Digitization in Germany: This is the budget available for 2024

In Germany, digitalization seems to be making slow progress. There are regular statistics and the so-called E-Government Development Index for the UN member states. This measures the degree of digitalization in the administration of the member states. Germany is currently in 22nd place. Things look a little better within the EU, where Germany is in 13th place. Of course, this is no reason to celebrate. Especially as there are also far fewer EU states than UN states, so the slightly higher ranking is by no means better. Germany therefore wants to make progress with digitalization. The federal government wants to make it into the top 10 by 2025. The budget allocated for 2024 is likely to make this difficult.

Where does Germany stand in terms of digitalization?

2022 should be the year in which the administration of the federal government and local authorities in Germany is already fully digitalized. Germany is a long way from achieving this. At the Construction Industry Day in June 2023, Green Party politician Michael Kellner joked: "I had the bizarre situation where I submitted a building application in 2020 and still had to hand in a CD."

It sounds funny, but it highlights the problem Germany is facing. Digitalization is progressing too slowly. Germany is losing touch. Other countries, on the other hand, are catching up or overtaking Germany. In 2017, the German government passed the Online Access Act (OZG) with the aim of enabling and improving administrative services. Five years later, little has happened in this direction.

The OZG comprises 575 benefits. Only 105 have been implemented by the deadline so far. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser has drawn up a package of measures that was adopted by the federal government in May 2023. The draft for the OZG Amendment Act (OZGÄndG) is also facing criticism, as the draft still does not go far enough to drive digitalization forward.

All in all, any law is invalid anyway if the necessary funds are not available for its implementation.

The budget for digitization

The Federal Ministry presented the draft budget for 2024 in August. One of the most important topics in it is the budget for the expansion of digitalization. There was great displeasure when just 3.3 million euros were set aside for the digitalization of administrative processes.

The Federal Ministry quickly clarified that there was an additional 300 million euros in unused expenditure left over from previous years. It is unclear exactly where these 300 million euros came from and why they were not used as allegedly planned.

The 303.3 million euros are therefore intended to drive forward digitization in Germany in 2024. This is also necessary, as the official plan is still to complete the digitization of all federal and municipal administrations by 2025 - a goal that seems unattainable.

Especially as the almost 300 million euros are less than the 377 million euros that had been allocated for 2023. But perhaps 300 million of this was not used and we have an explanation of where the additional millions came from.

It remains to be hoped that the budget now made available for digitalization will actually bring us closer to our goals. Otherwise the top 10 in Europe and the UN will be a long way off.

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