The German Bundestag Functions and Procedures

Linn Sobolewski The German Bundestag Functions and procedures 18th electoral term LINN · SOBOLEWSKI THE GERMAN BUNDESTAG – FUNCTIONS AND PROCEDURES – THE GERMAN BUNDESTAG – FUNCTIONS AND PROCEDURES – Organisation and working methods The legislation of the Federation by Susanne Linn and Frank Sobolewski Ku¨rschners Politikkontakte Susanne Linn heads the Parliament and Members Directorate-General of the Administration of the German Bundestag. Frank Sobolewski is head of the Parliamentary Services Directorate. Translated by: Language Service of the German Bundestag, in cooperation with Emma Hardie Typeset by: Schro¨der Media GbR, Dernbach Lithographs by: graphica, Neuwied Produced by: GGP Media GmbH, Po¨ßneck Photographs by: Bildpixel / Pixelio.de (Paul Lo¨be Building), Stephan Gu¨nzel / Pixelio.de (Marie- Elisabeth Lu¨ders Building), Deutscher Bundestag / Simone M. Neumann (Reichstag Building), Deutscher Bundestag / Achim Melde (plenary chamber, swearing-in of Angela Merkel, swearing-in of Manuela Schwesig, Bundestag Presidium, committee, ballot using voting cards, polling booth), Deutscher Bundestag / Thomas Trutschel / photothek.net (government seats, opposition) Further information: www.ndv.info ISBN 978-3-87576-783-4 ° 2015 by NDV GmbH & Co. KG, Rheinbreitbach Any use of this work, including of individual sections, outside the strict limits of the Copyright Act is prohibited without the publisher’s express permission; this applies in particular to repro- ductions of any kind and to saving and processing in electronic systems. Table of Contents Introduction ................................ 7 1. Organisation and working methods ................ 9 Elections and composition ......................... 9 The Members .............................. 10 The parliamentary groups ........................ 17 The Bundestag’s constituent meeting ................. 21 Election of the Federal Chancellor ................... 24 The organs of the Bundestag ........................ 25 The President and Vice-Presidents ................... 25 The Presidium .............................. 27 Members acting as Secretaries ..................... 27 The Council of Elders .......................... 28 The permanent committees ....................... 30 Committees of inquiry and other bodies ................ 50 The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces ........ 54 Plenary sittings of the Bundestag ..................... 55 Questions put to the Federal Government ............... 56 Debates ................................. 58 Items of business ............................ 64 Votes .................................. 70 The Bundestag’s participation in EU affairs ................ 71 Participatory rights under the Cooperation Act ............ 72 Participatory rights under the Responsibility for Integration Act . 76 Participatory rights in the framework of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) ............................ 79 Participation vis-a`-vis EU institutions ................. 81 Interparliamentary cooperation in the European Union ........ 81 The Bundestag’s participatory rights in relation to mixed institutions .. 82 The Federal Convention ......................... 82 The Joint Committee .......................... 83 The Mediation Committee ....................... 84 The Committee for the Election of Judges ............... 84 Membership of executive bodies .................... 85 International parliamentary assemblies .................. 88 Summary ................................... 90 Statistics on the work of the German Bundestag in the 15th, 16th and 17th electoral terms ................ 92 5 2. The legislation of the Federation ................... 94 Initiation of legislation ............................ 95 Bills ...................................... 96 Involvement of the Bundesrat and forwarding of the bill to the Bundestag 100 Preparation by the parliamentary groups .................. 105 The first reading ............................... 107 The committee stage ............................. 108 Committee meetings ........................... 110 Hearings ................................. 111 The committee chairpersons ....................... 112 The committee’s recommendation for a decision and report ...... 114 The second and third readings ........................ 120 The passage of legislation in the Bundesrat ................. 125 The mediation procedure ........................... 128 The signing and promulgation of laws ................... 135 The Budget Act ................................ 136 Final remarks ................................. 138 3. Support for the Bundestag and its Members ........... 141 Staff employed by Members and the parliamentary groups ........ 141 The Administration of the German Bundestag ............... 141 Central Services Directorate-General (Z) ................ 142 Parliament and Members Directorate-General (P) ........... 145 Research and External Relations Directorate-General (W) ....... 148 Information and Documentation Directorate-General (I) ........ 150 Press and Communications ....................... 153 Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces ............. 154 6 Introduction The Basic Law, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany, has placed the German Bundestag at the centre of Germany’s representative democracy. The Bundestag’s function is to form a majority which allows a government to take up office and remain in power for the duration of the electoral term. It is responsible for scrutinising the work of the government and other executive bodies. And the Bundestag is assigned a central function in the legislative process at federal level and in approv- ing the budget. Due to this special status, the German Bundestag is gen- erally regarded as the most important body in Germany’s political opin- ion-forming and decision-making process. This book aims to explain the German Bundestag’s organisation and working methods. By offering a ‘‘look behind the scenes’’, it seeks to set out how the German Bundestag fulfils its constitutional functions in practice, in the framework of the parliamentary system of government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The first section introduces the Bundestag’s political actors – its Mem- bers, parliamentary groups and organs – and describes their working methods. It looks in depth at the work of the committees, which play an important role at the Bundestag. This is followed by a detailed explana- tion of how the German Bundestag’s plenary sittings are organised and held. The section continues with an examination of the Bundestag’s participatory rights in matters concerning the European Union, which are becoming ever more important. Finally, an overview is provided of Parlia- ment’s participatory rights in relation to other organs and bodies. The second section looks in detail at the legislative process. Taking a spe- cific law as an example, the reader is shown the individual stages that a 7 law passes through, from the first draft to its promulgation in the Federal Law Gazette, and learns how the relevant constitutional bodies – the Bundestag, the Bundesrat, the Federal Government and the Federal Pres- ident – work together in this process. Particular emphasis is placed on the procedure in the German Bundestag. The final section of this book offers information about the support services which the Administration of the Bundestag provides to Parliament and its Members to enable them to fulfil their functions. Taken together, this wealth of practical information offers a clear overview of the German Bundestag’s functions and procedures. 8 1. Organisation and working methods Elections and composition The Members of the German Bundestag are elected in general, direct, free, equal and secret elections for an electoral term of four years (Arti- cles 38 and 39 of the German constitution, the Basic Law). Taking each of these principles in turn: . general means that every citizen aged 18 and over has the right to vote; . direct means that the voters elect Members of Parliament directly, i.e. without the involvement of any intermediary; . free means that no one may put voters under pressure of any kind to vote in a particular way; . equal means that each vote carries the same weight with respect to the final composition of the Bundestag; . secret means that it must be ensured that no one can check how someone else has voted. The German Bundestag is composed of at least 598 Members. Half of them are elected directly in the 299 constituencies on the basis of the first of two votes cast by each voter, while a further 299 Members are elected on the basis of the second vote, which is cast in favour of one of the lists of candidates put forward by the political parties in each of Ger- many’s La¨nder, or federal states (Section 1 of the Federal Electoral Act). This second vote determines the composition of the Bundestag, i.e. the relative strengths of the parties represented in Parliament. Parties are only taken into consideration in the seat allocation process if they have received at least five per cent of the second votes cast or won at least three constituency seats. At times, the Bundestag may have more Members due to what are known as ‘‘overhang’’ seats. If a party wins more direct constituency seats in a single Land than the number to which it would be entitled based on its share of the second votes, all of the party’s successful constituency candidates take up their seats in the Bundestag regardless. This results in the 9 Bundestag increasing

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