SSW on Europe

The SSW calls for an EU minority policy of its own, with a commissioner responsible for it. The federal and state governments are to implement the demands of the Minority SafePack Initiative, an initiative by European minority organizations.

The SSW wants the EU to do more for minorities. The EU Commission should have its own person in charge of this. Minority groups from across Europe have made joint demands. The federal and state governments should carry out these demands.

The EU's minority policy is to recognize, protect and promote all minorities and ethnic groups for the long term. On the Minority SafePack Initiative, the SSW says it will accept neither inaction nor a watering down of the demands. The federal government and the state of Schleswig-Holstein are the ones to carry it out.

The SSW wants checks at the German-Danish border to end as soon as possible so that everyday life in the border region returns to normal. As long as pandemic-related checks remain, both countries should coordinate them and communicate them openly.

The SSW wants to end checks at the border with Denmark. This should happen as soon as possible. Until then, Germany and Denmark should use the same rules. That helps people who cross the border every day.

The platform calls Denmark one of the state's most important partners and wants cross-border structures expanded, especially with Southern Denmark. The SSW describes the closures and checks during the COVID pandemic as understandable but says they created barriers thought to be long gone. Any remaining measures should be uniform on both sides. Special consideration is to go to cross-border commuters: workers, schoolchildren, students and families. The Region Sønderjylland-Schleswig office and the minorities are to contribute their expertise.

The SSW rejects a single European state with a central government and wants an EU based on cooperation that respects national and regional particularities. At the same time, the EU is to become more social and protect workers' rights.

The SSW does not want one big European state. Countries should work together in the EU. The EU should respect regions and their differences. It should become more social and protect workers.

Schleswig-Holstein is to push for this in the Committee of the Regions, among other places. The program stresses how the state benefits from free movement, open internal borders and EU funding, and points to the strain of border closures during the pandemic. The SSW backed the Conference on the Future of Europe and hopes for an EU closer to citizens. When markets are opened up, employees' rights are to be protected and wage dumping within Europe curbed.

The SSW wants better coordination of EU fund administration in the state and more funding from Brussels. The state is not to lose out in the EU's recovery programs.

The EU gives money for projects in the state. The SSW wants to bring more of this money to Schleswig-Holstein. There should be advice on applications. The state should also help with money when projects start.

New advisory positions are to help institutions, municipalities and private partners apply for EU projects. The Hanse-Office in Brussels and the ministries, together with the state investment bank, are to focus more on acquiring projects. Start-up financing for EU projects is to return, and business participation is to be reviewed and strengthened. The SSW calls this a bottom-up European policy geared to benefits for local people.

The SSW wants to tie Schleswig-Holstein more closely to Denmark, the Nordic countries and the Baltic Sea region. The aim is a shared growth region with easier cross-border access to work, training and study.

The SSW wants to work more with Denmark and the Nordic countries. People should find it easier to work and learn across the border. Roads and rail lines across the border should get better. The state should also help shape policy around the Baltic Sea.

Vocational qualifications are to be recognized faster in both countries, and more joint training and degree programs created, up to a German-Danish university alliance. The Jutland corridor from Hamburg to Skagen and the Fehmarnbelt axis are to be strengthened through agreements and transport investment. Business clusters such as renewable energy, hydrogen, tourism and the maritime economy are to get funding and face fewer legal barriers. The 2013 cultural agreement is to continue, and a German-Danish youth office is to be set up. The state is to be more active toward the Nordic Council and help shape Baltic Sea policy.

The SSW wants to expand cooperation among the North Sea states and develop Schleswig-Holstein's role in the North Sea Commission. Relations with the United Kingdom should continue and grow after Brexit. The party sees this as a strategic opportunity for the state.

The SSW wants more cooperation with the countries around the North Sea. This includes the United Kingdom after it left the EU. Schleswig-Holstein should do more in the North Sea Commission. There should also be more exchange with Friesland in the Netherlands.

Alongside economic strategies, the SSW seeks more cultural exchange and coordination on tourism marketing. Cooperation with the Dutch province of Fryslân and with Groningen and Drenthe should be stepped up, with a view to Frisian cultural work and trade with the Netherlands. More states and regions should be brought into North Sea cooperation. The party wants to realign its involvement in the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) and to link North Sea policy with Baltic policy and German-Danish cooperation.

The SSW wants to give young people in the EU better prospects. It calls for a European youth check on new legislation, larger and simpler exchange programs, and action against youth unemployment. In the platform's view, the coronavirus crisis must not be paid for by the young.

The SSW wants to do more for young people in Europe. The EU should check what new laws mean for young people. This is called a youth check. Exchange programs like Erasmus+ should grow and become simpler. Fewer young people should be out of work.

The federal government should keep implementing the European Youth Guarantee and fund it adequately. The EU Youth Strategy should also continue to be carried out at the federal level. Erasmus+ and similar programs should grow and involve less red tape. The platform argues that Brexit and the pandemic showed that free movement and opportunities in Europe cannot be taken for granted.