In order to ensure that the national Parliament has an influence on the shaping of European legislation, provision was made even in the course of Austria's accession to the EU for the Parliament to be able to influence the negotiating and voting position of the members of the Austrian government. This is because national government representatives have negotiating and voting rights in the Council of the EU and in the European Council.
By submitting an opinion, both the National Council and the Federal Council have the opportunity to give the responsible Federal Minister or Chancellor a negotiating position and even a voting position on issues they consider important in the negotiating phase in the Council of the EU or the European Council. This has given the Austrian Parliament a strong right to participate in EU matters. It can become active even before the decision is made at the EU level.
Such an opinion can also be binding. In this case, the Federal Chancellor or the competent Federal Minister may in principle deviate from it only for compelling foreign policy or integration policy reasons and must consult Parliament in this regard.
The prerequisites for a binding opinion in the National Council are:
- It is submitted on an EU initiative aimed at the enactment of a binding legal act.
- This binding legal act would have an impact on the enactment of federal laws in the area regulated by the legal act.
If the competent Federal Minister or the Federal Chancellor wishes to deviate from the opinion, they must refer the matter to the National Council again. If the effects concern provisions of Federal Constitutional Law, the competent Federal Minister may deviate only if the National Council does not object to this deviation within a reasonable period of time.
The prerequisites for a binding opinion in the Federal Council are:
- It is submitted on an EU initiative aimed at the enactment of a binding legal act.
- This binding legal act would require the enactment of federal constitutional provisions that would restrict the competence of the provinces in legislation or enforcement.
The competent Federal Minister or the Federal Chancellor may deviate only if the Federal Council does not object to this deviation.