On 17 May, the chairman of the Danish People’s Party, Morten Messerschmidt, asked a so-called paragraph 20 question to Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen (V). The parliamentary politician wanted the minister to investigate Femern A/S’ actions in the case of the bankrupt ship owner Jørgen Holm Christensen’s alleged oral agreement with Femern A/S about guard ship patrolling.
In his written paragraph 20 question, Morten Messerschmidt asked the Minister of Transport to investigate the case of a shipowner who does not believe that Femern Bælt A/S has complied with an oral agreement, and will the Minister investigate whether such oral agreements are generally entered into, and if so whether are these in accordance with the law?
Sort of an answer
According to the parliamentary rules of procedure, a minister is obliged to respond in writing within six working days. On Thursday last week, the answer came from the Ministry of Transport. In a way:
The question is outside the scope of a section 20 question. I must therefore request the questioner to ask the question as a committee question, writes the Minister of Transport to Morten Messerschmidt.
The Minister’s position or opinion
A section 20 question refers to section 20 of the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure. Here it says in point one:
If a member wishes to be informed of a minister’s position on or perception of a public matter on the basis of information that is immediately available to the minister, this can be done by asking a question to the relevant minister in accordance with the rules in this section.
Morten Messerschmidt’s question falls outside section 20 because the question is concrete and thus not a question of “the minister’s position or opinion”.
All members can ask committee questions
In this case, the question will have to be asked as a committee question from the Norwegian Parliament’s transport committee.
The committee members can ask the ministers written questions that relate to a proposal the committee is considering or a topic within the committee’s area of expertise.
Members of the Norwegian Parliament who are not members of the relevant committee can also ask questions in the area of the committee.
About 13,000 written committee questions are put to ministers annually as part of the Danish Parliament’s legislative work and parliamentary control of the government, the Danish Parliament states on its website.
Femern A/S rejects
It is unknown whether the Danish People’s Party will now try a committee question.
Femern A/S denied here in FemernReport on Thursday that they make use of oral agreements.
