Germany

Openness and transparency

Information about access to parliamentary documents, parliament’s reporting to the public, parliament’s relation to Freedom of Information laws, and lobbying.

Parliamentary documents

The agendas of plenary meetings are published online in advance The agendas of plenary meetings are published online in advance.
The agendas of committee meetings are published online in advance The agendas of committee meetings are published online in advance.
Results of votes on draft legislation are published on the parliamentary web site Results of votes on draft legislation are published on the parliamentary web site.
Draft legislation is published on the parliamentary website Draft legislation is published on the parliamentary website.
Citizens can submit comments on draft legislation on the parliamentary web site

Annual reporting by parliament

Parliament publishes an annual report on its activities
Parliament publishes the parliamentary budget
Level of detail of the parliamentary budget made available to the public Level of detail of the parliamentary budget made available to the public: Only the total amount; A summary of the main elements; The complete budget
The complete budget
The parliamentary budget is available on the parliamentary web site
Yes

Access to parliament

Plenary meetings are open to the public
Notes
Prior registration is required for some of the visiting options offered by the Vistors' Service of the German Bundestag. This is to ensure that the limited number of available places are allocated as efficiently and fairly as possible. There is no interpretation service for plenary debates.
Committee meetings are open to the public
Notes
As a rule, committee meetings are not open to the public but are restricted to Members of Parliament, the federal government, the Bundesrat, committee staff, government staff, and staff of political groups.
Committee meetings are only broadcast in case of a public meeting, e.g. expert hearings.
There is a dedicated channel for broadcasting parliamentary meetings A dedicated channel is one that is mainly about parliament, and is accessible free of charge to the general public. The channel might be owned by Parliament or a public or private company. Dedicated channels may be broadcast by parliament, government, or another broadcaster. They may be carried on television, radio or the Internet (webcasting).
Media used for the dedicated channel
TV
Webcast
Meetings broadcast on the dedicated channel
Plenary sittings
Committee meetings

Freedom of information

There is a freedom of information law in the country
Yes
Parliament is subject to the freedom of information law
Parliament has an office/division dedicated to FOI requests
Yes
Categories of Information that are exempt from disclosure Certain categories of information may be exempt from disclosure
The Freedom of Information Act applies to the Bundestag only insofar as it discharges administrative tasks under public law. Thus, documents related to the parliamentary area (e.g., surveys of the Research Service of the Bundestag on behalf of parliamentarians) are exempted ipso facto from the scope of the Freedom of Information Act.

Lobbying

There are rules about the activities of lobbyists in parliament
Source
Act Introducing a Lobbying Register for the Representation of Special Interests vis-à- vis the German Bundestag and the Federal Government (Lobbying Register Act -- Lobbyregistergesetz)
Notes
Section 5 of Lobbying Register Act was passed by the German Bundestag on 25 March 2021 and came into effect on 1 January 2022. It provides for rules for the integrity in the representation of special interests vis-à-vis the Bundestag and the Federal Government. The Bundestag and the Federal Government, with the participation of civil society, also established a Code of Conduct for representatives of special interests in the framework of the Lobbying Register Act, which is accepted by all lobbyists enrolled in the lobbying register.
There is a register of accredited lobbyists
The register of accredited lobbyists is available on the parliamentary web site
Yes