The German Review

The German Review

The tangled bureaucracy choking German business

Why Germany’s many government agencies still struggle to act like one state - and why that could soon change.

Rachel Stern's avatar
Rachel Stern
Aug 12, 2026
∙ Paid

Dear Reader,

MARKTKOST, a small catering company in Potsdam, recently had a modest ambition: moving its headquarters across the street.

Pretty straightforward, oder?

Yet its founder, Laura-Maria à Brassard, counted six federal authorities, four state administrations and three municipal institutions that needed to be notified. Each had its own preferred met…

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