Administration
Traffic light coalition introduces a digital account for citizens
In 2017, the grand coalition made a first attempt to push ahead with the overdue digitization of the administration. Now the traffic light makes a second attempt, but does not set any deadlines.
The federal government wants to finally enable the citizens and companies in Germany to deal with important official matters digitally. This is provided for in a new law on the digitization of administration (OZG 2.0), which was initiated in the federal cabinet.
In the future, digital applications could be made throughout Germany via the “BundID” as a central citizen account, said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). However, a deadline for the implementation of the digitization projects, especially in the municipalities, was not set.
The waiver of implementation deadlines for the online projects had already been criticized not only by the opposition parties after the publication of the first draft bill in January. He was also criticized by representatives of the Greens and the FDP.
Among other things, apply for marriage digitally
Faeser said that the federal government, together with the states and municipalities, is now focusing on 15 particularly important services. “By 2024 at the latest, it will be possible to apply for a vehicle or driver’s license, re-registration, marriage, a building permit and parental allowance digitally throughout Germany. This is a great benefit for the citizens – and a milestone on the way to digital state.”
The new OZG met with fierce criticism in the digital economy. “With the planned changes to the online access law, the federal government is missing the opportunity to really push ahead with the digitization of the administration,” said the President of the Bitkom industry association, Achim Berg. “The present draft law is not an OZG 2.0, but at most an OZG 1.1. The federal government wants to take another five years before its own administrative services can be processed digitally.”
Once only principle
The Ministry of the Interior, on the other hand, emphasized that the new OZG will focus on converting administrative processes completely to digital processes. The paper economy will finally be abolished by the legal anchoring of the so-called once-only principle. According to this principle, proof of an application – for example a birth certificate – only has to be submitted once and can in future be accessed electronically from the responsible authorities and registers with the consent of the applicant.
So that digital applications no longer have to be signed on paper, the previously required written form is no longer required for digital processing. As a result of the change in the law, in future all services can be applied for in a legally secure, simple and uniform manner using the online ID function of the ID card. “A manual signature is no longer necessary,” promised Faeser.
The BundID account has been around since 2019
The BundID provides a digital mailbox that citizens can use to communicate with the administration. In addition, notifications can be sent via this citizen account. Financial aid from the state should also run through this account. The BundID account has been around since 2019, but it was a niche market for years. It was not used on a massive scale until this spring when the one-off payment for students and technical school students of 200 euros to cover their increased heating costs was made.
The BundID is to be used nationwide in the future. The federal states with their own ID accounts, such as Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, now have three years to say goodbye to their solutions. Berlin, Brandenburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt had previously announced that they would replace their state service accounts with the BundID.
The digital expert Misbah Khan explained for the Greens in the Bundestag that it is now important to uphold data protection and IT security in the administration. “Especially against the background of the latest cyber attacks, the effective protection of our state infrastructure is a cornerstone of a well-fortified democracy.” Only if the personal data of the citizens in the digital state is secure will it be accepted by society as a whole.