A significant reduction in spending on external consultants marked 2024 for the German federal government, according to a recent report from the Federal Ministry of Finance submitted to the Bundestag’s budget committee. The report, detailed in the “Rheinische Post” reveals that ministries procured approximately €182.2 million in external consulting services last year, a decrease of roughly €58 million compared to 2023 (€240 million) and aligning with expenditure levels seen in 2022.
While the overall downturn represents a partial response to years of steadily increasing reliance on external expertise, the trend hasn’t been uniform across all government departments. The Ministry of Transport stands out with a substantial rise in consultancy spending, reaching €36.3 million in 2024, up from €25.4 million the previous year. The ministry attributes this increase to a surge in both the number of contracts awarded and the associated total costs, with consultancy services accounting for roughly 80% of their total spending in the area.
The figures are drawing scrutiny from within the Bundestag. Ines Schwerdtner, parliamentary leader of the Left party and a member of the budget committee, expressed cautious approval of the decline in overall expenditure but criticized the lack of transparency surrounding these engagements. She argued that external consultants, though not democratically accountable, exert considerable influence on policy decisions. “External consulting companies are not democratically legitimized, yet they exercise significant influence on political decisions” Schwerdtner stated. She is now calling for mandatory public disclosure of the firms and individuals contracted to provide services for the government, underlining concerns about democratic oversight and accountability in procurement processes. The current situation raises questions about the strategic rationale behind the government’s reliance on external expertise and the potential for conflicts of interest if these services remain obscured from public view.
