The Federal Council of Austria or Bundesrat is one of the two separate councils of the Austrian parliament.

The 62 members of the Federal Council are elected by the legislatures of the Federal States for 4- to 6-year terms. The composition of the Bundesrat changes after every election to the Landtag of a state.^[1]

The Austrian constitution provides the Bundesrat with the right to veto legislation passed by the National Council. However, in most cases the Federal Council can just wield a so-called suspensive veto, since the National Council can override it by passing the law again. Therefore, the decisions of the Bundesrat usually can just delay the legislative procedure.^[2] In the following cases though, the Federal Council's approval is absolutely mandatory:^[2]

• Constitutional laws or regulations limiting the competences of the federal states
• legal regulations relating to the rights of the Federal Council itself
• treaties governing matters concerning the independent sphere of operation of the federal states

Constitutional changes require a majority of 2/3 of all votes, thus giving the Bundesrat an absolute veto against constitutional change. Against all other legislation the Bundesrat has a suspensive veto, which can be overridden by passing the law again

The Federal Council and the National Council, if in joint session, form a third parliamentary body: Federal Assembly.

Sources

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