Participation of the Federal States (Länder) in EU Affairs

The right of the Länder to participate in EU affairs has been strengthened in both content and formal terms as a result of European integration, which also touches upon Länder domestic competencies. The most important step was the insertion of a "Europe Article" (Art. 23) into the Basic Law on the occasion of the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty. The details of this participation are set out in the Act on Cooperation between the Federation and the Länder in European Union Affairs (EUZBLG) and in the Federation-Länder Agreement (BLV) of 29 October 1993.

The Länder participate in EU affairs through the Bundesrat. The Federal Government informs the Bundesrat fully, and at the earliest possible stage, about all EU proposals which may be of interest to the Länder (section 2 EUZBLG). In particularly urgent or confidential cases the Bundesrat's Chamber for European Affairs, rather than the regular plenary, will deal with the matter.

Länder participation is graduated as follows, depending on the extent to which their interests or responsibilities are involved:

• Participation in consultations aimed at determining Germany's negotiating position, if the Bundesrat would have to be involved in a corresponding domestic-policy measure or if the Länder would be competent nationally (section 4 EUZBLG). To this end the Bundesrat normally nominates two commissioners.
• Participation by Länder representatives in negotiations in the advisory bodies of the Commission and the Council, if essential Länder interests are involved and as far as possible (section 6 para. 1 EUZBLG; special regulations for intergovernmental conferences and enlargement negotiations in part VII, para. 2 and 3 BLV).
• Transfer of negotiating powers in the Commission and Council advisory bodies, as well as during Council meetings, to a Länder representative in the case of proposals which primarily affect exclusive Länder legislative competencies (section 6 para. 2 EUZBLG).

Bundesrat statements on EU proposals must, when determining Germany's negotiating position in the Council,

• be taken into account if, although affecting Länder interests, the Federation has the right of legislation nationally (section 5 para. 1 EUZBLG); in these cases the Federal Government is not, however, bound by the Bundesrat's opinion;
• be taken into account and acted upon if an EU proposal primarily affects Länder legislative powers, the setup of Land authorities or their administrative procedures (section 5 para. 2 EUZBLG). Should the Federal Government be of a different opinion to the Bundesrat, the former must attempt to reach an agreement with the latter. If the matter cannot be settled, the Bundesrat's opinion is only binding if its position is confirmed by a vote with a two-thirds majority. However, even in this case the Federal Government is not bound to accept this opinion if it conflicts with the Federation's general national responsibility, which includes foreign-policy, defence-policy and integration-policy issues.

Special regulations apply to

• Bundesrat consent to proposals based on Article 308 of the EU Treaty (competence in cases not envisaged by the Treaty): The Federal Government reaches an agreement with the Bundesrat in cases where, under national law, Bundesrat consent would have been required or if the Länder would be responsible (section 5 para. 3 EUZBLG). If such agreement cannot be reached the Federal Government can, in exceptional cases, decide to abstain from the Council vote on the proposal;
• the framework decisions introduced by the Amsterdam Treaty regarding police and criminal-justice cooperation (Art. 34 para. 2 b EU Treaty). Here, too, the Federal Government, as a matter of principle, only acts in agreement with the Bundesrat.

The Länder are supported in the exercise of their rights of participation by the joint Länder observer, whose main task is to inform the Länder about Council consultations. In addition, the Länder have their own representative offices in Brussels (section 8 EUZBLG), which cooperate with the joint Länder observer and the Permanent Representation to the EU. The offices form a direct link between the Länder and the EU institutions where this is necessary to carry out specific Länder tasks.

At Länder level European-policy issues are dealt with by the Conference of Länder Ministers of European Affairs, but also to an increasing extent by the Heads of the State and Senate Chancelleries (CdS) and by the Conference of Minister-Presidents (MPK). Unlike the Bundesrat plenary, these bodies decide unanimously.

In addition, the Länder are able to defend their interests in Brussels on the Committee of the Regions (CoR). This advisory committee represents the local and regional authorities within the EU institutional framework. It is composed of 222 representatives of member-state regions and local authorities. In February 2004 Peter Straub, the President of the Parliament of Land Baden-Württemberg, was elected president of the CoR for a two-year term.