Translation of "Fragerecht" in English

As you know, I regard the putting of questions as a fundamental parliamentary right.

Right to ask questions and obligation on the part of the company to answer questions;

The right to ask questions should be accessible to non-residents.

The right of Bundestag members to ask questions exists in relation to the Federal Government, which has a duty to provide answers.

The right to put questions is one of the most important, individual parliamentary rights and I believe no Conference of Presidents, not even in this House, can simply cancel that right; we have a right to a monthly Question Time to the Council.

The right to ask questions is one of the most important parliamentary rights, but in recent years it has really diminished.

I regard this both as an infringement of Rule 41(1) of the Rules of Procedure and as an infringement of the Treaty, which specifically guarantees us the right to put questions.

In other words, a full one and a half hours should be set aside for question time, for the right to ask questions is a fundamental right of every parliamentarian.

The right to put questions is possessed by Members as individuals, and it is for that reason that it enjoys special protection.

We do not sit on Fridays, yet we do not have time for Members to exercise their elementary right, guaranteed by the Treaties, to ask questions. This is absolutely unacceptable, and I am asking not only that this be changed, but also for the restoration, as soon as possible, of the Question Time with Commissioner Busquin and others, which many of us have carefully prepared for.

Furthermore, the right to ask questions would be devoid of any actual content if there were no corresponding obligation on the part of the issuer to reply to questions, subject to measures needed to ensure the good order of the meeting, confidentiality or the protection of business interests.

There is a need for enhancing the exercise of a series of shareholders’ rights in listed companies (right to ask questions, to table resolutions, to vote in absentia, to participate in general meetings via electronic means).

The right to ask questions and the obligation to answer are subject to the measures which Member States may take, or allow companies to take, to ensure the identification of shareholders, the good order of general meetings and their preparation and the protection of confidentiality and business interests of companies.

The Government answers exclusively to Parliament, both through compulsory information of Parliament and through questions, interpellations and inquiry committees.

The right to put questions has proved to be an effective means of supervision, even though the Members tabling the questions often feel that the Commission's answers are tardy and unsatisfactory.

An answer cannot be refused on the grounds of the principle of departmental responsibility – here, the lack of authority of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Technology – because the Members of Parliament have a right to ask questions of the Federal Government as a whole.

The Parliamentary State Secretary of the Minister for Economic Affairs and Technology finally refused to answer this question by invoking the lack of competence of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs; by this, the respondent curtailed the right to ask questions of applicant 1. in a constitutionally impermissible manner.

This provision is not capable of establishing in a constitutionally required manner the necessary balance between the Bundestag members’ right to ask questions and the protection of trade and business secrets, even under consideration of the legislature’s margin of appreciation and leeway to design.

In political reality, the right to ask questions is quite predominantly a resource used by the opposition, which must fundamentally rely on publicity in order to be effective.

In political reality, the right to ask questions for oversight purposes is primarily a means employed by the opposition and which generally requires publicity to be effective.

For this reason the BAG did not clarify the important question of whether the employer of a business with tariff plurality is fundamentally denied a right to ask its employees which union they belong to.

The Commission proposed to come forward, in the short term, with a proposal for a directive setting up a legislative framework aimed at helping shareholders to exercise various rights (for example asking questions, tabling resolutions, voting in absentia and participating in general meetings via electronic means).