Muqova rasmi Fotolia

December 2013

The 115 number, the single phone number for contacting government authorities in Germany, was further expanded in 2013: A total of 60 cities, counties and municipalities have activated the 115 number this year, including the country's main cities of Stuttgart and Potsdam. The unified German public service telephone number 115 will be used by around 27 million citizens in 340 municipalities by the end of the year.

August 2013

On 1 August 2013, the law on the promotion of eGovernment and to amend other provisions (E-Government Act) comes into force. This way, administrative matters are easier for citizens and business, because anyone can, regardless of the location and opening times, contact the authorities. Specifically, the authorities are now encouraged to offer citizens and businesses an electronic payment option, electronic access to documents, electronic files management and extensive online information. At the same time, citizens have more opportunities to use the eID function of the new identity card and save a lot of time by using Web Forms citizens to prove their identity to the authorities.