaucracy relief law. Politicians are called upon to implement clever suggestions to reduce the burden on companies.

NORDMETALL is actively committed to the interests of the metal and electrical industry in northern Germany. Through a strong political presence, the organization gives companies a voice and weight. Initiatives such as the state initiative from Schleswig-Holstein to reduce bureaucracy for medium-sized businesses in the Federal Council are supported by NORDMETALL. The demand for the implementation of suggestions such as the abolition of old laws when introducing new ones or the early assessment of the effects of new EU directives in cooperation with business representatives remains. Only through concrete measures can the burden of bureaucracy be reduced in the long term.