eco Association sees a significant need for improvement in the upcoming coalition agreement based on the preliminary negotiation results of CDU, CSU and SPD.
Oliver Süme, Chair of the Board at eco, states: “Regarding digitalisation, there is still much room for improvement in the current negotiation results. There is no clear vision for a digital Germany in 2030, no comprehensive digital strategy, no independent digital budget or the necessary cornerstones for a future-proof Ministry of Digitalisation – all of this is missing. There are also no concrete results or approaches for key technologies such as artificial intelligence or quantum computing.”
eco is therefore calling for decisive action in the ongoing coalition process. “We hope that the German federal government will recognise the signs of the times and advocate in favour of the holistic digitalisation of the economy, administration and society,” Süme continues. So far, the coalition partners have primarily focused on e-government and administrative digitalisation. “Individual measures such as increasing resilience and improving the energy supply situation can have positive effects on parts of the Internet industry, but what is missing is a coherent overall concept for the comprehensive digitalisation of Germany. The current paper is a patchwork without clear direction.”
In recent weeks, eco has already emphasised that Germany needs an overarching digital strategy that consolidates all digital topics under the umbrella of an independent Federal Ministry for Digitalisation and Transformation (BMDiT) – with its own budget and clear responsibilities. However, the current negotiation results do not indicate that such a ministry is still on the political agenda.
“The incoming government must now make the right decisions to catch up with Germany’s digital backlog and set the course for the future,” concludes Süme.
eco’s Internet Policy Agenda can be found online at: Election/Digital2025
