Ministeries in compliance chaos: Who is liable for the gaps?

Ministeries in compliance chaos: Who is liable for the gaps?

The latest developments related to the German Ministry of Economics throw a skill light on the challenges of compliance within the federal government. According to vorarlberg.orf.at, the allocation of orders and posts in the federal ministries is subjected to a precise review according to the so-called "best-wit affair" in the Habeck Ministry. State Secretary Patrick Graichen, who was retired, is particularly the focus, especially because he had not sufficiently separated private relationships and official tasks.

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck has called for a comprehensive review of the entire compliance regulation in the federal government after this incident. The previous provisions, especially in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, have gaps that can be problematic when filling positions and the allocation of orders. In the future, declarations of bias will be requested in order to prevent any conflicts of interest.

The area of ​​tension between transparency and politics

The problem is not only limited to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. In the Ministry of Labor, it became known that a department head was named Minister Hubertus Heil as groomsmen, whose appointment is classified as transparent. In other ministries, as with finance Minister Christian Lindner, who sent his former treasurer Harald Christ to the supervisory board of Commerzbank, there are also clear integration.

Transport Minister Volker Wissing is criticized because he occupied 18 department head or speaker posts without a job advertisement, which is not unusual in everyday political life. Despite the emerging concerns, experts such as the LobbyControl association emphasize the need for such decisions in exceptional cases, while stricter guidelines for personnel decisions are also required.

regulations and their effects

As part of the discussion about compliance in politics, regulations against briefing members also play a central role. Professor Dr. In an interview, Matthias Rossi expresses that the existing provisions do not appear sufficiently preventive. The SPD parliamentary group plans a possible leveling of the bridle to a crime in order to tighten the legal framework. But Rossi is skeptical about this measure and fears that tougher punishments do not necessarily lead to better deterrence.

At the same time, the influence of donations on the opinion formation of MPs is discussed. Rossi is of the opinion that the applicable law in relation to permissible and inadmissible donations is already differentiated and warns against issuing legal regulations that could unnecessarily restrict the scope of the parliament. In addition, there is an urgent desire for more transparency in political action, which is why a planned lobby register is regarded as a potential improvement.

In the current political discussion, it is essential that the federal government ensures maximum transparency to strengthen the trust of the population, especially in times when questions of climate and energy policy dominate. The Federal Ministry of Economics and the entire government are faced with the challenge of taking the right measures in order to meet both the demands of the citizens and to maintain the integrity of their institutions.