Small and medium-sized businesses are groaning under an ever-increasing burden of bureaucracy. In the coalition agreement, the traffic light promises a remedy. The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce rated the implementation as "insufficient" and called for immediate relief in the crisis.

The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce complains about the lack of progress in reducing bureaucracy. According to a report by the editorial network Germany (RND), the DIHK is also calling on the federal government to quickly fulfill its promise to relieve the economy of bureaucratic obligations. "Especially now, the waiver of useless regulations and significantly simplified procedures can trigger positive impulses," appealed DIHK President Peter Adrian to the RND. "There is no better time to tackle this issue with courage."

According to the report, the federal government itself promised a so-called "moratorium on burdens" at the end of September as part of its "economic defense shield against the consequences of the Russian war of aggression". "Unfortunately, we have seen very little of this so far. On the contrary: With the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, sustainability reporting or additional disclosure requirements, medium-sized companies are currently facing new bureaucratic burdens," criticized the association president.

Apart from that, the goal of merely avoiding "disproportionate additional bureaucratic burdens" does not do justice to the crisis situation of many companies, emphasized Adrian. "Anyone who has to fight against high energy prices, supply chain problems and a shortage of skilled workers is happy about any bureaucracy that disappears - so we need a reduction in procedures," he demanded. "Just slowing down the increase in bureaucracy is far too little in view of the many challenges," added the business representative.

The DIHK has developed more than 30 concrete and practical proposals that it believes the federal government can use to reduce bureaucracy. For example, the association proposes a de minimis limit for the sale of solar power between neighboring companies, so that companies are not classified as electricity suppliers from the first kilowatt hour. In addition, the DIHK advocates extending the recent simplifications in the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) or the LNG Acceleration Act to other specialist laws. In addition, the instruments of the early start of construction and the possibility of partial approval could be used more, it is said.

For the future, the DIHK is also relying on simpler regulations through earlier involvement of medium-sized businesses in the legislative processes. According to the association, the experts in the ministries should work together with those affected from business and enable "practice checks" to be carried out during the legislative process.