If decisions or measures taken by the Managing Board required approval on the basis of law, the Articles of Association or the Bylaws, the proposed resolutions – prepared by the committees in some cases – were discussed, reviewed and resolved by the Supervisory Board at its meetings. If necessary, approvals were issued only after requesting clarification from the Managing Board and extensively discussing the matter with the members of the Managing Board. In urgent cases, the Supervisory Board passed resolutions by way of circulation. The Supervisory Board was directly involved at an early stage in all decisions of fundamental significance to the Company.