Election special for the 2019 European elections
What do the parties want?
The European elections are on 26 May. In the run-up to these elections, KernD has compiled and compared the content statements of selected parties for you in the usual way. We have drawn on the following sources:
- Our Europe makes us strong. For security, peace and prosperity. - Joint European election programme of the CDU and CSU
- Come together and make Europe strong! - Election programme for the European elections on 26 May 2019 (SPD)
- Renewing Europe's promises. - European election programme (Alliance 90/The Greens)
- Europe only in solidarity - European elections 2019 election programme (Die Linke)
- European election programme - Programme of the Alternative for Germany for the election to the 9th European Parliament 2019
- Seizing Europe's opportunities. - The Free Democrats' programme for the 2019 European elections
- Our home Europe - Programme for the 2019 European elections (Free Voters)
CDU/CSU
"One thing is clear: the phase-out of coal and nuclear power must not be replaced by emission-intensive electricity from other countries."
SPD
"We are in favour of a roadmap for the European nuclear phase-out."
Alliance 90/The Greens
"We are fighting highly dangerous nuclear power, the costs and risks of which are being passed on to many future generations, throughout Europe. The urgently needed coal phase-out must not lead to coal being replaced by nuclear power. [...] The lifetimes of nuclear power plants must be limited to an absolute maximum of 40 years. High-risk nuclear power plants such as the French reactors Cattenom and Fessenheim, the Belgian Tihange or the Czech Temelín must be shut down immediately."
"We are also calling for a new set of rules at European level that will enable citizens and neighbouring countries to influence the safety requirements for nuclear power plants close to their borders. Nuclear transports in Europe must be recorded more systematically, made more transparent and minimised."
"In addition, the EU-wide harmonised safety standards must become much stricter."
"In addition, a new, standardised European liability regime with significantly higher requirements and the inclusion of cross-border effects is necessary."
THE LEFT
"DIE LINKE is fighting for the immediate phase-out of nuclear energy."
AfD
"The use of fossil fuels can be reduced in the medium and long term primarily through the continued use of emission-free nuclear power. The generation of electricity using nuclear energy is one of the safest technologies today. There are solutions for the disposal of highly radioactive fuel elements, known as nuclear waste, which is deliberately kept open in Germany. Plants in Finland show that geologically safe final disposal is feasible."
FDP
"We Free Democrats respect the decision of other European countries to continue to rely on nuclear power. However, we call for the effective implementation of a standardised European safety level for the use of nuclear power."
Free voters
"We FREIE WÄHLER want to make our energy transition in Germany a Europe-wide project. [...] We therefore reject any further promotion of nuclear and coal-fired power."
"We are very concerned about the ageing stock of nuclear power plants in Europe. Incidents could be catastrophic for us in Germany, especially in areas close to the border. That is why we FREIE WÄHLER continue to advocate comprehensive European safety inspections with high safety targets and mutual monitoring."
CDU/CSU
No statement in the election programme.
SPD
No statement in the election programme.
Alliance 90/The Greens
"The dismantling of nuclear power plants and the disposal of nuclear waste, including the transparent participation and involvement of the public in the search for a final storage site, should become the core task of Euratom."
"In future, we want the European Parliament to have a clear democratic say in decisions on Euratom."
THE LEFT
"The European treaty community EURATOM must be cancelled and dissolved. In future, the European Commission must no longer authorise state aid for the construction of new nuclear power plants."
AfD
No statement in the election programme.
FDP
No statement in the election programme.
Free voters
"We FREIE WÄHLER want to further strengthen the only directly elected institution. To this end, we are endeavouring to extend the competence of the European Parliament to all key political areas such as issues relating to the Euratom Treaty."
CDU/CSU
"We want energy to remain safe, clean and affordable. The Europe-wide expansion of low-emission and renewable energies is particularly important to us - not just in individual countries."
"We want to network the European energy market more closely and promote innovation. [...] Above all, we need even better interconnection of the electricity grid in Europe. This will enable us to balance out the varying availability of renewable energies even better and utilise the mix of different energy sources in Europe even more effectively."
SPD
"Strengthen the European internal energy market by expanding infrastructure and energy storage. It promotes security of supply in the expansion of renewable energies. The goal must continue to be standardised price zones for electricity and gas throughout Europe."
"Set up a fund for fair transformation: Economic sectors in which employees, companies and entire regions are facing profound structural change must receive targeted support across Europe through industrial and social policy investments."
Alliance 90/The Greens
"We want a 100 per cent renewable and energy-efficient European Union as a driver for the international energy transition. [...] By 2030, 45 per cent of the energy we consume in Europe for electricity, heating and mobility must be renewable, and by 2050 it must be 100 per cent."
"The export of dirty German coal-fired electricity is undermining the expansion of renewables in Europe. [...] As the inflexible, inefficient coal and nuclear power plants are shut down, the electricity supply will be secured by the expansion of renewable energies and highly efficient combined heat and power plants, which will increasingly be operated solely with renewable energies. [...] We need a complete coal phase-out not only in Germany, but also in Europe."
"We don't need more natural gas, we need more renewables and greater energy efficiency. [...] We therefore reject the Nord Stream 2 project as well as new pipeline projects, fracking projects and the import of fracked gas. But the construction of LNG terminals is also not an alternative for the decarbonisation of the European energy supply."
"With a pan-European electricity network, we are strengthening security of supply by placing supply and demand on a broader footing. [...] For Europe, we need an intelligent electricity grid that links renewable energies in a decentralised manner and connects them across regions, as well as cleverly networking the increasing supply of renewable electricity via flexibly controllable electricity consumption."
THE LEFT
"We want an economy based on renewable and democratically organised energies, not on coal and nuclear."
"The energy transition will only be successful if it is socially just. We are fighting for a supply of electricity, heat and water that is not in the hands of corporations, but of citizens, municipalities and cooperatives.
[...] We want to spread the temporary additional costs of the energy transition across all strong shoulders, and industry must also finally contribute to this. We are fighting against energy poverty and energy cuts."
"The coal phase-out must begin immediately across Europe and be completed by 2030. We do not want any new fossil fuel infrastructure. [...] We reject nuclear power and fracking."
"The large energy companies are de facto monopolies. We want to socialise the large energy companies."
"By 2040, energy generation must come entirely from renewable sources and be mainly decentralised."
"Coal-fired power plants must not be subsidised via so-called 'capacity markets'. This must be prohibited in the European regulation on the electricity market."
"The share of renewable energies in consumption in the EU must increase to at least 45 per cent by 2030 and to 100 per cent by 2040."
AfD
"Energy policy is a sovereign task of sovereign states. In Europe, too, every state must remain responsible for a secure and stable energy supply for its population and industry. One country's energy supply must not be secured at the expense of other countries."
"A broad energy mix of coal, mineral oil, natural gas, hydropower and nuclear power is a prerequisite for achieving the target triangle of a secure, economical and environmentally friendly energy policy. Lignite is the only significant domestic energy source that is cost-effective and available in the long term."
"Coal, nuclear and gas-fired power plants should remain in operation as long as their operators consider it sensible under market economy conditions."
"The AfD is in favour of both the expansion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and ports with suitable terminals for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the interest of a sensible expansion of resources."
FDP
"We Free Democrats want to turn the energy transition into a pan-European project centred on the goals of economic efficiency, security of supply, climate compatibility and social acceptance. To this end, the liberalisation of the internal energy market must be completed and the trans-European grid expansion must be strengthened. Electricity should be produced where the local conditions allow the lowest costs with the same environmental standards."
"The electricity peaks from wind power and photovoltaics, which are becoming more and more pronounced with increasing expansion, must be better absorbed by the European grid and made available through storage options for times of low wind and without sunshine. We are therefore calling for a European grid development plan that includes measures to expand the grid, calculations on backup capacities and incentives to invest in smart grids."
"It is therefore a matter of security of supply to diversify our energy sources and at the same time to ensure that the EU member states work together as closely as possible on energy supply. We are therefore calling for energy infrastructure projects that are important for Germany, such as the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, to be coordinated at European level in future and for the negotiations to be conducted by the European Commission."
Free voters
"We FREIE WÄHLER want to turn our energy transition in Germany into a Europe-wide project. Security of supply, environmental protection, economic efficiency and decentralised solutions must be the cornerstones of this project."
"We support the DESERTEC project, which aims to generate energy for Europe using thermal solar energy and photovoltaics in North Africa. We see this as more than just a way of generating clean energy for Europe and independence from oil."
"That is why we FREIE WÄHLER want to ban fracking in principle."
CDU/CSU
"We call for the global pricing of greenhouse gas emissions and their rapid implementation, if necessary initially at the level of the G20 states."
"One thing is clear: the phase-out of coal and nuclear power must not be replaced by emission-intensive electricity from other countries."
SPD
"Greater efforts to combat global warming: In order to achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement, we support an increase in the European climate protection target to at least 45 per cent greenhouse gas reduction by 2030 (base year 1990). As well as the long-term goal of greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050."
"We want to continue to agree on ambitious steps to accelerate the transition of the energy mix towards more renewable energies across Europe. This includes ensuring that European emissions trading continues to function, as well as the introduction of a carbon price for sectors not covered by emissions trading."
Alliance 90/The Greens
"With a dynamically increasing minimum CO₂ price, we are ensuring effective climate protection."
"There must be a significantly higher minimum price for CO₂ emissions for all plants that are subject to emissions trading - primarily industrial plants as well as coal and gas-fired power plants - because companies need planning security in order to make sustainable investment decisions. The last reform of emissions trading was far too timid. [...] Germany should first take the initiative with some EU states and introduce a common minimum CO₂ price in a regional group of states;"
"We need a fundamental change in the levies for the sectors that have not yet been covered by emissions trading. Fossil fuels and heating fuels must cost the true price according to their specific CO₂ emissions."
"As taxes and levies on consumption always place a greater burden on socially weaker households than richer ones, we want to return the additional revenue from CO₂ taxation to consumers. Our aim is to create an energy tax as a per capita payment to the people of Europe. As long as this cannot be implemented at European level, we will campaign for it at national level."
THE LEFT
"The aim of climate policy must be to prevent the climate system from reaching tipping points."
"In order to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees, fundamental changes are needed in all areas of the economy and life. This was stated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in autumn 2018. And that is the goal of LEFT-wing climate policy."
"DIE LINKE is striving for a society in which the earth is not overused by humans. People's lifestyles must therefore change radically. Our goal is for the 'ecological footprint' of all people and societies to be neutral by 2050. This requires a socio-ecological turnaround that reduces CO2 consumption accordingly."
"EU emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases must be reduced by at least 65 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and by 95 per cent by 2050."
"Emissions trading has completely failed as the EU's central climate protection instrument. Instead, binding EU requirements are needed: for example, national shutdown plans for coal-fired power plants in conjunction with European or regional minimum CO2 prices or limits on full load hours (utilisation rate of the plant) for each remaining power plant. Germany should fulfil its European responsibility here by initially decommissioning the 20 oldest lignite-fired power plants with a capacity of over 100 MW by 2020 and curbing the remaining coal-fired power plants. The last German coal-fired power plant must be taken off the grid by 2030."
"In addition, DIE LINKE is calling for the introduction of a carbon tax that covers all branches of industry and sectors."
AfD
"The AfD rejects the Paris Climate Agreement, which, as a non-binding declaration of intent without sanctions, provides for a shift of funds from highly industrialised countries to underdeveloped countries. Furthermore, the AfD rejects all EU measures that justify the reduction of CO2 emissions with the protection of the climate. The trade in CO2 certificates must be stopped, as it only causes a further increase in energy prices."
FDP
"However, effective climate policy requires the commitment of the entire global community. For us, the central starting point is a rapid entry into an effective international system that incentivises the reduction of CO2 emissions in all sectors worldwide."
"We want their political control to be based solely on the quantity of CO2 emission allowances issued in future. Any additional burdens on private consumers, trade and industry caused by a CO2 emissions price should be compensated for as far as possible by reducing existing taxes and levies (for example on electricity and fuels) without jeopardising the steering effect."
"CO2 certificates released by decommissioning will be withdrawn from the market. For the newly discussed 1.5-degree target, CO2 certificates for fossil fuels must be phased out. This means that there will be no more fossil CO2 certificates from 2050 or even earlier."
"We Free Democrats therefore propose [...] that EU member states should be able to offset CO2 reduction targets not achieved in their own countries against the financing of equally effective but more cost-effective CO2 reductions in countries outside the EU."
Free voters
"We FREIE WÄHLER want to protect the natural resources of our homeland. The aim is to implement the commitments from the Paris Climate Agreement."
"We Free Democrats want to consistently implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. However, we do not want to stop here, but rather play a committed role in shaping future international agreements. We are committed to ensuring that Europe takes on a united leadership role in climate and sustainability policy."
CDU/CSU
"Our goal is an innovation union that is a leader in the key technologies of the future and that secures competitiveness and prosperity. It should develop innovations in areas such as climate protection, medicine, mobility and agriculture that serve people."
"We will provide 'Horizon Europe', the EU's next flagship and framework programme for research and development, with sufficient funding and promote innovations from the idea to market maturity. We want to develop it into an innovation budget with the label 'Future made in Europe'. We are networking our excellent research institutions in the European Research Area."
SPD
"Establishment of a European Innovation Council (EIC) to promote ground-breaking (disruptive) ideas and concepts."
"Expand Europe's leading position in research. We want all EU member states to achieve the goal of investing three per cent of gross domestic product in research and development by 2025. To this end, the member states should reach binding agreements at European level together with the European Union. Our goal is to achieve a share of 3.5 % of GDP by 2025 in Germany alone. At the same time, we want to strengthen the European Research Framework Programmes."
Alliance 90/The Greens
"We want to support Europe as a research and development region. Rapid developments are currently taking place, particularly in the fields of digitalisation and robotics, biotechnology and nanotechnology, and the European Union must be careful not to fall behind globally. Research that helps us to tackle climate change must be supported sustainably and in the long term, not only through individual research projects, but also through the establishment of European innovation centres and extensive basic funding."
"The freedom of science and research is a central value of democratic constitutions. Its limits lie in human dignity, animal ethical principles and where high environmental risks arise. Which findings and results we want to use must always be negotiated by society."
"In funding programmes such as 'Horizon Europe', care must be taken to ensure that the cultural sciences, humanities and social sciences are increasingly involved and supported. Research into social impacts must also not be prioritised once technological facts have already been established. For us, transformative research goes hand in hand with sustainable and fair social innovation."
"Research and innovation funding should be geared towards the major social challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, resource scarcity, cancer and demographic research through to power issues such as patriarchal structures."
THE LEFT
"DIE LINKE wants to increasingly promote critical social sciences, humanities and cultural studies."
"European research funding must give way to needs-based basic funding for universities and scientific institutions so that research issues are aligned with the challenges of society instead of the interests of corporations: for the socio-ecological transformation, the conversion of energy to sustainable energy sources or the phasing out of nuclear energy research and the ITER fusion project. Large companies and their associations have too much influence on the direction of research and innovation funding."
AfD
"Reactor types with liquid fuel, such as those currently being developed in France, Canada, the USA and other countries, allow cost-efficient integrated reprocessing, which could make a geological repository completely superfluous. The AfD is calling for Germany to once again participate in the advanced development of new types of nuclear reactors."
"The freedom of research and teaching is just as important an aspect of the freedom of citizens as it is one of the most important cornerstones of the prosperity of European countries. For this reason, we stand for a depoliticised and ideology-free research sector and demand its strict political and ideological neutrality. We see subsidiarity and diversity of strategic approaches as the fundamental prerequisites for success."
"Bi- and multilateral research projects between individual countries, such as those successfully carried out at CERN, ITER or Wendelstein 7X, should serve as a model for other large-scale projects."
FDP
"We Free Democrats want to network the existing excellent research centres in the European Union (EU) more closely. [...] In future, research should be a stronger funding priority in the EU budget."
"We are calling for a clear commitment from European research funding programmes to open-ended basic research, because only this has the potential to generate truly innovative, disruptive approaches and findings. To this end, we want to expand the 'Horizon Europe' research framework programme to include a 'Research Action' pillar, which should be on an equal footing with 'Research and Innovation Action' and 'Innovation Action'."
"We Free Democrats want a European Agency for Disruptive Innovation. It should promote radical and disruptive innovations (leap innovations) by coordinating and improving the framework conditions for innovation. [...] The agency should be modelled on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the USA and also be coordinated and driven forward by military means."
"We Free Democrats want to develop the European Union (EU) into the most modern and innovative area by 2030. We therefore call for the further development of 'Horizon Europe' with a clear focus on biotechnology, genetic engineering, health technologies, chemistry, energy technology, information and communication technology (ICT), mobility and nanotechnology. [...] To this end, the European directives on the authorisation of new technologies should be swiftly adapted so as not to unnecessarily delay the market launch, but rather to strengthen the innovative power of the EU economic area."
Free voters
"We FREIE WÄHLER want to work together to strengthen the European Research Area. However, excellence and subsidiarity must continue to be the cornerstones of European research funding. We FREIE WÄHLER advocate providing the successor programme to Horizon 2020 with at least the same budgetary resources as before."
"We want better networking between industry and science, i.e. with our modern European research centres and universities. The European Union must invest in research and development in a way that is open to technology and more ambitious and intelligent in future, and strengthen our knowledge society. In order for new innovations to establish themselves on the market more quickly, demand promotion for many technologies needs to be coordinated across Europe."
"The European Commission has already identified the key areas for an innovative European industry - drive and battery technologies, nanotechnology, biotechnology, microtechnology, smart grids and artificial intelligence. We Free Democrats support innovation in all industrial sectors on the way to a greener and lower-carbon economy."
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