Todtenhausen, FDP: Reducing bureaucracy is a permanent project

For Manfred Todtenhausen (FDP, spokesman for craft policy), member of the Bundestag, reducing bureaucracy is a long-term project.

This article is part of the special topic Bureaucratic madness in the craft industry

This is precisely why he demands that the administration finally be digitized on a large scale. "The federal government boasts that its 'one in, one out' principle is working at the federal level. However, the burden of forms, statistics, and requirements such as the appointment of a data protection officer is increasing," Todtenhause criticizes. Especially in the area of ​​EU regulations, there are often regulatory obligations that are not practical and that deter small and medium-sized businesses from fulfilling their obligations with the effort and time involved.

The Wuppertal MP, himself a master electrician and responsible for bureaucracy reduction in his parliamentary group, recently launched a campaign for bureaucracy reduction on social media and has now ended it. Under the motto "Todtenhausen's 10 Points for Bureaucracy Reduction," he posted a new demand every day for two weeks for simplifying and accelerating bureaucratic processes. This also addressed the still lacking, consistently digitalized administrative processes. Todtenhausen complains: "When it comes to the digitalization of administrative services, Germany continues to rank low compared to other countries."  

The MP intends to incorporate the suggestions made by the companies during the campaign, such as simplifications in the documentation of the minimum wage, the accounting of social security contributions, or retention periods, into his political work and develop initiatives for his parliamentary work from them.