What was exceptionally possible during the corona pandemic should become the standard: municipal councils and district councils and their committees should also be able to meet online. Only from when?
Schwerin (dpa/mv) – Municipal representatives in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania should in future be able to take part in meetings online even without extraordinary circumstances such as natural disasters or pandemics. Corresponding regulations are to be anchored in the municipal constitution, Interior Minister Christian level (SPD) announced on Monday in the state parliament in Schwerin. The amendment is planned for the first half of 2024 and should go beyond copying existing regulations from other federal states. “This is not an issue for a hew-jerk action,” warned the minister. In the legislative process, intensive consultations with the municipal associations are still necessary.
The opposition FDP had brought the issue to the state parliament with a motion and called for rapid changes. During the corona pandemic, hybrid meetings were possible on the basis of a special regulation. “We found that it works. Maybe not always, but in most cases,” said FDP MP David Wulff. The opportunity to be present online at meetings of district and municipal councils or their committees and to waive the obligation to be present helps to better reconcile work, family and voluntary work. This is also an important argument when advertising candidates for the local elections in May 2024.
“It’s no longer a question of whether, but of how,” said CDU MP Thomas Diener. Jens-Holger Schneider (AfD) spoke out in favor of a limited use of hybrid meetings for non-decision-making bodies. He also referred to the partially still insufficient broadband expansion in the country, which often makes it difficult to take part in the meetings via the Internet. Like the FDP, the Greens parliamentary group also advocated a more rapid change to the current regulation, but without finding a majority for it.
The principle of face-to-face meetings was relaxed during the corona pandemic in order to maintain the municipalities’ ability to make decisions despite lockdowns and contact restrictions. Local councils and their committees could meet online and hybrid and also pass resolutions. With the end of the corona restrictions, video and hybrid meetings of municipal bodies have no longer been possible since the beginning of the year.