Reduce bureaucracy, restart the economic engine

Justice Minister Marco Buschmann was a guest at the Handwerk.NRW Epiphany gathering. His keynote speech focused on reducing bureaucracy and building trust in responsible entrepreneurship.

This article is part of the special feature on bureaucratic madness in the skilled trades.

"Never before have the time and costs incurred by new laws year after year been as high as they are today." Andreas Ehlert, President of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Skilled Crafts, focused on the "mega-issue" of bureaucracy at the Epiphany meeting of Handwerk.NRW ( the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Skilled Crafts). Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP), this year's keynote speaker, was the appropriate person to address this topic. The burden of bureaucracy is constantly increasing . This has not only economic losses for businesses but also psychological consequences for entrepreneurs. Ehlert called this " psychological discouragement of small and medium-sized enterprises " (SMEs), which he described as not just a warning sign but a wake-up call.

He insisted that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should always be considered first in regulatory projects , and that the feasibility of the planned measures for them should be examined. "Otherwise," he said, "the increasing regulation will lead to the displacement of these companies." He cited supply chain due diligence obligations as a negative example and a "concrete danger ." "Relief is better than subsidies," he asserted, adding that the guiding principle should be, "that subsidies are well-intentioned, but often expensive, cumbersome, and unfair . However , Ehlert concluded, "reducing taxes and bureaucracy benefits every company ."

Getting the economic engine running again

The minister acknowledged that it was difficult to let go of rules once they had been introduced. "Nevertheless, we are doing it, and we have to," said Buschmann. His impression was that both businesses and citizens were exhausted by the many rules and regulations they had to comply with . This meant they could hardly focus on their core business anymore . In the current economic climate, with its many uncertainties and upheavals, this was particularly problematic. "If we want the economy in this country to start up again, then we have to effectively reduce bureaucracy , and there's no way around it."

The relief is desperately needed to restore trust in the rule of law . Buschmann referred to the deregulation package adopted by the Federal Government in Meseberg , the associated Growth Opportunities Act (which is still being debated in the Bundesrat), and the fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act , also included in the package, for which the draft prepared by Buschmann's ministry is now available. He also announced that accounting requirements for medium-sized businesses will be eased and the thresholds raised. "This single measure alone will reduce the compliance burden by €650 million for 52.000 companies."

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Relief also at European level

All these relief measures are only a first step towards simplifying German legislation. However, according to Buschmann, 57 percent of the bureaucratic compliance burden results from regulations decided at the European level . Together with France, Germany intends to advocate for the European Commission to also implement relief measures. One proposal is a " bureaucracy audit " at the European level, which would improve the impact assessment of laws.

Busch concluded by advocating for greater trust in the "individual sense of responsibility" of entrepreneurs . He argued that the numerous detailed laws and regulations reflect the state's distrust of the self-employed. "It's not necessary to regulate every little detail in detail," he asserted. More trust, he maintained, is the best foundation for preventing bureaucracy from arising in the first place and for simplifying legislation.

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