Industry groups have called for a ministry dedicated to digital affairs.
The election victory of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the German federal election last Sunday has brought the country one step closer to creating a digital ministry. The party has called for a ministry for digitisation to be created distinct from the Ministry of Transport, which currently handles digital issues.
The CDU and its leader Friedrich Merz will now likely work with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) of current Chancellor Olaf Scholz to achieve a majority in parliament. Merz has said he plans to have a government in place by Easter.
The party’s election manifesto — which was announced mid December — says that while “future technologies need freedom, the state needs clear responsibilities.” According to the CDU, this requires a Federal Digital Ministry.
Eco, an association representing the Internet industry, said in a statement reacting to the election result, that Germany must now focus less on regulation and more on innovation.
“Germany is at a digital turning point. Now it is important to quickly form a government capable of acting. The digital and business location cannot afford another standstill. The internet industry needs pragmatic approaches for the implementation of European regulation and, above all, legal certainty – especially on open issues such as the AI Act and NIS2,” said Eco’s CEO Oliver Süme.
“A clear vision for a digital Germany 2030 should already be laid down in the coalition agreement. Clear structures and responsibilities are also needed for a Digital Ministry 2.0 that consistently drives Germany’s digital transformation forward with its own budget and interdepartmental competencies,” he added.
This was echoed by Bitkom, an organisation representing tech companies, which said we “need a digital ministry that is equipped with all the necessary rights and resources to bring digital Germany on an international level of equals.”
European Commission data published last year shows that Germany has work to do when it comes to reaching EU digital targets. The county performs well when it comes to connectivity targets but lags in terms of integration of digital technology by companies, as well as on digitizing public services.
“The country will need to accelerate the pace of digitalisation of public services, as it is below the EU average and even saw a slight decline in the related indicators,” the Commission report said.
The new minister would also have to deal with the newly installed US administration of Republican President Donald Trump, who recently spoke out against EU regulation that “harms US businesses”.
Last week, Trump issued a memorandum ordering a review of the impact of non-US laws such as the Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act and General Data Protection Regulation on US companies.
