German Federal and State Leaders Report Progress on Bureaucracy Reform

At a joint event in Berlin attended by about 200 guests, federal and state officials highlighted advances in Germany's state modernization agenda. North Rhine‑Westphalia Minister‑President Hendrik Wüst called for a cultural shift toward greater trust, less control and a willingness to accept risk, urging that funding audits move from exhaustive checks to risk‑based sampling.

The programme, launched last autumn, includes more than 200 measures to cut red tape, such as removing the requirement to update a passport after a domestic move and ending mandatory ID‑card renewals for seniors. Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger presented a positive interim assessment, saying the administration is moving from complexity toward simplicity and will be measured on its progress.