The ‘Chancellor Act’ and doubts about the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Germany

14.6.2017

Question for written answer E-003956-17
to the Council
Rule 130
Udo Voigt (NI)

With his recent statements on the ‘limited sovereignty’ of the Federal Republic of Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin has revived the debate about the status of the Federal Republic under international law. International legal experts have long entertained doubts about the restricted or non-existent sovereignty of the Federal Republic. These doubts are based, inter alia, on the ‘Chancellor Act’, a number of documents in which the victorious Second World War allies imposed binding conditions with regard to their authority over Germany, and which — according to a former adviser to the Chancellor, Egon Bahr (1922-2015) — each Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany is required to sign before taking office.

A few years ago, Russian TV broadcast a documentary on the ‘Chancellor Act’. The existence of this document is also important from the point of view of European law.

1. What impact does the ‘Chancellor Act’ have on intergovernmental acts signed by the Federal Republic of Germany, such as accession to the Treaty of Rome, the EU (and the former EEC), the Lisbon Treaty, the euro area, the European Stability Mechanism, etc.?

2. To what extent does the ‘Chancellor Act’ mean that non-European powers, such as the US, can influence EU policy?