Germany’s Entlastungskabinett unveils a new package to slash bureaucracy, aiming to save around 600 million euros annually by digitizing administrative and health processes and simplifying everyday procedures for citizens and businesses.

The plan prioritizes digitalization within the Digital and Health ministries, moving health communications to electronic formats and reducing paper-based workflows across government services.

A central component is GeDIG, the Data and Digital Innovation in Healthcare Act, which will promote electronic messaging, electronic prescriptions, expanded electronic health records, and easier cloud use in hospitals to cut red tape.

The Federal Employment Agency will shift to a digital-first approach, letting unemployed individuals bind agreements with Jobcenters via email and conduct mandatory appointments via video calls.

Proposed measures include EU-aligned simplifications, automatic approvals after four months, digital health advances, environmental-sticker removal for EVs, and relaxed requirements for long-haul trucking and taxi/rental car knowledge, all intended to reduce red tape.

Officials acknowledge reforms will take time and require a comprehensive execution plan, with ongoing adjustments as issues arise and strong expectations from business groups.

As part of the relaxation of rules, electric vehicles with green plates will no longer require an environmental badge, and routine inspections of electrical installations will be reduced to only hazard-related checks.

Two key policy tools are automatic approval after four months if no decision is made and a reversal of the burden of proof, requiring the state to justify why a reporting obligation remains rather than placing the burden on businesses.

Additionally, a reporting-relief law shifts bureaucratic duties away from companies, with a broader aim of eliminating unnecessary reporting requirements.

Industry groups respond positively but urge faster, more decisive implementation and note remaining gaps and ongoing efforts to translate promises into action.

In transport, nationwide truck bans on public holidays are being abolished to streamline logistics and supply chains, with decisions still to be implemented at the regional level.

GeDIG also plans to centralize health data access for research and diagnostics in a secure, timely framework with clear timelines for data-protection decisions.