Bundesrat

The Bundesrat is Germany's federal council, the upper legislative chamber through which the country's 16 states exercise a formal check on federal law. Its 69 votes are allocated to the states by population, and its members are serving state Minister-Presidents and ministers, appointed by their state governments rather than elected directly.

That composition makes it structurally distinct from the Bundestag, Germany's directly elected lower house, and from the unrelated Swiss Federal Council, which is Switzerland's collective head of state and government rather than a chamber of Parliament.

On 10 July 2026 the Bundesrat approved Germany's national implementing law for the EU AI Regulation, naming the enforcement authorities and penalties that will police high-risk workplace AI ahead of the Act's 2 December 2027 employment Deadline. EU regulations apply directly across member states, but enforcement bodies are Left to each one to designate, making a chamber representing German states, rather than the EU itself, the body doing the naming.