As of: February 28, 2024, 5:57 p.m
By: Andreas Höß
Comments
Press
Split
The bureaucracy in Germany is a big thorn in the side of many companies.
© Carsten Koall / dpa
Entrepreneurs and associations warn that bureaucracy threatens to choke off the economy in Germany.
Middle-class and self-employed people are particularly affected.
Munich/Berlin – When it comes to construction rules, Elisabeth Renner is an expert.
Your construction company Renner is over 100 years old and has, among other things, renovated the Schrannenhalle at Munich's Viktualienmarkt and built the shell of the FC Bayern Welt.
In the past, she would have simply called the office for construction projects in the city if she needed to set up a crane, says Renner.
“Back then it took a few days.” Nowadays it sometimes takes half a year, reports the entrepreneur.
“And if we have to hang a street lamp for the crane, it has to be done by a certified lamp hanger with security personnel.”
Construction site security, traffic regulation, environmental regulations, fire protection, occupational safety, statics, building regulations, monument protection, energy requirements or noise and dust protection: many rules are well-intentioned and address grievances.
However, due to their mass and attention to detail, they have long since become a problem themselves.
“The requirements contribute to building becoming more and more expensive,” says Renner.
And it's not just in construction, where companies have to worry about, among other things, which soaps are in the toilets or whether their employees are smeared with sunscreen, that bureaucracy becomes a burden.
Thousands of new regulations and standards in the last ten years
Companies in other industries also complain that the holy bureaucracy is robbing them of time, money and energy and often their last nerve.
A current evaluation by the federal government shows the extent of the regulatory frenzy.
According to this, there were 1,671 laws and 44,216 individual standards in effect in Germany at the beginning of 2014, which is quite a lot.
By 2024 there were 1,792 laws with 52,155 individual standards.
Although politicians from all parties claim that they want to dismantle rules, the Bundestag has passed 121 additional laws and 7,939 standards in the last ten years.
In addition, the number of legal regulations with which the executive regulates details grew from 2,720 to 2,854.
A further 44,272 individual standards are assigned to the regulations, 6,080 more than in 2014.
This flood of requirements is costing Germany dearly.
According to the Regulatory Control Council, new rules now lead to follow-up costs of more than 25 billion euros per year, a good five times as much as ten years ago.
Although the administration itself also suffers from the flood of requirements, the economy bears the lion's share of 13 billion euros per year.
So it's no wonder she's increasingly angry.
Bureaucracy is the biggest brake on the Bavarian economy, especially for the self-employed and medium-sized businesses.”
Manfred Gößl, General Manager of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria
“Bureaucracy is the biggest brake on the Bavarian economy, especially for the self-employed and medium-sized businesses,” says Manfred Gößl, general manager of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Munich and Upper Bavaria.
Unlike large corporations, small companies in particular cannot hire additional staff to cope with the growing flood of paper.
That's why you usually only have to work through the mountains on your desk in the evening - which often adds up to the actual work as annoying hard work.
The result: “Excessive bureaucracy primarily triggers feelings of rage, rage and aggression, but also of powerlessness, excessive demands and fear,” reports IHK boss Gößl.
Bureaucracy makes companies angry and aggressive
Powerlessness and fear: That may sound exaggerated.
But the IHK refers to a survey by the Institute for SME Research from autumn 2023 on behalf of the lobby group Initiative New Social Market Economy.
Three quarters of the more than 1,000 companies surveyed said they had had bad experiences with bureaucracy.
Nine out of ten said that the pressure of increasing obligations and rules was at least as stressful as the time and costs involved.
According to information, this actually made half of them angry or aggressive.
Almost half also fear that their competitiveness will suffer.
The study concludes that bureaucracy will “further reduce the enjoyment of entrepreneurial activity.”
This “sustainably damages a factor that is essential for entrepreneurs: self-realization, creativity, the use of freedom and the assumption of responsibility.”
My news
Traditional company has to close and lays off all employees
Taxpayers shell out 23.3 million euros for rents from citizens’ benefit recipients – per month
Clear-cutting at large chocolate manufacturer: 2,500 jobs at risk
Expert suggests zero round of pensions – SPD reacts outraged: “Pension adjustment is not a handout” read
“Overreaching”: President of the Social Court is tough on the court reading with citizens’ money
Consumer advice center is suing Eon – it's about thousands of euros per customer
But where can politics start?
The survey also provides information here.
Two thirds of those surveyed stated that they would like fewer reporting and documentation requirements.
A good half said that applications and approval processes need to be carried out more quickly and that administration must finally be consistently digitized.
So it's not just the rage for regulation, but also the red tape that often still rules with hole punches and fax machines.
The federal government wants to stem the flood of regulations
This has also been noticed in Berlin - and praised for improvement.
“We have a fairly high level of regulation,” admits Sonja Eichwede, spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group.
It's bad when you need a lawyer for everything.
And a spokesman for the FDP-led Ministry of Justice reiterates that the ministry's aim is to counteract the increase in standards and rules by “making legislation simpler and more understandable.” But a law is also necessary to reduce bureaucracy, he points out.
The Ministry of Justice had previously asked associations where there was a need to reduce bureaucracy.
The result was a document that was around 700 pages thick and was full of curiosities.
For example, the bus association complained that bus drivers were allowed to drive buses after obtaining their bus license, but only without passengers.
Anyone who wants to transport people needs a professional driver qualification - which requires immense time and additional costs.
No matter what industry, no matter what rules are involved: the economy wants to see progress.
“Something finally has to be done,” demands building contractor Elisabeth Renner.
She believes that there probably isn't any need for a complicated legal initiative.
“There needs to be a change in thinking; the authorities can no longer see themselves as opponents of the companies,” says the Munich resident, who likes to speak plainly.
“We want to take on more responsibility again and to do this we need partners in the authorities and not certified nose pickers,” says Renner.
If nothing happens, it will be fatal: “Then we regulate ourselves to death.”
With material from dpa