Committee meetings

Specialist issues are dealt with in standing committees. MPs who specialize in the subject concerned discuss the Government’s policy in this field with a Minister or State Secretary in a committee meeting.

Specialist issues are dealt with in standing committees.
A number of MPs, in most cases the spokespersons on the subject in question for each political group, discuss the Government’s policy with a Minister or State Secretary in a committee meeting.

However, committees do more than hold meetings. They regularly conduct hearings and round table debates to get to know the opinions of stakeholders and independent experts on a particular subject. Moreover, standing committees frequently pay working visits to gain information on a certain situation or to learn how specific problems are dealt with abroad.

General policy issues
Most committee meetings are held to discuss general policy issues. The committee discusses a specific aspect of a policy area with the Minister or State Secretary who is responsible for it. MPs ask questions, and the member of the Cabinet replies.

Policy documents and bills
Policy documents can be discussed with Cabinet members during policy meetings, and particular bills can be discussed during meetings on legislation.

Technical details
Committee meetings on policy documents and bills “unburden” the Plenary meetings, as it were. In a committee meeting, all kind of specialist and technical aspects can be dealt with in detail, so that in the Plenary meeting only the headlines still have to be discussed.