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Track work on the Filstal Bridge near Mühlhausen im Täle (archive photo): »We tied ourselves up with a lot of bureaucracy«
Photo:
Arnulf Hettrich / IMAGO
The federal government wants to speed up housing construction, the energy transition and the expansion of transport routes and digital infrastructure.
The government wants "this country to pick up speed," said Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in Berlin.
The cabinet met for the first closed meeting after a good six weeks in office.
Scholz referred to sluggish planning and approval procedures, in which one has to be much faster than before.
In the first half of the year, the government intends to show ways to speed things up. “Our country is tied. We tied ourselves up with a lot of bureaucracy," said Federal Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner. There are many private initiatives. The economy has long been ready, but is often hindered. The traffic light therefore discussed concrete ideas as to what could be done to improve administration. “We collected,” says Lindner. "It's being evaluated now." Results should be available in the first half of the year, which should then also be included in legislation.
"These words must now be followed by deeds," demanded the President of the Bitkom digital association, Achim Berg. Bureaucracy blocks the expansion of digital infrastructure at more than 1000 locations. "The application process often takes many times longer than the actual construction of a system," says Bitkom President Achim Berg. "Many procedures drag on for more than two years." If the application is rejected, that means for the network operator: back to zero and start again. »This means that dead spots cannot be closed and that we are not making sufficient progress overall with the expansion of digital infrastructure.« In future, no more than three months should elapse between application and approval.
There are numerous examples of important future projects being delayed due to too much bureaucracy. The construction of a new railway line in Germany takes 20 years on average. According to information from the industry, wind turbines need four to five years to be approved. The requirements are complex. It's about nature conservation and local residents' interests. Documents are first made public in the affected communities. There are often complaints.
Vice Chancellor and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) said with regard to the energy transition with new wind turbines or the development of a hydrogen infrastructure, this cannot be achieved in the current planning periods.
"A few old braids" would have to be cut off.
From the point of view of the German Wind Energy Association, a lack of staff at the approval authorities is also partly responsible for the delays.
The approval procedures are highly complex and very lengthy.
A high level of bureaucracy ties up a lot of manpower.
A better staffing situation in the competent authorities could contribute to accelerating the procedures.
jso/dpa/Reuters