State government decides to reduce bureaucracy

With a package to reduce bureaucracy and accelerate business activity, the North Rhine-Westphalian state government aims to ease the burden on businesses and citizens. It is intended to improve the state's business environment and stimulate investment.

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

North Rhine-Westphalia aims to reduce bureaucracy and expedite planning and approval processes. To this end, the state cabinet has now adopted a package of measures to reduce bureaucracy and accelerate procedures . The stated goal is to improve the business environment in North Rhine-Westphalia. Furthermore, the administration is to operate more efficiently. The package includes cross-departmental measures that, according to the state government, cover all areas. These measures also include accelerating procurement procedures and expanding digital formats and platforms. Further measures are to be adopted in a subsequent step.

"With the additional package adopted today, we are acting decisively and within our own authority to further reduce bureaucratic burdens. Through these numerous measures to cut red tape, we want to make things easier for our businesses and the citizens of our state," said Minister-President Hendrik Wüst (CDU). He described it as the most comprehensive package in many years. "Fast planning and permitting are a fundamental prerequisite for favorable business conditions and thus for investment. This package makes a significant contribution to that ."

"The adopted package includes the introduction of practical checks and a wide range of legal measures to simplify and accelerate approval processes, which we urgently need. In addition, we are expanding the state government's digital services and abolishing reporting obligations for businesses. This will provide a significant boost to our economic base and make things simpler, faster, and overall less bureaucratic," added Minister of Economic Affairs Mona Neunaur (Greens).

These measures are planned

• Deletion of reporting obligations
• Elimination of written form requirements
• Acceleration and relief of approval procedures
• Fast approval – model wind energy
• Practical checks
• Internal process optimizations
• Introduction "One in – one out"
• Temporary employment management
• Simplification of approval procedures for heavy goods and large-volume transport
• Development and expansion of digital formats and platforms for bundling approval processes
• Initiative to improve approval procedures for a climate-neutral industrial transformation
• Simplifications in the State Nature Conservation Act NRW
• Implementation of the BImSchG amendment: Use of scope for enforcement
• Acceleration of procurement procedures

"We welcome the fact that the state is accelerating efforts to reduce bureaucracy. Craft businesses are suffering greatly from the extensive bureaucratic requirements," commented Berthold Schröder . "In times of great challenges for the skilled trades and the entire economy due to decarbonization, demographic change, and digitalization, it is important to achieve tangible relief quickly by reducing bureaucracy . Therefore, it is a valuable signal that the state government is addressing bureaucracy," said the President of the West German Association of Chambers of Skilled Crafts.

You might also be interested in:

Craft policy

"Time is running out on us"

Craft policy

EU Commission presents action plan for electrification

Operations management

Economics Minister Ebling: "What matters is what arrives at the workshop."

The package incorporates many proposals from the skilled trades sector . "These include the elimination of reporting obligations for businesses to state authorities, the acceleration of approval processes, and the planned reversal of the burden of proof regarding written documentation. It is also encouraging that the state intends to examine further measures and adopt them in a next step. This is the right approach . Because to achieve tangible relief, a continuous process of reductions is necessary ."

DHB now also available digitally! Simply click here and register for the digital German Crafts Journal (DHB)!