PdF on Europe

The PdF wants a clear division of tasks between the EU and member states. The EU would handle cross-border issues, while nation states would handle matters that depend on local conditions.

The PdF wants clear tasks for the EU and for the countries. The EU should handle big shared issues. These include climate protection and defense. The countries should decide their own issues, such as the retirement age.

The platform lists climate protection, defense, energy infrastructure, and international trade as EU tasks. Matters such as the retirement age, speed limits, and local politics would stay with the member states. The division is to be made transparent and communicated to the public. The PdF sees today's unclear distribution as a cause of mistrust and low acceptance of the Union.

The PdF wants to give the European Parliament its own right to initiate legislation and have the head of the Commission elected directly. According to the platform, this would increase the EU's democratic legitimacy.

The PdF wants to make the EU Parliament stronger. The Parliament should be able to propose laws itself. Citizens should elect the head of the EU Commission directly. Small parties should get better chances.

Today the Parliament cannot introduce its own bills, which the PdF regards as a weakness of European democracy. The Commission President and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs would be elected directly. The platform also calls for new voting formats such as backup votes. These are meant to make it easier for small parties to take part and to make the Parliament more diverse.

The PdF wants a single election day across the EU that is a day off work, along with less bureaucratic voting procedures. In addition, the political weight of member states would be based more on objective criteria.

The PdF wants one shared election day across the EU. People should have that day off. Everyone should get mail-in ballots automatically. Parties should be able to collect signatures digitally too.

For weighting the states, the platform names population, economic strength, and land area as yardsticks. Supporting signatures for candidacies would be possible electronically, with confirmation by mail. Mail-in ballots would go to all eligible voters without an application. In the PdF's view, the number of polling places can fall if digital and postal voting are promoted more. The party expects lower costs, higher turnout, and fewer hurdles for small parties.

The PdF wants to speed up ongoing EU accession processes and give candidate countries binding prospects. To keep a larger EU able to act, majority voting would apply in selected areas.

The PdF wants new countries to join the EU faster. These countries must meet rule-of-law standards. The EU should also decide by majority more often. Then a single country can no longer block decisions.

The platform describes today's accession processes as lengthy and often opaque. Countries that meet the rule-of-law criteria and carry out key reforms would get a clear prospect of membership. Applications would be handled quickly and transparently. The PdF names foreign and security policy as an example for majority voting. Solidarity among member states is to be preserved.

The PdF wants to stabilize the eurozone with firm debt ceilings monitored by independent experts. Countries in an economic crisis should be able to leave the euro temporarily. Cashless payments should also remain secure and anonymous.

The PdF wants to keep the euro stable. There should be firm limits on debt. Experts should check these limits, not politicians. A country in trouble should be able to leave the euro for a while. Paying without cash should stay anonymous.

The platform lists three measures. First, clear debt ceilings would apply, checked by experts free of political influence, to make member states' budget policy more reliable and transparent. Second, states in economic distress could step out of the euro for a time to regain competitiveness, so that imbalances do not strain the whole currency union. Third, the PdF calls for strict data protection rules for cashless payments to shield users from misuse and surveillance.

The PdF wants to cut EU bureaucracy in a targeted way. New directives would be tested for practicality in advance, bureaucracy costs would be capped, and an independent body would track down inefficient rules. The party says this would strengthen the EU's ability to act and its public acceptance.

The PdF wants less red tape in the EU. New EU rules should pass a practice test first. The cost of red tape should have a limit. Companies should have less paperwork. A new body should find bad rules.

Before new EU directives take effect, a mandatory practice check would show whether they make sense in real use. Caps on bureaucracy costs are meant to limit the burden on businesses and public administrations. Documentation duties that the party sees as going beyond what is needed would be reviewed and reduced. A central, independent review body at EU level would continuously examine rules and propose improvements.

The PdF wants to make the influence of lobby groups on EU decisions more transparent and to limit it. The lobby register would be expanded, contacts logged, and independent oversight bodies created. The party justifies this with the public's trust in the EU.

Lobby groups try to influence politics. The PdF wants better checks on this in the EU. Politicians should write down their contacts with lobby groups. Everyone should be able to read this. Expert groups should also include independent experts and citizen groups.

The EU lobby register would be expanded to include mandatory contact logs so the public can trace who exerts influence. EU expert groups would have minimum quotas for independent experts and civil society representatives to prevent a dominance of business interests. Independent oversight bodies would monitor decision-making, enforce transparency rules and uncover conflicts of interest.

The PdF proposes a debate on a single official language for the EU. It is meant to ease communication, cut translation costs and foster a shared identity. The platform names Esperanto as a neutral option.

The EU has many languages. The PdF wants to talk about one shared official language. This should save money on translation. The party suggests Esperanto. Esperanto is an invented language that is easy to learn.

According to the platform, language barriers hamper cooperation and political decision-making, while translation and interpreting weigh on the budgets of EU institutions. A common official language is meant to help citizens follow and join European debates. So that no member state is favored, a neutral constructed language such as Esperanto should be considered, which is also meant to act as a symbolic bond.

The PdF wants to replace the unanimity rule in EU foreign policy with majority voting. The EU should also build a common defense strategy. In the party's view, this would let the EU respond to international crises faster and with one voice.

Today all countries must agree on EU foreign policy. One country can block everything. The PdF wants to change that. In the future a majority should be enough. The EU should also get a shared plan for defense.

In the platform's view, unanimity blocks quick decisions and prevents a unified external line. Majority voting is meant to give the EU a clear and credible position. The common defense strategy is meant to make the EU more independent on security and enable responses by both diplomatic and military means. It is to be tied to a commitment to work with international partners, above all NATO.

The PdF calls for a sweeping reform of the EU institutions. It envisions a directly elected citizens' parliament, direct election of top posts, more powers for the European Parliament and an EU constitution adopted by referendum. Germany should take a leading role in carrying this out.

The PdF wants to make the EU more democratic. People should elect important EU posts directly. There should be a new citizens' parliament. The European Parliament should be able to make more laws. The EU should get its own constitution. Everyone in the EU should vote on it.

A European citizens' parliament would be directly elected and allowed to propose laws. The Commission president and the High Representative for foreign policy would be chosen directly by citizens, and the European Parliament would gain additional lawmaking powers. Secure electronic voting is meant to make participation easier; all EU citizens would have equal voting rights regardless of nationality. Digital working methods and central data portals are meant to make decisions easier to trace. A common constitution would be adopted in an EU-wide referendum and preserve the rights of member states.