Berlin administrative reform: Fast deadlines and clear responsibilities!

Berlin administrative reform: Fast deadlines and clear responsibilities!

On June 27, 2025, the governing mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner (CDU), presented his vision for comprehensive administrative reform in the capital in an interview with rbb24. This reform, which is due to come into force on January 1, 2026, is considered one of the most radical in recent decades. A central concern of the project is to optimize the processes in the Berlin administration and to bring citizens to their concerns more quickly.

Wegner emphasizes that the mood within the administrative structures is already changing. It's no secret that employees have suffered from the previous bureaucratic hurdles. “We are creating the basis for clear responsibilities,” says Wegner about the current planning, which is intended to eliminate not only the work of the authorities, but also the “authority ping-pong”. This heralds a long-awaited change in the capital that could significantly improve the quality of life of its citizens.

The goals of the reform

The administrative reform pursues several clear goals. One focus is on the introduction of a new state organization law, which is intended to replace the existing general jurisdiction law. In addition, stronger city-wide control is being sought in order to give the districts more weight in particular. The integration of district expertise is also taken to a new level.

• Klare Zuständigkeiten für alle behördlichen Aufgaben
• Stärkere gesamtstädtische Koordination
• Stärkung der Bezirke durch erweiterte Aufgaben und Ressourcen

The reform process began preparations in April 2025 with a resolution by the Berlin Senate in a second reading of the bill. Wegner would like to achieve broad approval in the House of Representatives in order to anchor the reform in the long term. This requires a corresponding constitutional change, which was also supported by the votes of opposition members, including the Left and the Greens. The AfD, on the other hand, abstained from voting.

A historic undertaking

The roots of this reform process go back to the reunification of Berlin and aim to merge and modernize the administrations of East and West Berlin. Launched back in 1992, the administrative reform process has gone through many facets. The last few years have been particularly shocking for the administration.

Although efficiency and cost-effectiveness have increased, deficits in the full implementation of the reform elements are noticeable. In the last few decades, the number of employees in Berlin's administration has shrunk from around 207,000 to around 108,000. This drastic reduction not only has an impact on task performance, but also represents a challenge for the future of service orientation.

With the restructuring and the “new control model”, the administration is now to be transferred into a new, business-oriented era. It remains to be seen how the changes will be implemented and what challenges the Berlin administration will still have to overcome in the future.

In summary, the upcoming administrative reform in Berlin is an ambitious project that could bring about far-reaching changes. Whether the projects can actually deliver the promised results will become clear in the coming years.

For more information on this topic, check out rbb24, berlin.de and Wikipedia.