In Germany it is the joint responsibility of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Federal Foreign Office to ensure that the Federal Government speaks with one voice when dealing with the various EU institutions in Brussels.

Coordinating role of the Economic Affairs Ministry

European policy coordination within the Federal Government takes place in dedicated coordination units at different levels of government. These units are focused on EU affairs and help to speed up decision-making and resolve potential conflicts. They include, above all, the State Secretaries Committee for European Affairs chaired by the Minister of State for Europe at the Federal Foreign Office (with the representative from the Economic Affairs Ministry acting as deputy chair) and the round table of the European Affairs Directors-General of the federal ministries (co-chaired by the Foreign Office and the Economic Affairs Ministry). In addition, each Federal Ministry has a European Affairs Officer who serves as the main contact for all European policy matters.

Another important coordinating task for the Economic Affairs Ministry consists in instructing the German ambassador on the Permanent Representatives Committee I (Coreper I) in Brussels. This committee convenes weekly and is made up of representatives from all Member States. Its tasks include preparing the work of the EU Councils of Ministers on competitiveness, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, environment, employment and social policy. Based on the instructions received, the Ambassador expresses the German position on the Committee in Brussels.

Responsibility for instructing the German representatives on the Coreper committees is shared between the Economic Affairs Ministry and the Foreign Office. The Foreign Office instructs the German representative on Coreper II which prepares the work of 4 Council configurations: The General Affairs Council, the Foreign Affairs Council, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and the Justice and Home Affairs Council.

Cooperation with the German Bundestag and the Bundesrat

The Economic Affairs Ministry also ensures that the German Bundestag and the Bundesrat are informed comprehensively, in good time and continuously about current EU business. This is important in order to allow these bodies to exercise their constitutional participation rights in the Federal Government’s European policy. The details are set out in the ‘Act on Cooperation between the Federal Government and the German Bundestag in Matters concerning the European Union’ (EUZBBG) and the ‘Act on Cooperation between the Federation and the Federal States in Matters concerning the European Union’ (EUZBLG). This ensures that the Bundestag and the Bundesrat are able to express an opinion on the Federal Government’s position in European policy initiatives and thus exercise their influence on deliberations at EU level, particularly regarding EU legislation.

The European Parliament represents the interests of European citizens. It is the only EU institution elected in direct democratic elections and has legislative and budgetary co-decision-making powers. In addition, the European Parliament votes on and elects the candidate for the presidency of the European Commission proposed by the European Council. The elections take place every five years. From 23 to 26 May 2019, all Member States held European elections for the ninth time. The logistics are challenging: the 2019 European Parliamentary elections were the biggest cross-border elections ever held simultaneously.

Representing the interests of all EU citizens

The European Parliamentary elections are based on the principle of proportional representation using party lists. Each voter has one vote and votes for a list proposed by a party or political association. In principle, all European Union citizens have the right to vote. EU citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals can vote either in their country of residence or their country of origin.

The legal basis for the elections consists of the national provisions of the individual Member States and the 2009 Lisbon Treaty. It stipulates that the European Parliament shall have 751 Members. The maximum number of MEPs for an individual country is 96, the minimum number is 6. The seats are distributed among Member States within these limits. Countries with large populations will receive a higher number of seats in total, but less than smaller countries if viewed in proportion to their population. Germany has the highest number of MEPs (96). Once the UK has left the EU, the number of MEPs will decrease to 705.

On 3 July 2019, David-Maria Sassoli from Italy (S&D) was elected as President of the European Parliament.

“This time I’m voting”

The EU-wide campaign “This time I’m voting” was an initiative of the European Parliament in the run-up to the 2019 European elections with the aim of increasing voter turnout in general. In Germany, the turnout in 2019 was 61.4%. This was the highest turnout for 20 years and a significant increase compared to 2014, when roughly 48% of eligible EU citizens voted in the European elections.

The SME monitor for EU initiatives strengthens the involvement of SMEs in important EU projects. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can find out at an early stage about relevant projects and feed their interests into ongoing consultation procedures.

SOLVIT: Unbureaucratic support for citizens and companies

SOLVIT is a network in which all EU and EEA members work together to find pragmatic solutions for the problems of citizens and companies caused by the incorrect application of internal market provisions by authorities.

Responsibilities of the Centre of Excellence on European Law

The Directorate-General for European Policy at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Technology acts as a co-ordinator on central issues relating to European legislation at federal and, in many cases, at Länder level as well. In addition, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action represents Germany in all cases that are brought before the European courts in Luxembourg.

It is responsible for providing legal expertise in the field of EU law, the extra-judicial settlement of disputes with the European Commission (infringement proceedings) and issues that cut across multiple sectors, such as review of compliance with the principle of subsidiarity or the fending off of penalty payments. Find out more.