Summit meeting to reduce bureaucracy in Saxony

Saxony wants to present a concrete package to reduce bureaucracy in the Free State by May. This was announced by the State Chancellery following talks with representatives of the new "Alliance for Saxony". The reform alliance of business and local authorities made an initial proposal on the subject in mid-January. Following a meeting between the cabinet of Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) and representatives of the alliance, an "urgent need for action" has now been identified.

Less staff and a higher investment ratio

There is also agreement that the state government will adopt a binding "staff reduction path" for the next five years in the state administration with the upcoming double budget. "Both sides share the goal of sustainably strengthening the investment ratio for economic infrastructure with the upcoming state budget," it continued.
Stable municipal finances and compliance with the principle of connectivity are necessary prerequisites for municipalities to be able to act.

The principle of "whoever orders, pays" should apply in future

The principle of connectivity is based on the principle of "whoever orders, pays". If the state or federal government obliges local authorities to take on new tasks, they must also bear the costs. This has repeatedly not happened in the past and has led to much resentment at local authority level due to rising social spending, for example. "We are working together to ensure that these principles are also adopted by the federal government vis-à-vis the federal states," it said after the current talks.

Talks to be held regularly with the "Alliance for Saxony"

The business and local authority associations in turn assured the government that they would support them with consolidation measures. The discussion format that began on Friday is not intended to be a one-off and should be made permanent. Both sides see a need for further talks, for example on the structure of the upcoming double budget, for which there is currently a shortfall of around 2.9 billion euros according to current figures.

A need for government, business and local authorities to join forces

"I am very grateful to the 'Alliance for Saxony' for the reform proposals and today's constructive exchange. We are united by the common will to make the Free State fit for the future. This can only be achieved through close cooperation between the state government, local authorities and business," explained Kretschmer. The talks had shown that they were pulling in the same direction on key issues.

Fewer regulations and faster procedures announced

"Our common goal is affordable energy and technological openness as well as a noticeable reduction in the burden on business, municipalities and citizens - through fewer regulations, faster procedures and modern, digital administration," emphasized Kretschmer. At the same time, it has become clear that a large number of relief measures have already been implemented and will soon take effect. "However, it is also clear that a significant proportion of the bureaucratic burden results from federal or EU regulations." It is therefore important to continue to closely monitor the modernization agenda at federal level.

Situation of local authorities to be improved

"The Free State of Bavaria needs changes in order to unleash its economic power in the future and decisively improve the situation of local authorities," added Minister of Economic Affairs Dirk Panter (SPD). The government has already recognized the need for reform and has initiated a number of measures to make the state administration more modern, leaner and more innovative. "We will see the first results of this in the coming months."

Place more trust in citizens and companies

However, Panter emphasized that we must not let up. "We need to streamline approval processes, reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and give citizens and companies more confidence. Over the last 35 years, Saxony has once again developed into an economically strong state - and must remain so."

Alliance: Saxony is currently living beyond its means

After it was founded, the "Alliance for Saxony" criticized the high number of staff in the public administration, among other things. Saxony was living beyond its means, it said at the time. In view of a significantly shrinking working population, there was no way around consistently reducing the number of jobs in the state budget to 80,000 by 2035 - "through real job cuts instead of simply eliminating unfilled positions", emphasized Jörg Brückner, President of the Saxon Business Association. At the same time, he called for a double budget for 2027/2028 without debt.