German states advance bureaucracy reforms to boost business

At a conference of Thuringian authorities in Erfurt on 23 June 2026, IHK Erfurt managing director Dr. Cornelia Haase‑Lerch presented businesses’ complaints about the administrative system, noting duplicate data submissions, long processing times, short deadlines for supplementary information, complex grant procedures, lack of digital interfaces and rotating contacts. The chamber urged the state government to adopt more reliable, predictable, digital processes and to implement the “once‑only” principle, while a second relief package is being prepared by the government.

In Hessen, the state cabinet launched the Second Hessian Bureaucracy Reduction Act, which repeals or simplifies 168 provisions across 70 laws. The law introduces a three‑month presumptive approval for recognition of foreign professional and academic qualifications, cuts reporting duties, streamlines infrastructure approvals, eases municipal control tasks and removes references to “state of the art” standards, aiming to create a faster, digital, citizen‑friendly administration.