Parliamentary group funding

The parliamentary groups in the German Bundestag perform a diverse range of tasks that are in the interests of Parliament as a whole. This is why it is permissible for them to be funded with public moneys, as the Federal Constitutional Court has ruled on several occasions.

The benefits in kind and monetary benefits they receive are intended purely to support the work of the parliamentary groups, not the activities of individual Members or political parties.

Since parliamentary groups cannot perform their duties without staff, a large proportion of the public funds they receive is expended on the wages and salaries of their personnel. This is why the main factor taken into account when the funding paid to the parliamentary groups is being set – a task incumbent upon the Bundestag – is the development of wages and salaries in the public sector. However, consideration is also given to consumer price inflation when the parliamentary groups’ benefits in kind are being determined.