The digital strategy in the 2025 coalition agreement
Germany's path to digital sovereignty
The new coalition agreement has been signed – and the digital strategy has become a strategic pillar for Germany's future. Digital policy is now unambiguously defined as "power politics" in the current agreement. But what's different this time? After a decade of grand announcements and often disappointing implementation, the question arises: Can Germany finally hope for concrete results rather than mere statements of intent?
The new digital strategy: Sovereignty as a core principle
The new coalition has placed its digital strategy under the guiding principle "Digital. Sovereign. Ambitious". Unlike previous approaches, the digital strategy is no longer viewed in isolation but is closely linked to geopolitical, economic and security policy objectives. The central focus lies on digital sovereignty – the ability to act independently and autonomously in the digital space.
The strategy encompasses three core areas:
- Digital policy as power politics: Germany aims to reduce digital dependencies by developing key technologies itself, securing standards and protecting digital infrastructures. This includes building European-integrated and resilient value chains – from raw materials through chips to hardware and software.
- Digital policy as economic policy: Germany should be "put in the digital fast lane" through better conditions for application-oriented research, start-ups and knowledge transfer. A particular emphasis is placed on building computing capacities.
- Digital policy as social policy: Digital competencies of all citizens should be strengthened to enable social participation and protect democracy against disinformation.
Open source as a strategic key
Open source and open standards play a central role in implementing digital sovereignty. The 2025 coalition agreement stipulates that open interfaces and standards be defined across all levels, and that open source be strategically advanced with private and public actors in the European ecosystem. In other words: federal, state and local governments should work together on open technical solutions that can be used by all, rather than creating closed, isolated solutions. Institutions such as the Centre for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS), the Sovereign Tech Agency and the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND) are to be utilised for this purpose. The announcement to strategically align the IT budget and define concrete goals for open source underscores the importance of open technologies as a foundation for digital sovereignty.
From vague goals to concrete measures: A new era?
A look at the past shows why the current strategy could represent a turning point. Previous digital strategies suffered from vague formulations, unclear responsibilities and insufficient funding. This led to a sobering balance sheet for flagship projects such as broadband expansion or administrative digitalisation.
In previous coalition agreements, the importance of digitalisation varied considerably: In the "Digital Agenda" (2013-2017), it was still a marginal issue without a strategic vision, primarily focused on broadband expansion. The "National Digital Strategy" (2017-2021) suffered from fragmented responsibilities and lack of coordination. Only the "Digital Strategy Germany" (2021-2025) established concrete fields of action and measurable goals. These approaches usually failed due to the lack of coordination between federal, state and local governments, inadequate financing concepts and unrealistic timelines – often leaving little of the grandiose promises.
What distinguishes the current 2025 coalition agreement is its significantly higher level of specificity: instead of vague declarations of intent, measurable results are sought, for example in AI promotion, in the establishment of "AI gigafactories" or with the Germany Stack – a kind of digital operating system for administration that combines AI, cloud services and basic components in one system. Implementation responsibilities are more clearly named, and financing receives a higher priority. This could represent a decisive difference from previous practice.
When geopolitics determines digital policy
The new coalition agreement breaks with diplomatic platitudes: "Untrustworthy providers" will in future be "legally excluded". This clear positioning reflects the new geopolitical reality in which technology has become a strategic power factor.
This formulation doesn't come by chance at a time of growing tensions. Over the past decades, Germany has placed itself in deep technological dependencies – be it in cloud infrastructures, operating systems and software from the US, or in network technologies from China. What was long considered a purely economic decision is increasingly seen as a security policy risk.
Package of measures for digital sovereignty
The new coalition is thus responding with a comprehensive package of measures: A German Administrative Cloud (DVC) with sovereign standards is to prevent uncontrolled data outflows. The interoperable Germany Stack is to be compatible with European systems, and in the future, only components from "trustworthy states" will be used in critical infrastructures. By strategically aligning the IT budget towards open source, the state aims to become an "anchor customer for the digital economy" – a potentially powerful lever for greater digital sovereignty.
Outlook: From announcement champion to implementation champion?
The central anchoring of the digital strategy in the 2025 coalition agreement marks an important turning point for Germany. In a world where digital technologies determine economic strength and geopolitical influence, Germany can no longer afford to miss the digital connection. The new strategy, with its focus on sovereignty, innovation and open source, could initiate a change in thinking. The decisive factor will be whether Germany this time finds its way from "announcement champion" to "implementation champion". The more concrete goal-setting and geopolitical embedding suggest a more serious approach – the coming years will show whether Germany finally achieves the digital breakthrough.