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Organisation

Organisation

Organisation

The Presidency

The states have equal access to the presidency of the Bundesrat. Every year the Premier of a different state is elected President of the Bundesrat.

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Plenary session

The Bundesrat: that means the meeting of all its members, the plenary. Article 51 of the Basic Law stipulates the composition of the plenary: The Bundesrat shall consist composed of members of the Land governments, which appoint and recall them.

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Chamber for European Affairs

In certain specific cases, the Chamber for European Affairs, rather than the plenary, may take decisions.

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The committees

Like all parliamentary bodies, the Bundesrat has permanent committees which submit recommendations for decisions to be taken by the body as a whole. Their areas of responsibility correspond to areas of ministerial jurisdiction. Thus, the expertise of the Federal Government is complemented by that of the Bundesrat and the states.

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Bundesrat members

The Bundesrat is composed of members of state governments; the members are appointed and recalled by the state government. They may be represented by other members of their state government.

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Permanent Advisory Council

The Permanent Advisory Council, which is composed of the sixteen envoys from the states to the Bundesrat, supports the Presidium in its work.

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Secretariat

Approximately 190 officials and employees work in the Bundesrat; these staff members make up the Secretariat. Compared with the administrations of other parliamentary bodies, the Bundesrat Secretariat is fairly small.

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The Federal States

The Federal Republic of Germany is made up of 16 Länder, or federal states. Each has something unique to offer and its own special charm.

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Distribution of votes

According to article 51 paragraph 2 of the Basic Law each Land has at least three votes; Länder with more than two million inhabitants have four, Länder with more than six million inhabitants five, and Länder with more than seven million inhabitants six votes.

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