Sessions

Most laws passed by the National Council are simple federal laws, for which a simple majority ("unconditional majority") of the votes cast is sufficient. It is not necessary for all 183 Members of Parliament to be present for the vote. According to Article 31 of the Federal Constitutional Law (in German), it is sufficient if one third of the Members are present. In practice, however, it is customary for almost all Members to be present in the chamber during votes (otherwise there would be random majorities that do not reflect the actual will of the Parliamentary Factions). "Simple majority" means that more than half of the Members present must vote "in favour" – in the event of a tie, a motion is deemed rejected or a question is deemed denied (Section 64(3) GOG-NR). Abstentions are not permitted.

For a simple federal law to be passed, at least 92 of the 183 MPs present must vote in favour. If only one third of the MPs (61) are present, 31 of them would have to vote in favour of the law.

For some laws and certain other resolutions, the approval of a two-thirds majority of the Members present is required. (Exactly or at least two-thirds is sufficient; it does not have to be more than two-thirds.) In these cases, there is also an increased attendance requirement of at least half of the Members. In addition to constitutional laws, these matters include the Rules of Procedure of the National Council, the Information Act, certain matters relating to education (e.g. free schooling, the relationship between schools and churches) and banking secrecy. Increased decision-making requirements also apply to the approval of certain international treaties (border changes, changes to the contractual basis of the EU) by the National Council, as well as to its authorisation or consent to certain decisions taken at EU level.

For a two-thirds majority, 122 of the 183 Members must vote in favour if all 183 Members are present. If only "at least half", i.e. 92, were present, 62 of them would have to vote in favour.

For a committee of the National Council to have a quorum, more than half of its Members must be present (Section 41(1) GOG-NR (in German)). Different approval requirements apply in committee than in the plenary sitting of the National Council because in committee (apart from certain decisions on matters of business procedure, which require a two-thirds majority), every decision is taken by a majority vote of the committee Members present. This means that resolutions on constitutional laws or constitutional provisions, for example, can also be passed by a simple majority in the committee.

Although a higher attendance quorum – at least half of the Members of Parliament – is required for a so-called perseverance resolution (repeat of a legislative resolution by the National Council after an objection by the Federal Council), a simple majority is sufficient.

Similarly, a vote of no confidence requires a simple majority with half of the Members present.

A decision by the National Council to bring charges against a Member of the Federal Government before the Constitutional Court for violation of the law requires the presence of more than half of the Members. A simple majority is sufficient.

A resolution by the Federal Assembly to bring charges against the Federal President for violation of the Federal Constitution also requires the "presence of more than half of the Members of each of the two representative bodies" (i.e. the National Council and the Federal Council). A two-thirds majority of the votes cast is required.

There are cases in which a two-thirds majority is required for a decision without an increased attendance quorum applying – i.e. in which a two-thirds majority is required in the presence of at least one third of the Members. These are certain decisions on the conduct of business in the plenary sitting of the National Council, such as the removal of an item from the agenda or the addition of an item to the agenda.

A decision in committee to add an item to the agenda or to remove an item from the agenda also requires a two-thirds majority. However, more than half of the committee Members must be present, as a committee is quorate only if this is the case.

Special decision requirements apply if a committee wishes to amend a decision it has already taken (which is possible as long as the committee has not yet submitted its report to the National Council): in such a case, the number of votes required to amend the decision must not be less than the number of votes originally cast in favour of the decision to be amended. If the number of votes with which the previous decision was taken can no longer be determined, a two-thirds majority of the Members present is required to amend the decision.

In the plenary sitting of the National Council, voting is usually carried out by standing up and remaining seated. This is provided for in Section 66(1) (in German) of the Rules of Procedure Act.

For votes in the plenary sitting of the Federal Council, the Rules of Procedure stipulate that approval is "usually indicated by a show of hands or by standing up" (Section 54(1) GO-BR). In practice, votes are taken by a show of hands.

In the committees (of both the National Council and the Federal Council), voting is usually by show of hands.

If the President so orders or if a corresponding request is made (by 20 Members of Parliament or five Members of the Federal Council), a roll-call vote must be taken.

In the National Council, the Members of Parliament are called by name and cast an official ballot paper bearing the words "Yes" or "No" and the name of the respective Member of Parliament into a ballot box. However, according to the Rules of Procedure Act, it is also possible to vote verbally with "Yes" or "No" after the names have been called in alphabetical order. (Section 66 (5) GOG-NR) (in German)

In the Federal Council, the rules of procedure generally provide for oral voting with "Yes" or "No" after an alphabetical roll call; this also corresponds to practice. However, after consultation with the Vice-Presidents, the President could also order the vote to be conducted by placing ballot papers in a ballot box. (§ 55 (5) and (6) GO-BR)

Roll-call votes may also be held in committees – which is very rare – with votes being cast orally.

A roll-call vote must be held

• in the plenary sitting of the National Council if 20 Members request this in writing,
• in committees of the National Council, if one-fifth of the number of committee members determined by the National Council so request,
• in plenary sittings of the Federal Council, if five Members of the Federal Council so request,
• in committees of the Federal Council, if one quarter of the number of committee members determined by the Federal Council so requests.

A secret ballot must be held:

• in the plenary sitting of the National Council, if the National Council so decides at the request of 20 Members,
• in the plenary sitting of the Federal Council, if the Federal Council so decides at the request of five Members of the Federal Council

There are no secret ballots in committees.

Secret ballots on items under discussion are extremely rare. The reason: the holding of a secret ballot must be decided by a majority vote upon request. Furthermore, this is possible only if a roll-call vote has not already been requested on the matter in question. (Section 66(4) GOG-NR) (in German)

In recent decades, secret ballots in the National Council have been held only during elections, as provided for in § 87 (2) GOG-NR (e.g. for the election of the President of the National Council, the President of the Court of Auditors or for the submission of a proposal for the appointment of a Member of the Constitutional Court).

The last vote on a legislative matter took place in 1994. At that time, a vote was held on an amendment to the Road Traffic Regulations (StVO) that provided for a reduction in the blood alcohol limit for drivers from 0.8 to 0.5 per mille. The amendment was rejected by a narrow majority in a secret ballot.

In order to document that they do not completely reject a law or amendment and support some provisions, Members of Parliament can vote separately in the second reading.

Every Member of Parliament has the right to request a separate vote (Section 65(5) GOG-NR) (in German) . In practice, this means that the passages specified in the request are voted on separately.

In the third reading, the MPs concerned must then decide whether, in their opinion, the positive or negative aspects outweigh the others, as only the entire bill can be voted on in the third reading.

A list of calls to order can "only be indicative in nature", which is why various presiding officers have decided in the past not to publish such a list. (3/ABPR, XXVI. GP)

However, calls to order are recorded in the stenographic minutes and are also clearly documented.

A list of calls to order in the XVIII, XIX and XX GP can be found in Appendix D to the 3rd edition of the annotated edition of the National Council Rules of Procedure (K. Atzwanger & W. Zögernitz, Manz, Vienna, 1999). It states: "As a rule, accusations of 'lying', 'slander' and 'fraud' are punished by calls to order." This is followed by a list ranging from "hypocritical", "armchair activist", "ham actor" and "mess" to "malice" and "crook" and "you deserve a slap in the face!".

A list for the years 2009 to 2011 can be found in 65/ABPR, XXIV. GP (in German).

An overview of the frequency in the individual GPs (V to XXVI) is provided in Appendix D of the 4th edition (2020) of the above-mentioned commentary.

In itself, a call to order has no consequences – apart from the various options for withdrawing the floor that the chairperson may apply if necessary.

Members of Parliament react very differently to calls to order: sometimes a call to order is criticised as unfair and the chair is accused of bias because, for example, he or she did not punish a statement perceived as similar in another speech with a call to order. Sometimes, however, Members respond to a call to order with "Thank you!" or "I gladly take note of that!", thereby reinforcing the statement that the chairperson had penalised.

Calls to order are often requested by other Parliamentary Groups. However, the decision rests solely with the chairperson. If he or she has not fully understood the expression or statement in question, or would like to reassess it in context , he or she requests the provisional stenographic record of this passage.

Section 102(2) of the GOG-NR (in German) stipulates that the President may interrupt Members in the event of a call to order or "completely withdraw the floor" from them. According to the commentary, the wording "complete withdrawal of the floor" suggests that – in contrast to a mere "withdrawal of the floor" – the speaker cannot be given the floor again in the same debate, even if the withdrawal of the floor occurred during their first speech.

In the Federal Council, too, the President may "also withdraw the floor" in "serious cases", whereby "further interventions by the person concerned on the subject under discussion are inadmissible" (Section 70 (2) GO-BR).

If a Member of the National Council has been called to order several times in quick succession, the President may decide that this Member will not be allowed to speak for the rest of the sitting (Section 102(3) GOG-NR) (in German).

The Rules of Procedure of the Federal Council do not provide for this sanction. However, at least in the recent past, it has not been applied in the National Council either.

A fine is provided for in only one case: in the event of a continued violation of the provisions of the Information Regulation Act through the disclosure of classified information in a meeting of an Investigating Committee by a Member of that Committee – or if the violation occurred outside a meeting of the Investigating Committee and led to the dissemination or publication of the information on radio, on a website or in a periodical medium (Section 54 VO-UA). In these cases, the chairperson may impose an administrative fine. The Member of Parliament may appeal against this; the Rules of Procedure Committee will decide on the appeal. The administrative fine will be deducted from the Member's salary (Section 7a BBezG (in German)).

In spring 2021, two initiatives for the introduction of an administrative fine (for non-compliance with coronavirus protection measures) were introduced in the National Council: 1550/A and 1548/A. Neither initiative received the necessary support of a two-thirds majority. A similar initiative in the Federal Council (294/A-BR/2021) did not receive the necessary majority.

Section 13 of the GOG-NR (in German) begins with the words: "The President shall ensure that the dignity and rights of the National Council are preserved [...]".

According to § 102 GOG-NR (in German), if a participant in the proceedings violates the decorum or dignity of the National Council, the President shall express disapproval by calling them to order.

The Rules of Procedure of the Federal Council also contain similarly worded provisions in § 7 and § 70.

The dignity of the "House" (Parliament and its bodies) must also be upheld in documents such as parliamentary questions. An example is this commentary on the Rules of Procedure Act (W. Zögernitz, Nationalrat-Geschäftsordnung, 4th ed., Manz, Vienna, 2020, p. 579) on the question of whether the President of the National Council may reject questions from Members of Parliament if they meet the formal requirements but do not comply with the legal provisions for other reasons: "The President shall have the procedural option of not forwarding a question only if the question violates the dignity of the National Council (§ 13 (1))."

Statements on legislative proposals submitted as part of the pre-parliamentary or parliamentary review process must also be in keeping with the dignity of the National Council. This requirement was expressly stated in Resolution 200/E (XXV. GP) of the National Council of 16 May 2017, which formed the basis for the introduction of the so-called extended review procedure (see point 2.c).

The opinions submitted are therefore reviewed upon receipt to ensure that they comply with this requirement. If they violate the dignity of the National Council (or legal provisions such as those of the Data Protection Act), the opinions may not be published on the website.

Even though debates can often be very heated, certain boundaries must not be crossed. In the interests of constructive work aimed at achieving the best possible outcome for the general public, and of projecting the image expected of a centre of democracy, it is necessary to maintain a culture of objective discussion and respectful interaction with one another. Insults, disparaging remarks, derogatory comments or exaggerated accusations therefore have no place in a session of the Parliament. Comparisons with dictatorial systems and insinuations of criminal behaviour are also completely unacceptable. If such behaviour does occur, it is the responsibility of the chairperson to intervene accordingly.

Polemics – i.e. aggressiveness that abandons objective argumentation and attempts to impose one's own point of view with exaggerated rhetoric – also have no place in a constructive debate.

However, the dignity of the Parliament and parliamentary bodies can be violated not only by verbal statements, but also by derogatory gestures, for example.

Behaviour that is not tolerated also includes insinuations of dishonourable or despicable characteristics.

This explains why the accusation of "lying" is usually punished with a call to order. Citizens who follow the broadcast of meetings are often surprised why the term "lie" is not tolerated, whereas the accusation of "untruthfulness" is. However, while "untruth" merely refers to the inaccuracy of a claimed fact, the word "lie" implies that the person telling the untruth is doing so deliberately, against their better judgement and with the intention of deceiving others. And with the accusation of deliberate deception – i.e. behaviour that is generally considered dishonourable – a negative assessment is also made of the person who made the statement that is described as untrue.

As can be seen from the commentary on the Rules of Procedure Act (W. Zögernitz, Nationalrat-Geschäftsordnung, 4th ed., Manz, Vienna, 2020) in note 2 to § 13, the Criminal Code does not specify any particular offences for violations of the dignity of the National Council, but according to§ 116 StGB (in German), acts under § 111 (in German) (defamation) or § 115 (in German) (insult) are also punishable if they are directed against the National Council or the Federal Council, among others, and are committed in public. According to Section 117(1) (in German), in such cases these criminal offences must be prosecuted ex officio, for which the authority must obtain the authorisation of the offended representative body.

In recent years, there has been one case of prosecution for insulting the National Council, namely in 2015. At the request of the Immunity Committee (849 d.B., XXV. GP (in German)), the National Council decided to grant authorisation for prosecution at the request of the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office.

There are 183 Members of the National Council – women and men, older and younger people, people with different educational backgrounds, entrepreneurs and employees. They are all representatives of political parties with different world views. There are currently five Parliamentary groups in the National Council: ÖVP, SPÖ, FPÖ, GRÜNE and NEOS.

The parties presented their different programmes to voters during the election campaign. It is therefore not surprising that different points of view are expressed in parliamentary discussions, which are an exchange of arguments. It is important for a democracy that the parties and Members of Parliament represent these different approaches to problems not only in election campaigns but also in their political work.

The laws discussed in the National Council have come a long way – from drafting to introduction and committee deliberations. Along the way, changes have been made time and again as new aspects of the issue emerge. Nevertheless, opinions and views, interests and emotions often clash fiercely in the debate in the National Council. This debate takes place in full public view. Openness and transparency are hallmarks, fundamental and vital elements of parliamentary democracy.

The public nature of the debate makes some of the intensity of the confrontation more understandable: the competition for public attention leads to strong statements or actions.

Nevertheless, MPs never forget that it is their job to agree, either unanimously or at least by a majority, on general regulations for everyone living in Austria. This is clearly evident, for example, in the fact that many laws are not passed solely with the votes of the governing parties.

At the plenary session of the National Council on 28 April 2016, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took the floor as a speaker at the invitation of National Council President Bures. This was the first time that use had been made of the possibility created the previous year (GOG amendment BGBl. I No. 62/2015) to allow high-ranking figures in international politics to speak in the plenary.

This option has been available in the Federal Council plenary session since 2012, and was already used on 2 December 2014, when EU Commissioner Dr Johannes Hahn made a statement about his new area of responsibility.

Before the right to speak was granted to prominent figures in European and international politics, it was necessary to interrupt the plenary session on similar occasions (e.g. speech by the then EU Commission President Barroso to the Members of the Federal Council on 11 May 2006, see Parliamentary Correspondence No. 442/2006 (in German)), or the speech was announced as a lecture in the National Council Chamber or in the Historic Chamber.

Prior to Ban Ki-moon's speech on 28 April 2016 in a plenary session of the National Council, the following UN Secretaries-General had already spoken in the Parliament Building, albeit in the context of lectures, i.e. outside of formal meetings:

Ban Ki-Moon: Lecture on 8 April 2010, see Parliamentary Correspondence No. 238/2010 (in German) 

In addition, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan visited Parliament on several occasions, see Parliamentary Correspondence No. 323 of 20 May 1997 (in German), Parliamentary Correspondence No. 427 of 19 July 1999 (in German), Parliamentary Correspondence No. 41 of 29 January 2002 (in German), Parliamentary Correspondence No. 218 of 23 April 2003.

In addition to the members of the respective legislative body, the following persons have the right to speak in plenary sessions:

• the Members of the Federal Government and the State Secretaries (both in the National Council and in the Federal Council)
• Members of the Ombudsman Board (in both the National Council and the Federal Council, but only on specific items on the agenda)
• the President of the Court of Audit (in the National Council, only on certain items on the agenda)
• the Provincial Governors (in the Federal Council, only on certain items on the agenda)
• the Members of the European Parliament elected in Austria (in the National Council and the Federal Council for certain debates on EU issues, under the conditions laid down in the respective rules of procedure)
• prominent figures in European and international politics (in the National Council and the Federal Council, at the invitation of the President after consultation with the President’s Conference)

The right to speak is one of the fundamental rights of Members of Parliament. Restrictions on speaking time serve to structure a session. They are regulated in the rules of procedure of the National Council. A distinction must be made between the general speaking-time rules that apply to the agenda and the speaking-time rules for special debates (e.g. topical debates, urgent questions, brief debates).

In committees, Members may decide to limit speaking time.

In any case, Members of Parliament may not speak more than twice on any item on the agenda (or in a debate on several combined items on the agenda).

When determining the order of speakers, care is taken to ensure that the various points of view on an agenda item are heard and that speakers from different Parliamentary Groups alternate. If there are speakers for and against, they take turns, with the opposing side speaking first.

As a rule, Members of Parliament may not speak for longer than 20 minutes during a debate in the National Council. However, after consulting with the Members of the President’s Conference, the President may propose longer speaking times for particularly important debates. Conversely, the speaking time of each Member of Parliament may be limited to less than 20 minutes, but not less than 5 minutes, by decision of the National Council.

Actual corrections and responses to such corrections may not exceed 2 minutes.

After consultation with the President’s Conference, the President may order that the total speaking time of Members of a Parliamentary Group for a debate on an agenda item or for the entire agenda may not exceed a certain amount. The allocation of time to the Parliamentary Groups is based on the so-called "Vienna hours". This results in a "block speaking time" for each Parliamentary Group, and it is up to the Parliamentary Group to decide how much of this time to use for which agenda item and which speakers should be given the floor.

As a result, speaking time is de facto allocated to individual Members by their Parliamentary Groups, and Members do not make full use of their legal right to speak. If Members speak for longer than the time allocated to them, they effectively use up the speaking time of their Parliamentary Group colleagues.

Members of the Government and State Secretaries are not usually subject to speaking time restrictions. They can speak at any time and repeatedly in debates.

• Urgent question or urgent motion:
  20 minutes for the justification, 20 minutes (no strict limit) for the response or statement by a Member of the Government or State Secretary; 10 minutes for the following speakers, with the total speaking time for each Parliamentary Group limited to 25 minutes.
• Brief debate:
  10 minutes for the opening statement by the proposer; followed by one speaker per Parliamentary Group with a speaking time of 5 minutes each. The Member of the Federal Government or the State Secretary shall have a maximum speaking time of 10 minutes.
• Current affairs debate:
  10 minutes for the first speaker, 10 minutes (target limit) for the statement by the Member of the Government or State Secretary, 5 minutes for the other Members of Parliament, with two speakers from each Parliamentary Group being given the floor.
• Debate on motions for the order of business:
  The President may limit the speaking time of Members to 5 minutes.

A committee may, by a two-thirds majority, limit the speaking time of Members, but not to less than a quarter of an hour.

In public committee proceedings, no speech should last longer than 10 minutes. This applies to the finalisation of reports by the Federal Government and to public hearings of witnesses in the Audit Committee. In the Main EU Committee and the Standing EU Subcommittee, so-called Europe hours are set, which are calculated in the same way as for plenary sessions.

The duration of a National Council sitting cannot be predicted exactly, but an approximate time frame can be calculated. So-called special actions (such as urgent questions and brief debates) have a significant influence on the length of a session. Requests for these to be held can be submitted only during the sitting (usually before the agenda is adopted). 

A National Council session usually begins with a question time or a topical debate, each of which lasts around 60 to 70 minutes.

Before the sitting week, the President’s Conference sets a daily block of time for dealing with the agenda. This is specified in "Vienna hours" (e.g. 10 "Vienna hours") and distributed among the Parliamentary Groups according to the "Vienna hour" allocation formula. This results in the "block speaking times" for the Parliamentary Groups.

For each debate (on one agenda item or several combined agenda items), a Member of Parliament may speak no more than twice and for no longer than a total of 20 minutes. Before the meetings, the Parliamentary Groups determine how much speaking time they want to use for which agenda items and which of their Members should speak. In most cases, the individual Members speak for less than 20 minutes ("voluntary speaking time restriction").

The Parliamentary Groups do not always use up their total speaking time. However, in addition to the daily block of time, there is also the speaking time of the Members of the Government and State secretaries, who can take the floor at any time for 20 minutes (as a target limit, which can also be exceeded).

The agenda is often interrupted at 3 p.m. because an urgent question or motion needs to be dealt with. Based on the current speaking time regulations (20 minutes for the questioner or proposer, 20 minutes as the target limit for the responsible Member of the Government, a maximum of 10 minutes for the debaters, with a total speaking time of 25 minutes for each Parliamentary Group), this results in a duration of approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes for five Parliamentary Groups. Only one urgent question (or urgent motion) may be requested per session.

In addition, brief debates may be requested on written responses to questions, motions to set deadlines, or motions or requests to establish a committee of inquiry. There are also rules governing speaking time for these; with five Parliamentary Groups, a brief debate lasts approximately 35 to 45 minutes (depending on whether a Member of the Government also takes the floor). The number of brief debates is limited if an urgent question or an urgent motion is also being dealt with in the same session.

In principle, the approximate duration of the sitting is determined by:

• Question time or current affairs debate +
• Daily block time in "Vienna hours" for the agenda +
• Consideration of an urgent question (or an urgent motion) and/or brief debates

In addition, there may also be debates on objections to the agenda, requests to speak on procedural matters, factual corrections, vote counts, roll-call or secret votes, and interruptions to the sitting (e.g. brief meetings of the presiding officers).

Spectators at plenary sittings are often surprised by the empty rows in the chamber. They often interpret this as a sign that Members of the National Council and Federal Council are not fulfilling their obligations.

However, parliamentary work is mainly committee work! Before the plenary sittings, committee meetings of the National Council are held, during which the main work of parliamentary negotiations is already carried out. Numerous amendments to legislative proposals are made here. However, the committees are not usually open to the public. Therefore, the plenary sittings are mainly intended to allow for intensive public discussion of legislative proposals. The work of the Members of the National Council is therefore not limited to plenary sittings; these are only the conclusion of a long working process. The Members of Parliament are already familiar with most of the arguments and counterarguments from the committee meetings. In addition, they can follow the debate live in their offices at any time via loudspeakers and television channels.

The same applies to the Federal Councillors. They follow the discussions in the National Council, then discuss them in their own Federal Council committees, before finally presenting their respective positions again publicly at the plenary sitting.

The presence of all MPs in Vienna also provides an opportunity for short-term internal and cross-party meetings to discuss important political issues and projects and to clarify positions. In addition, Members of the National Council and Members of the Federal Council are very often asked by journalists for interviews, which serves not least to ensure the transparency of decisions and to inform the public.

The President’s Conferences of the National Council and the Federal Council, in which the respective Presidents (or Vice-Presidents of the Federal Council) and the Parliamentary Group leaders or Faction Group leaders of the parliamentary parties are represented, have agreed to limit absence from the plenary chamber to what is absolutely necessary.

• Start of the new legislative period:
  The newly-elected National Council must be convened by the Federal President within 30 days of the election. This first meeting, the constituent sitting, marks the beginning of the new legislative period.
• Start of the term of office:
  The Federal Minister of the Interior issues the elected Members of Parliament with a certificate of election, which must be deposited with the Parliamentary Administration. This certificate of election is the notification that the Members of Parliament have been elected and entitles them to become Members of the National Council. At the beginning of the constituent sitting, the newly-elected Members of Parliament then become Members of the National Council.

The constituent sitting is opened by the President of the previous National Council, who presides until the election of the new President. This is also the case even if he or she is no longer a Member of the new National Council, as was the case on 24 October 2024, when the President of the National Council of the XXVIIth Federal Parliament opened the constituent session of the XXVIIIth Federal Parliament. This was previously the case on 30 October 2006, when the President of the National Council of the XXII. GP, Andreas Khol, opened the constituent session of the XXIII. GP.

After the opening, the 183 Members of Parliament are sworn in – regardless of whether they were already Members of the previous National Council or are new Members. By saying the words "I swear," they pledge "unwavering loyalty to the Republic, constant and full observance of the constitutional laws and all other laws, and conscientious fulfilment of their duties" when their names are called.

Properly taking the oath of office is a duty of Members of Parliament. Unlike, for example, Members of the Government, however, it is not a prerequisite for exercising their function. A Member of Parliament who takes over a vacant seat during the current legislative period may, as soon as their election certificate has been deposited with the Parliamentary Administration, for example, submit questions to Members of the Government or be nominated to committees and participate in their work. This can happen even if they have not yet been sworn in (e.g. because no plenary session has taken place since then).

However, the date of swearing-in is decisive for the start of entitlement to remuneration as per Section 4 (1) of the Bundesbezügegesetz (Federal Remuneration Act).

In principle, there is no incompatibility between Government office and a parliamentary mandate, but it has been customary for decades for Members of Parliament to resign their National Council mandate when taking up a Government office. (See also the FAQ "Can Parliamentarians be Members of the Government at the same time?")

The distribution of the three seats on the Presidium among the parties is not regulated by law, but is based on political custom. Since 1983, the three parties with the most votes have been represented in the Presidium in order of the size of their Parliamentary Groups. However, a nomination by the party entitled to make a proposal is not sufficient to assume the office of President; each of the three Members of the Presidium must be elected by an absolute majority of the National Council. The election is held in a separate ballot for each Member.

The elections of the three presidents must be conducted by secret ballot, even if there is only one nomination (Section 87(7) GOG-NR (in German)). Ballots that are not cast for one of the nominated candidates but for another eligible candidate are also valid.

The elections are valid for the entire legislative period; there is no provision for removal from office.

If no one achieves an absolute majority in the election for the office of President, a second ballot is held. This was the case, for example, at the constituent sitting of the XXth GP in January 1996 during the election of the Third President.

If this ballot also fails to produce a clear result, a "run-off election" is held between the two Members of Parliament who received the most votes in the second ballot.

If there is a tie in the run-off election, the decision is made by drawing lots.

After the election of the Presidents, the Secretaries and Whips are elected – according to the GOG-NR, five Secretaries and at least three Whips, but in practice, one Whip is elected for each Parliamentary Group.

Furthermore, the committees provided for in the Constitution are also elected at this meeting. These include the Main Committee, the Budget Committee, the Immunity Committee, the Incompatibility Committee, and the Rules of Procedure Committee, as well as the Members and substitute Members of the Standing Joint Committee to be appointed by the National Council within the meaning of Section 9 of the Finance Constitution Act 1948. Other committees may also be elected at the same time or at a later date.

This is entirely possible, as demonstrated by the constituent sitting of the National Council of the XXIIIth Federal Parliament on 30 October 2006, at which not only was an urgent question tabled and dealt with, but two Commissions of Enquiry were also set up immediately in accordance with the legal possibilities at the time. A brief debate was also held on each of these matters. Independent motions are also usually tabled at the first meeting.

It is not possible for the new National Council to continue debating motions or government bills from the previous National Council, for example, or to hold a brief debate on a response to a question from the old legislative period. This is because, according to the principle of discontinuity, all unfinished business is considered to have lapsed at the end of a legislative period. If they are to be dealt with in the next legislative period, they must be resubmitted to the National Council.

For several years, however, there have been a few exceptions to this principle, namely referendums, parliamentary citizens' initiatives, federal financial statements and reports by the Court of Auditors and the Ombudsman. If these were not dealt with in the last legislative period, they are considered items for negotiation by the newly-elected National Council. In the case of referendums and citizens' initiatives, this is intended in particular to avoid the considerable effort involved in gathering the necessary support being in vain or having to be repeated a second time.

A special session is when the National Council meets outside of its regular session dates, which are always set a year in advance. This must happen when a certain number of MPs request it. These are usually MPs from opposition parties who want to address an issue that is important to them in the context of an urgent question or an urgent motion. As a rule, there is no agenda with predetermined items for special sessions, which is why these sessions are shorter than regular plenary sessions.

According to Section 46(6) (in German) of the Rules of Procedure Act (GOG-NR), a session of the National Council must be convened if 20 Members request it, specifying a topic, whereby each Member may support such a request only once a year. A Parliamentary Group with 50 Members may therefore request such a session twice a year. To ensure that small Parliamentary Groups also have access to this minority right, Parliamentary Groups with fewer than 20 Members may also make such a request once a year, provided that it is supported by all Members of that Parliamentary Group.

In addition, according to Section 46(7) GOG-NR (in German), one third of the Members of Parliament may request an unlimited number of special sessions. This means that if an opposition party has 61 or more Members of Parliament, it alone can request a special session as often as it wishes. Otherwise, such requests can be made jointly by several opposition parties.

The Federal Government also has the right to request the convening of special sessions.

The National Council must convene within eight days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays.

Special rules apply during the so-called recess period (from around mid-July to around mid-September). In order for the National Council to meet during this period, it must be convened by the Federal President for an extraordinary session. This can be requested either by one third of the Members of Parliament, by the Federal Council, or by the Federal Government. In this case, the National Council must convene within two weeks. (See also the FAQ "What is an extraordinary session?")

In most cases, the initiative for a special session comes from Members of the opposition parties. After the session has been opened, they request that a written question or an independent motion submitted at the same time be dealt with as a matter of urgency (urgent question or urgent motion).

However, a session outside of the fixed session calendar may also be convened at the request of a Member of the Government who wishes to make a statement on a current issue in the National Council, or because of the need for the National Council to make an urgent decision.

If an urgent question or urgent motion is tabled in a special session, the responsible Member of the Government must make a statement on the matter or answer the question orally in the same session. Urgent questions often contain a long list of detailed questions. The Member of the Government is therefore given three hours to prepare their answer or statement.

As there is usually no agenda for special sessions (with items that can be dealt with in the interim), the session is interrupted for three hours after the urgent initiative has been submitted. After this interruption, the matter to be dealt with urgently is called up. The Member of the Government's oral response is followed by a debate on the topic.

The rules of procedure regulate the permissible speaking times for dealing with an urgent question or an urgent motion: 20 minutes for the justification, 20 minutes (as an upper limit) for the responsible Member of the Government and 25 minutes in total for each Parliamentary Group. With five Parliamentary Groups, this results in a duration of approximately three hours if the speaking time is used up completely.

Additional topics may also be dealt with in special sessions, e.g. in the context of so-called brief debates, for which separate speaking time rules apply.

If other items or topics are brought up for discussion (e.g. as part of a statement by a Member of the Government), the agreement reached in the President’s Conference applies for the duration of the debate.

However, the exact duration of a session can never be predicted because it can be extended by roll-call votes, debates on points of order, or interruptions to the session, for example.

In a "short debate" or "brief debate", Members of Parliament have the opportunity to raise certain issues that are important to them in a National Council sitting outside of the set agenda. This is what brief debates have in common with urgent questions and urgent motions, which is why these initiatives are also referred to as special actions. The term "brief debate" is explained by the very limited number of speakers per Parliamentary Group and the brevity of the speaking time available to them.

The Rules of Procedure provide for three types of brief debates, namely those on

• written responses to questions addressed to the Federal Government or one of its Members: these are requested when Members of Parliament are not satisfied with the response. The Member of the Government questioned usually makes a statement in such a debate (but is not obliged to do so).
• a motion to set a deadline: Members of Parliament explain why they consider it necessary for the plenary to set a deadline for a committee to discuss a matter (so that, if the motion is accepted, the matter must be dealt with in the following plenary session).
• A motion or request to set up a Commission of Enquiry: Members of Parliament discuss the allegations that have been made and request or demand that a Commission of Enquiry be set up to investigate them.

Members of the Government do not usually take part in short debates on motions to set deadlines and on motions/requests to set up Commissions of Enquiry.

Strict speaking time rules apply to brief debates in accordance with Section 57a GOG-NR (in German): First, the proposer or signatory of the relevant request speaks for a maximum of 10 minutes. After that, each Parliamentary Group may nominate one speaker, with speaking time limited to 5 minutes. With five Parliamentary Groups, a brief debate therefore lasts a maximum of approximately 35 minutes. If a Member of the Government also takes a position, their speaking time should not exceed 10 minutes.

Brief debates on responses to questions or motions to set deadlines take place at 3 p.m. ("after the agenda has been dealt with, but no later than 3 p.m."), for which the proceedings on the agenda are interrupted. If an urgent question or an urgent motion is dealt with on the same day, a brief debate takes place afterwards.

Debates on a motion or a request to set up a Commission of Enquiry, however, always take place after the agenda has been dealt with.

A brief debate may be requested by five Members, so it is a minority right. However, for each of the three types of brief debates, only one request may be made per sitting week by Members of the same Parliamentary Group. Apart from this restriction, the Rules of Procedure do not impose any restrictions on the number of brief debates that may be called in sittings in which no urgent motion or urgent question is called. If no urgent question or urgent motion has been requested in a sitting, all requested brief debates are called.

In a sitting in which an urgent question or an urgent motion has been requested, however, only one brief debate on either a question response or a motion to set a deadline is called. This restriction does not apply to brief debates concerning the establishment of a Commission of Enquiry (Section 57b GOG-NR) (in German).

The Current European Affairs Hour was introduced so that EU issues can be discussed regularly in the National Council. It serves as a forum for debate on topics of general current interest within the remit of the European Union and takes place four times a year. The provisions governing the Current Affairs Hour, e.g. with regard to the order of speakers, apply mutatis mutandis. If a Current Affairs Hour also takes place on the same day, the Current European Affairs Hour takes place immediately afterwards.

For the regular discussion of EU issues, the Rules of Procedure also provide for EU statements by Members of the Federal Government, which take place twice a year in proximity to a meeting of the European Council or the Council of the European Union.