Enquete Commission in the Bundestag: What is that actually?

A good two years after the end of the last nationwide legal requirements, Corona pandemic is to be comprehensively processed with its consequences in Germany. The Bundestag wants to decide on the establishment of an Enquete Commission on Thursday.

After a long dispute over a format, a large majority are emerging for this. After a few changes, the application that the coalition factions of the Union and the SPD had brought in are also contributing to the green and the left. The Commission with MPs and experts is to develop a report by mid -2027.

In the previous election period, right after the acute crisis, there was no great evaluation of the protective measures with masks, tests and everyday specifications at the federal level. Among other things, a citizen council was discussed, but the traffic light coalition could not communicate. Union and SPD agreed an Enquete Commission in the current coalition agreement. The French word “enquête” means investigation.

The AfD, on the other hand, calls for an investigation committee and also provides this to vote. A committee of inquiry is formed by parliamentary deputies. It can be convened if at least a quarter of all MPs apply for him. The aim of such a committee is to clarify grievances in the state area.

An Enquete Commission has so far been 31 times in the history of the Federal Republic. It is intended to strengthen the legislative through the inclusion of external, especially scientific expertise by reducing the dependence of the parliament on the information and legislative templates of the ministerial bureaucracy. This is intended to contribute to the control of the government.

However, if “investigation” and “enquête” literally mean the same thing, one could come up with the idea that something is named here with a Ladida term that would not have needed a new name. Similar to the affront, it could even be an insult to the German language. Because foreign words – as Gallizism Enquête – are generally only needed if no counterpart is available.

In fact, there are differences in content between an investigation committee and an Enquete Commission. And these differences should be underlined by the different terms. For example, only deputies are in the committee of inquiry, but experts who are not a member of parliament in the Enquete Commission, on the other hand.

An investigation committee has the authority to raise evidence, to hear witnesses and serve to investigate grievances of the past and the government’s control. The Enquete Commission, on the other hand, has a future-oriented task and is not primarily aimed at clarifying grievances. Also, she usually does not have the same powers to raise evidence as a committee of inquiry.

Sources: with material from the dpa