The Committees of the German Bundestag 2 3 Month in and month out, the German Bundestag adopts new laws or amends existing legislation. The Bundestag sets up permanent committees in every electoral term to assist it in accomplishing this task. In these committees, the Members concentrate on a specialised area of policy. They discuss the items referred to them by the ple- nary and draw up recommen- dations for decisions that serve as the basis for the ple- nary’s decision. The permanent committees of the German Bundestag – at the heart of Parliament’s work The Bundestag is largely free to decide how many commit- tees it establishes, a choice which depends on the priori- ties it wants to set in its par- liamentary work. There are 24 committees in the 19th electoral term. They essen- tially mirror the Federal Government’s distribution of ministerial portfolios, corre- sponding to the fields for which the ministries are The Committee on Labour and responsible. This facilitates Social Affairs and the Com- parliamentary scrutiny of the mittee on Internal Affairs and Federal Government’s work, Community have 46 members another of the Bundestag’s each, making them among the central functions. largest committees. Only the That said, in establishing com- Committee on Economic mittees, the Bundestag also Affairs and Energy has more sets political priorities of its members: 49. The Committee own. For example, the com- for the Scrutiny of Elections, mittees responsible for sport, Immunity and the Rules of tourism, or human rights and Procedure is the smallest humanitarian aid do not have committee, with 14 members. direct ministerial counterparts. Four committees are stipu- A new committee first set up lated by the Basic Law, the in the 19th electoral term is German constitution, and the Committee on Building, must be set up in every elec- Housing, Urban Development toral term: the Defence Com- and Local Government. Previ- mittee, the Committee on For- ously, responsibility for these eign Affairs, the Committee topics lay with the Committee on the Affairs of the European for the Environment, Nature Union and the Petitions Com- Conservation, Building and mittee. The Basic Law also Nuclear Safety. provides for the Joint Commit- 5 The Bundestag’s committees meet in the conference rooms in the Paul Löbe Building. 6 tee, an emergency parliament consisting of 48 members of the Bundestag and Bundesrat which can take decisions in a state of defence if insur- mountable obstacles prevent the timely convening of the The composition of each of Bundestag or the Bundestag the committees reflects the cannot muster a quorum. The balance of the parliamentary Budget Committee and the groups in the Bundestag as a Committee for the Rules of whole. In the legislative pro- Procedure are also required by cess, one committee is desig- law. nated as the lead committee, At the start of the 19th elec- meaning that it leads the par- toral term, the Bundestag tem- liamentary deliberations on porarily established a Main the bill in question and drafts Committee, as it had for the the recommendation for a very first time in 2013. This decision to be submitted to ensured that Parliament was the plenary. Other committees able to function during the can participate in the deliber- protracted period of coalition ations as committees asked for negotiations after the elec- an opinion if the bill touches tions. The Committee con- on the areas for which they sisted of 47 members and are responsible. The commit- 47 substitute members drawn tees also have the right to take from all of the parliamentary up issues on their own initia- groups, and was chaired by tive, allowing them to set pri- the President of the Bundes- orities of their own in the par- tag. Once the permanent com- liamentary debate. When mittees were established in necessary, they draw on exter- January 2018, the Main Com- nal expertise – usually by mittee was dissolved. holding public hearings. To 7 The committees prepare Parliament’s decisions during their meetings. 8 supported by a committee sec- retariat within the Adminis- tration of the Bundestag which provides organisational and specialist support for committee meetings. The spokespersons of the parlia- mentary groups on the com- mittees also play an important role in the committees’ work: they assert the interests of prepare its work, each com- their parliamentary groups in mittee can set up subcommit- the committee deliberations tees to discuss specific issues and are involved in planning or specialised areas of policy. the committee meetings. For The committee chairpersons each item of business, the par- are also appointed in line liamentary groups appoint with the balance of the parlia- rapporteurs, Members who mentary groups in the Bun- specialise in and are responsi- destag as a whole. The post ble for various subjects. of chairperson of the Budget This leaflet provides a brief Committee is traditionally overview of the Bundestag’s reserved for the largest oppo- permanent committees and sition parliamentary group – other bodies in the current reflecting Parliament’s func- 19th electoral term. tion of scrutinising the work Further information is avail- of the Federal Government. able from the specified web- The chairpersons preside over pages and the leaflets of the committee meetings. They are individual committees. 9 Plenary The plenary The plenary refers the bill, refers the bill after in whole or in part, back its first reading to the committee if, for example, extensive changes have been adopted The lead commit- tee submits a rec- ommendation for a decision for the second reading in the plenary Lead committee Considers the bill in detail and draws up a Opinion recommendation for the plenary which can win majority support The subcommittee The committee can prepares a recom- refer an item to a mendation or decision subcommittee Subcommittee Can be set up for specific specialised areas 10 The plenary refers the bill to another committee or other committees for an opinion if the content of the bill covers more than one subject area Committee asked for an opinion Draws up an opinion which the lead commit- tee must take into con- sideration How the Bundestag committees work. 11 The permanent committees in the 19th electoral term 13 Committee on Labour and Social Affairs www.bundestag.de/en/committees/a11 Chairman: Dr Matthias Bartke, SPD Deputy Chairman: Matthias W. Birkwald, The Left Party 46 members (16 CDU/CSU, 10 SPD, 6 AfD, 5 FDP, 5 The Left Party, 4 Alliance 90/The Greens) Committee on Foreign Affairs www.bundestag.de/en/committees/a03 Chairman: Dr Norbert Röttgen, CDU/CSU Deputy Chairwoman: Dr Daniela De Ridder, SPD 45 members (16 CDU/CSU, 10 SPD, 6 AfD, 5 FDP, 4 The Left Party, 4 Alliance 90/The Greens) Subcommittee on Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation www.bundestag.de/ausschuesse/a03/ua_arn Chairman: Matthias Höhn, The Left Party Deputy Chairman: Thomas Hitschler, SPD 9 members (3 CDU/CSU, 2 SPD, 1 AfD, 1 FDP, 1 The Left Party, 1 Alliance 90/The Greens) Subcommittee on Cultural and Education Policy Abroad www.bundestag.de/ausschuesse/a03/ua_kb Chair: tbd. Deputy Chairman: Thomas Erndl, CDU/CSU 9 members (3 CDU/CSU, 2 SPD, 1 AfD, 1 FDP, 1 The Left Party, 1 Alliance 90/The Greens) Subcommittee on the United Nations, International Organisations and Globalisation www.bundestag.de/ausschuesse/a03/ua_vn Chairman: Ulrich Lechte, FDP Deputy Chairman: Dr Frithjof Schmidt, Alliance 90/The Greens 9 members (3 CDU/CSU, 2 SPD, 1 AfD, 1 FDP, 1 The Left Party, 1 Alliance 90/The Greens) 14 Subcommittee on Civilian Crisis Prevention, Conflict Management and Integrated Action www.bundestag.de/ausschuesse/a03/ua_zks Chairman: Ottmar von Holtz, Alliance 90/The Greens Deputy Chairwoman: Dr Daniela De Ridder, SPD 9 members (3 CDU/CSU, 2 SPD, 1 AfD, 1 FDP, 1 The Left Party, 1 Alliance 90/The Greens) Committee on Building, Housing, Urban Development and Local Government www.bundestag.de/en/committees/a24 Chairwoman: Mechthild Heil, CDU/CSU Deputy Chairman: Volkmar Vogel, CDU/CSU 24 members (9 CDU/CSU, 5 SPD, 3 AfD, 3 FDP, 2 The Left Party, 2 Alliance 90/The Greens) Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment www.bundestag.de/en/committees/a18 Chairman: Dr Ernst Dieter Rossmann, SPD Deputy Chairwoman: Sybille Benning, CDU/CSU 43 members (15 CDU/CSU, 9 SPD, 5 AfD, 5 FDP, 4 The Left Party, 4 Alliance 90/The Greens, 1 non-attached) Committee on the Digital Agenda www.bundestag.de/en/committees/a23 Chairman: Jimmy Schulz, FDP Deputy Chairman: Hansjörg Durz, CDU/CSU 21 members (7 CDU/CSU, 5 SPD, 3 AfD, 2 FDP, 2 The Left Party, 2 Alliance 90/The Greens) 15 Committee on Food and Agriculture www.bundestag.de/en/committees/a10 Chairman: Alois Gerig, CDU/CSU Deputy Chairwoman: Carina Konrad, FDP 38 members (13 CDU/CSU, 8 SPD, 5 AfD, 4 FDP, 4 The Left Party, 4 Alliance 90/The Greens) Committee on European Union Affairs www.bundestag.de/en/committees/a21 Chairman: Gunther Krichbaum, CDU/CSU Deputy Chairman: Markus Töns, SPD 39 Members of the Bundestag + 16 German MEPs with rights of participation (14 CDU/CSU, 8 SPD, 5 AfD, 4 FDP, 4 The Left Party, 4 Alliance 90/The Greens) Committee on Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth www.bundestag.de/en/committees/a13 Chairwoman: Sabine Zimmermann, The Left Party Deputy Chairwoman: Ulle Schauws, Alliance 90/The Greens 40 members (14 CDU/CSU, 9 SPD, 5 AfD, 4 FDP, 4 The Left Party, 4 Alliance 90/The Greens) Commission for Children’s Concerns www.bundestag.de/kiko Chairperson alternating 6 members