Bureaucracy reduction in Brandenburg: Tradespeople demand consistent implementation

The new Brandenburg state government promises swift action to reduce bureaucracy. However, everyday experience shows that despite a special committee, much remains to be done.

Like almost every previous state government, the new red-black state government has made reducing bureaucracy one of its most important goals for the remainder of its legislative term. A swift implementation of the federal-state resolutions on reducing bureaucracy from December of last year was agreed upon. This includes Measures such as reducing and consolidating reporting, information, verification, documentation and retention obligations, as well as reducing regulations that generally require the submission of certified copies or transcripts..

Some of these initiatives stem from the work of the special committee on "Bureaucracy Reduction" in the state parliament. This committee examines concrete proposals from various sectors of the economy, gathered through expert discussions with stakeholders. Brandenburg's skilled trades sector has also highlighted several problems in the committee meetings and submitted specific proposals for reducing bureaucratic burdens.

Reducing bureaucracy: Measures for trades and small and medium-sized enterprises

When asked by the German trade journal, the Chairman of the special committee, Marcel Penquitt (SPD)A first positive interim assessment: "As part of our efforts to reduce bureaucracy in the state of Brandenburg, we have achieved concrete measures for the skilled trades and our small and medium-sized enterprises. With the changes to procurement regulations, it is now possible to award public contracts up to €100.000 directly and without lengthy tendering procedures. For construction projects up to €1 million, only a limited tendering procedure is required. Furthermore, the state of Brandenburg has the so-called best-bidder principle was introducedThis means that companies declare on a single sheet of paper that they do not violate any exclusion criteria. Only the potentially favored bidder then has to provide all the required documents. This saves time and a lot of paperwork.

Further relief measures are to be implemented in the coming months.Marcel Penquitt promises: "In 2026, simplifications to funding procedures, especially for companies, are on the agenda. Here we are working together with the Ministry of Finance and Investment Bank of the State of Brandenburg closely together. That too. Topic: Amendment to the Brandenburg Building Code with the aim of making construction simpler, faster and more cost-effective, forms a key area of ​​work."

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Initial successes in reducing bureaucracy are visible.

The state's chambers of crafts attest that the special committee's work is heading in the right direction. Ralph Bührig, Chief Executive Officer of Potsdam Chamber of Crafts, who is a frequent guest of the special committee along with managing directors and experts from other chambers, says: "From the perspective of Brandenburg's skilled trades, the special committee on 'bureaucracy reduction' has provided some important initial impetus, but is still far from achieving what is urgently needed from the perspective of our businesses. The significant increase in the value thresholds for supplies, services, and construction work—for example, raising the direct order threshold from €1.000 to €100.000—is a key step forward. This will significantly reduce the number of services that need to be formally tendered. Investments can be implemented more quickly and with less bureaucracy, and complex procedures will become less frequent. The planned best-bidder principle, in which only the likely successful bidder has to submit their qualification documents, will make a further tangible contribution to relieving the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises. The planned amendment to the Brandenburg Building Code can also bring concrete improvements—faster procedures, increased digitalization, reduced standards, and an expansion of projects that do not require permits."

This relieves the burden on building owners and building authorities and creates greater planning certainty for the construction industry. In addition, initial simplifications have been initiated in the area of ​​funding procedures. These include more flexible regulations within the administrative guidelines for the state budget code and the reduction of retention periods. These measures address long-standing demands from the skilled trades and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and can reduce the bureaucratic burden. Despite this progress, however, Ralph Bührig cautions that "the actual relief in the day-to-day operations of many craft businesses is still very limited. Many measures are still in the review or announcement stage. The skilled trades therefore expect the committee to push more consistently for implementation in its further work and achieve tangible simplifications in approval, documentation, and funding procedures. Only if the reduction of bureaucracy now takes effect can our businesses invest, train apprentices, and secure regional value creation in Brandenburg." 

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