Press
Insults and disruptions in the Bundestag are to be punished more severely. The traffic light coalition is planning, among other things, to double the fine.
Berlin – The traffic light coalition plans to introduce tougher sanctions for MPs who insult others in the Bundestag or cause loud disturbances in committees. This is the result of a motion that politicians from the SPD, Greens and FDP want to put to a vote on Tuesday. In the future, an automatic fine will be imposed if a parliamentarian receives three calls to order within three weeks of a session.
Until now, the rules of procedure state: “For a more than minor violation of order or the dignity of the Bundestag, the President can impose a fine of 1,000 euros on a member of the Bundestag, even without a call to order being issued. In the event of a repeat offense, the fine increases to 2,000 euros.”
Plans of the traffic light coalition: fines to be doubled
The planned change envisages increasing the fine to 2,000 euros, or 4,000 euros in the event of a repeat offense. The first reading of the motion is planned for Wednesday, according to coalition sources. Although there was no agreement with the Union faction, the governing parties are sticking to their plan.
Green politician Filiz Polat explained: “We also want to expand the rights of the opposition factions: Public hearings requested by them must in future be dealt with within ten weeks of the session.” So far, there have been no time limits for this. The motion also proposes adding the following sentence to the rules of procedure: “Any insulting or discriminatory, particularly racist or sexist, statements or behavior towards another member or third party should be avoided.”
Committee chairmen should be able to take action in the event of disruptions in the Bundestag
In addition, the power of committee chairmen is to be strengthened. The motion provides that in the event of significant disruptions, chairmen can, with the approval of a qualified majority, exclude those causing disruption from further deliberations. Johannes Fechner (SPD) stressed that the Bundestag’s rules of procedure, which essentially date back to 1980, need to be fundamentally modernized. Stephan Thomae (FDP) added that it is also a matter of enabling more lively debates. For example, questions and comments should be permitted during current affairs sessions. (dpa/nak)
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