Organisation
Organisation
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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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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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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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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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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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 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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The Bundesrat has a total of 69 full members and the same number of votes.
Accordingly, thirty-five votes are needed for an absolute majority, generally needed to take a decision, and forty-six for the two-thirds majority occasionally required.
More: Distribution of votes …
