Starting October 1st, Members of the Bundestag will no longer need to document their presence at sessions by signing paper lists. Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU) announced this change in a letter to parliamentarians, which media outlets reported. Klöckner expressed great satisfaction that the digitization of parliamentary procedures has achieved a “significant milestone” with the introduction of the Digital Presence Recording (DiAnE).
The official paper attendance records will be replaced by DiAnE starting October 1st. Members received their new parliamentary ID cards on September 22nd during their parliamentary group meetings. Using these new credentials, Bundestag deputies will be able to conveniently log in at one of the timekeeping terminals located at all known entrances of the Bundestag.
According to Klöckner, this transition will save the Bundestag approximately 55,000 sheets of paper and 1,000 working hours annually, which were previously spent by the parliamentary administration distributing, collecting, and evaluating the paper lists. Currently, the Bundestag is running a pilot phase to implement the switch to digital attendance tracking.
