What do the parties say on foreign affairs and defence?

The AfD wants a foreign policy guided by German interests and realpolitik rather than a "values-based" approach. It rejects a common EU foreign and security policy and instead seeks a union of sovereign nations.

The AfD wants foreign policy to serve Germany first. The EU should not run a shared foreign policy. The countries of Europe should decide for themselves. Foreign organizations in Germany should say where their money comes from.

The AfD rejects an eastward enlargement of the EU and NATO. It wants Europe to become strategically autonomous and a power center of its own. Until a European military alliance exists, Germany is to stay in NATO.

The AfD wants no new members in the east for the EU and NATO. Europe should be able to protect itself. Until then, Germany stays in NATO. The AfD wants to deal with the US, China, and Russia based on German interests.

The AfD wants to reinstate the suspended military draft, including alternative civilian service, to make the Bundeswehr ready for action in personnel and equipment. It also wants to expand Germany's defense industry.

The AfD wants the draft back. The draft means young people must serve in the army for a time. Those who refuse do a substitute service. The Bundeswehr should get more money, staff, and equipment. Only Germans should be soldiers.

The AfD wants a major buildup of the Bundeswehr against hybrid threats and cyberattacks, including offensive cyber capabilities. It also wants the armed forces to cultivate esprit de corps and military traditions again. For civilians, the platform calls for more shelters and working civil defense infrastructure.

The AfD wants to make the German army stronger against attacks over the internet. The army should also be able to attack online itself. Soldiers should keep old traditions alive. There should be more shelters for the public.

The AfD wants the United Nations reformed to reflect shifts in global power. Germany is to get a permanent seat on the Security Council. The party wants to withdraw from the UN migration compact and the UN refugee compact.

The AfD wants to change the United Nations. Germany should get a permanent seat on the Security Council. The AfD wants to leave two UN agreements. These agreements are about migration and refugees.

The AfD seeks a new peace order in Europe based on cooperation among all European states and regard for their security interests. It wants to strengthen the OSCE, expand arms control and renegotiate suspended disarmament treaties. It rejects reparations claims by other countries.

The AfD wants a new order for peace in Europe. All European countries should work together. There should be more control of weapons. The AfD does not want to pay compensation for World War II.

The AfD wants to end economic sanctions against Russia immediately and repair the Nord Stream pipelines to regain affordable energy. In its view, Ukraine should remain neutral and belong to neither NATO nor the EU. It rejects the planned stationing of long-range US weapons in Germany but wants better relations with the United States.

The AfD wants to end the sanctions against Russia right away. Sanctions are penalties in trade. The Nord Stream gas pipelines should be repaired. Ukraine should not join NATO or the EU. The AfD does not want new US missiles in Germany.

The AfD considers current development policy a failure and wants to align it with German security and economic interests. Aid is to go only to countries that take back their citizens who are required to leave Germany. Funding is to drop significantly because of the budget situation.

The AfD wants to spend less money on development aid. Only countries that take back their citizens from Germany should get aid. There should be more aid in kind and less money. China, India and Pakistan should get no more aid.

The BSW wants German foreign policy to focus on détente, balancing interests and international cooperation, invoking Willy Brandt. Conflicts should be settled through negotiation under the UN Charter, not with weapons.

The BSW wants a foreign policy for peace. Countries should talk to each other. Weapons should not settle conflicts. Germany should mediate between countries.

The BSW wants a purely defensive alliance aimed at disarmament in place of NATO in its current form. Europe should get a security order that in the longer run also includes Russia.

The BSW criticizes NATO. NATO is a military alliance. The BSW wants an alliance only for defense. Later, Europe should also work with Russia on security.

The BSW calls for disarmament, new arms control treaties and a ban on exporting weapons to war zones. Arms companies would no longer be allowed to pay out their profits to shareholders.

The BSW wants fewer weapons in the world. Germany should not sell weapons to war zones. Countries should sign deals to cut weapons. Arms companies should not pay their profits to shareholders.

The BSW wants Germany to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and have the nuclear weapons stored in the country removed. According to the platform, a nuclear conflict would leave large parts of Europe, and Germany above all, uninhabitable.

The BSW wants a world without nuclear weapons. Germany should sign a treaty against nuclear weapons. The US nuclear weapons should leave Germany. The BSW fears a nuclear war in Europe.

The BSW rejects the planned stationing of US intermediate-range missiles in Germany. In the party's view these weapons do not protect the country but make it a target for Russian missiles and raise the nuclear risk.

The US wants to put new missiles in Germany. The BSW is against this. The party says the missiles make Germany a target for Russia. That is dangerous.

The BSW wants the Bundeswehr to focus solely on defending the country and to be adequately equipped for that. The party rejects deployments in international wars and stationing troops on Russia's border or in the South China Sea.

The Bundeswehr should only defend Germany. It should be well equipped for that. German soldiers should not go to foreign wars. They should not be at the border with Russia either.

The BSW rejects rising military spending, NATO's two percent target and new special funds for the Bundeswehr. Instead, procurement should become more transparent, and arms companies should be liable for cost overruns and delays.

The BSW does not want to spend more on the military. NATO asks for two percent of economic output for defense. The BSW rejects that goal. Arms companies should pay when projects cost more.

The BSW opposes a new military draft. Young people should be free to choose during the period when they are finding their career path, and that voluntary principle must not be suspended for the sake of rearmament.

The BSW does not want a draft. A draft means young people must join the military. Young people should choose their own path. Germany should be peaceful, not ready for war.

The BSW calls for a ceasefire without preconditions and negotiations on a peace plan for Ukraine. The party rejects delivering Taurus cruise missiles and wants no further German taxpayer money made available for the war.

The BSW wants the war in Ukraine to end fast. The fighting should stop right away. Then both sides should talk. Germany should not send Taurus missiles. Germany should give no more money for the war.

The BSW demands an immediate end to weapons deliveries to Israel, along with a ceasefire and negotiations on a two-state solution. The party condemns the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, but considers the Netanyahu government's conduct in Gaza unjustified.

The BSW wants no more German weapons for Israel. The fighting in the Middle East should stop now. Israel and the Palestinians should hold talks. In the end there should be two states.

The BSW wants to reduce the causes of flight in countries of origin. To that end, military aid to warring parties should end, economic sanctions should be lifted and EU foreign and trade policy should be realigned. It argues this helps more people than taking in a few in Germany.

The BSW wants fewer people to have to flee. Germany should stop giving military support to parties at war. Sanctions against other countries should end. Sanctions are trade penalties. Aid groups should get more money.

The CDU and the CSU want to support Ukraine diplomatically, financially, with humanitarian aid and with weapons. In the program's view, Ukraine is also defending Germany, because its defeat would risk another attack in Europe. Sanctions against Russia are to be expanded.

The CDU and the CSU want to keep helping Ukraine. This includes money, aid for people and weapons. Sanctions against Russia should get stricter. Ukraine should be able to join the EU later.

The CDU and the CSU want to develop the Federal Security Council into a National Security Council in the Chancellery. It is to coordinate key questions of foreign and security policy and serve as the decision-making body in crises. The National Security Strategy is also to be fundamentally reviewed in the first year in government.

The CDU and the CSU want a National Security Council. It should work in the Chancellery. It should coordinate security and foreign policy. The security strategy should also be reviewed.

The CDU and the CSU want to deepen the partnership with the United States and start a high-level strategic dialogue for that purpose. They want to coordinate closely with France and Poland in the Weimar Triangle. The program calls the US the most important ally outside Europe.

The CDU and the CSU want to work more closely with the US. There should be new high-level talks. The parties also want to work more closely with France and Poland.

The CDU and the CSU want to support Israel militarily as well and lift existing obstacles to arms exports. At the same time they back a two-state solution in the Middle East. They want to increase pressure on Iran, which they see as a major danger to Israel and world peace.

The CDU and the CSU want to help Israel, also with weapons. They want peace between Israelis and Palestinians with two states. The parties want to be tougher on Iran.

The CDU and the CSU want to push back China's influence together with partners wherever German strategic interests are affected. They favor an independent European China policy closely coordinated with the US. Germany is to have a stronger economic and diplomatic presence in the Indo-Pacific.

The CDU and the CSU want to limit China's influence. Europe should have its own China policy. Germany should work more closely with countries like Japan and India.

The CDU and the CSU want to attach conditions to development policy, including the rule of law, stopping illegal migration and fighting terrorism. Humanitarian aid and development cooperation are to be merged again. For Africa and the Sahel, the parties plan a closer partnership and a new strategy.

The CDU and the CSU want to attach conditions to development aid. Countries should, for example, stop illegal migration. Emergency aid and development aid should belong together again. There should be a new strategy for Africa.

The CDU and the CSU want to fully equip the Bundeswehr, build up material reserves and reorganize its structures. The reserve force is to be restructured and a drone army built. The aim is for the Bundeswehr to make a central contribution to NATO's deterrence.

The CDU and the CSU want to make the Bundeswehr stronger. The troops should get all the equipment they need. There should be a drone army. The reserve should also get better. The reserve is former soldiers who help in an emergency.

The CDU and the CSU commit to NATO and want to meet its defense funding obligations permanently. They treat two percent of economic output as a minimum. They stand by nuclear sharing and welcome long-range US weapons in Germany.

The CDU and the CSU support NATO. NATO is a defense alliance. Germany should spend at least two percent of its economic output on defense. The parties welcome the US plan to place long-range weapons in Germany.

The CDU and the CSU want to introduce a gradually expanding military draft and, in the long run, a mandatory year of community service. The Bundeswehr is to grow from 180,000 to 203,000 soldiers. The platform cites the personnel needed for deterrence and NATO targets.

The CDU and the CSU want a military draft again. It should grow step by step. Later there should be a required year of service for society. The army should have 203,000 soldiers instead of 180,000. The parties also want the army to be more visible in public.

The CDU and the CSU want to build a European single market for defense goods with common export rules. Defense companies are to get easier access to financing, and Bundeswehr procurement is to become faster. The platform sees a homegrown defense industry as strategically important for European sovereignty.

The CDU and the CSU want one shared European market for defense goods. The same export rules should apply everywhere. Defense companies should get money more easily. The army should be able to buy equipment faster.

The FDP wants to abolish civil clauses, under which universities commit to purely civilian research. It regards them as a disproportionate interference with academic freedom. A European defense research agency would also be created.

Some universities do no research for the military. So-called civil clauses set this rule. The FDP wants to remove these clauses. Europe should also get a new agency for military research.

The FDP wants to support Ukraine with money and weapons so it can defend itself against Russia at any time. It calls for immediate delivery of the Taurus cruise missile. The goal is to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity.

The FDP wants to help Ukraine more. Germany should give money and weapons. This includes the Taurus missile. It can fly very far. Ukraine should later join the EU and NATO.

The FDP commits to NATO and the alliance with the United States. Germany is to spend at least two percent of economic output on defense and also meet higher targets if NATO agrees on them.

The FDP stands by NATO. NATO is a defense alliance. Germany should spend enough money on defense. That means at least 2 percent of its economic output. If NATO asks for more, Germany should pay more.

The FDP wants to fund and equip the Bundeswehr better and make it the strongest conventional force in Europe. It relies on a volunteer army with a strong reserve and rejects a return to general conscription. In the long run, it aims for a European Army.

The FDP wants to make the Bundeswehr stronger. It should get more money and better equipment. Nobody should be forced to serve. Later there should be a shared army in Europe.

The FDP wants to raise pressure on Russia with economic sanctions, a far-reaching trade embargo and visa revocations. Russian war crimes are to be prosecuted. The EU is to phase out Russian energy purchases according to a plan.

The FDP wants tough penalties against Russia. There should be almost no trade with Russia. The EU should stop buying energy from Russia. Courts should punish crimes committed in the war.

The FDP wants to keep economic ties with China in principle but reduce dependencies in security-relevant and key economic sectors. It also wants to support Taiwan more, without recognizing it as a state.

Germany buys a lot from China. The FDP wants Germany to depend on China less. This applies to important areas such as security. The FDP wants to work more with Taiwan.

The FDP wants to restructure development cooperation and its institutions. Funds are to follow the economic and security interests of Germany and the EU. Foreign policy is to balance values and interests.

Germany gives money to poorer countries. The FDP wants to spread this money differently. It should also benefit Germany and Europe. Countries that cut the rights of women or minorities should get less money for their government.

The FDP calls Israel's existence and security a German reason of state. Israel is to receive everything it needs for self-defense and be put on par with NATO states for arms exports. The FDP seeks a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict.

The FDP wants to protect Israel. Germany should send Israel weapons as it does to NATO countries. Israel and Palestine should become two separate states. Both sides should negotiate this.

The Free Voters want the international community, led by the United Nations, to secure protection zones in crisis regions. Refugees would find safety and basic supplies there and would not have to flee onward to Europe. The zones are to be built up with development aid and protected militarily if necessary.

The Free Voters want safe areas in crisis countries. The United Nations should lead these areas. People who flee should find protection there. Schools, clinics and factories should be built there. Soldiers should protect the areas, including German ones.

The Free Voters want to keep supporting Ukraine, including with the most modern weapons technology, while preventing a direct war with Russia. Europe is to draw up diplomatic proposals for a peace plan. Europe should show strength toward Russia until it recognizes the sovereignty of all European states.

Russia attacked Ukraine. The Free Voters want to keep helping Ukraine. That includes modern weapons. They want to prevent a direct war with Russia. Europe should propose a plan for peace. Europe should act strong toward Russia.

The Free Voters want to permanently institutionalize coordination with France and build joint military structures in Europe. The United Kingdom is to receive a new European perspective, without special concessions. The relationship with the US and Canada is to be cultivated more strongly again as a special partnership.

Germany should work closely with France. Both countries should build shared military structures in Europe. There should be a new, fair partnership with the United Kingdom. The friendship with the US and Canada should also grow stronger.

The Free Voters regard Israel's existence and security as a fixed part of German foreign policy and want to support the country at every level. They justify this with a special German responsibility. The platform considers the recognition of a State of Palestine by some EU countries wrong.

The Free Voters stand firmly with Israel. Israel should be safe and continue to exist. Germany should help Israel in all areas. The party says Germany has a special responsibility here. Some EU countries have recognized Palestine as a state. The party thinks that is wrong.

The Free Voters want to rethink Middle East policy and no longer treat the two-state solution as a fixed premise. They regard Iran as a financier of terrorism that must be kept in check. At the same time, Germany should provide more humanitarian aid for Gaza, coordinated with Israel.

The Free Voters want to rethink policy on the Middle East. The two-state solution should no longer be a fixed rule. That is the idea of one state for Israel and one for the Palestinians. Iran should not get nuclear weapons. Germany should give more help to people in Gaza.

The Free Voters see China as an important trading partner but increasingly as a political and economic rival. They want to limit economic dependence and better protect national security and key technologies from Chinese influence. On Taiwan, they call for a peaceful solution through talks.

China is an important trading partner. But the Free Voters also see China as a rival. Germany should not depend too much on China. Important technology should be better protected. China should not threaten Taiwan with force.

The Free Voters want to tie India lastingly to the West through an economic and possibly military partnership. Cooperation with regional alliances on other continents should be deepened, partly as a counterweight to the BRICS states. The party wants to secure access to raw materials in partnership with the countries of origin.

The Free Voters want to bind India more closely to the West. There should be an economic partnership. Maybe a military one too. Germany should work more with alliances in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The party wants to secure raw materials fairly with supplier countries.

The Free Voters want to overhaul development policy: current practice should give way to interest-based programs for economic and educational cooperation. Strategic rivals and corrupt governments should no longer receive money. At the same time, Germany should permanently meet the 0.7 percent target, because the party says the funds help prevent flight and radicalization.

The Free Voters want to change development aid. Rivals of the EU should get no more money. Corrupt governments should get none either. Aid should also serve Germany's interests. Germany should keep giving 0.7 percent of its economic output.

The Free Voters commit to NATO's two percent target and want to exceed it temporarily. The special fund for the Bundeswehr should be doubled and funding raised to three percent of economic output until the armed forces are capable of defense again. Defenses against attacks in cyberspace should also be strengthened.

The Free Voters want more money for the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces. The special fund for the Bundeswehr should double. For some years, Germany should spend 3 percent of its economic output on the armed forces. The Bundeswehr should also get better at stopping attacks over the internet.

The Free Voters consider the Bundeswehr's procurement system dysfunctional and want to reform it. Arms projects and procurement should move to the European level to cut costs and ensure technological independence. Within NATO, Europe should cooperate more closely and take on a stronger role.

The Bundeswehr buys its equipment too slowly. The Free Voters want to change that. European countries should develop and buy weapons together. That should save money. Europe should become stronger inside NATO.

The Free Voters want Bundeswehr deployments tied to clear goals, timelines and ongoing review. They should serve only to keep or restore peace. Germany should no longer back UN programs that, in the party's view, benefit terrorism.

The Bundeswehr should only go on missions for peace. Every mission needs clear goals and a timeline. Politicians should check the missions again and again. The Free Voters say some UN programs help terrorists. Germany should stop paying for those.

The Free Voters want to make Bundeswehr service more attractive through modern equipment, good working conditions and stronger public backing. Soldiers and veterans with psychological injuries should get help faster. The party rejects raising the special retirement age for soldiers.

Soldiers should get good, modern equipment. Working for the Bundeswehr should become more attractive. Soldiers with mental wounds should get help quickly. They should be free to choose their therapist. Soldiers should not have to retire later.

The Free Voters call for a year of service for everyone, to be completed by women and men alike. Participants should be able to choose between the Bundeswehr, disaster relief, the fire service, other emergency organizations and social institutions. The party cites social cohesion and the armed forces' greater need for personnel.

The Free Voters want a year of service for everyone. Women and men should work for the community for one year. They can choose where they serve. For example in the Bundeswehr, the fire service or social care.

The Greens call for a new initiative from the head of government for a strong, united Europe. Ukraine is to receive continued support because, in the platform's view, this also protects Germany itself.

The Greens want a strong Europe. The government should make a new push for it. Germany should keep helping Ukraine. The Greens say this also protects Germany.

The Greens want to address the causes of displacement through diplomacy, crisis prevention, humanitarian aid and development cooperation. People who leave their homes because of the climate crisis should in the long run receive a protection status under international law.

Many people flee from war, hardship or the effects of the climate crisis. The Greens want to fight the reasons people flee. There should be help in crises and for poor countries. People who flee because of the climate should later get a right to protection.

The Greens want to keep supporting Ukraine diplomatically, financially, with humanitarian aid and militarily. The country should be able to defend itself and negotiate from a strong position in any peace process. The platform also sees this as the best protection for Germany.

Russia is waging war on Ukraine. The Greens want to keep helping Ukraine. This includes money, aid supplies and weapons. Ukraine should also be able to join the EU and NATO.

The Greens want to support Ukraine until its people can live in peace again. Sanctions against Russia are to be expanded, for example to the nuclear industry. In the platform's view, shifting borders by force must not succeed.

The Greens want to keep helping Ukraine. Russia should not win the war. The penalties against Russia should get tougher. They should also cover the nuclear industry.

The Greens want to remain a reliable ally of the United States while strengthening European sovereignty. They also want to expand cooperation with countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. The party hopes to win allies for human rights, climate action and reform of international organizations.

The Greens want to stay a firm partner of the US. But Europe should also grow stronger on its own. Germany should work more with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The party wants to find new partners for climate action and human rights.

The Greens want to implement and further develop the federal government's China strategy together with European partners. One-sided dependencies on China are to shrink and trade relations are to be diversified. This is meant to secure economic stability and political freedom of action.

Germany should depend less on China. So Germany should trade with more countries. The Greens also want to work more closely with Taiwan. Taiwan is a democracy in Asia.

The Greens call Israel's right to exist non-negotiable and back a negotiated two-state solution. Arms exports to Israel are to be withheld in individual cases if the protection of civilians is not sufficiently respected. The Gaza ceasefire is to be fully implemented.

The Greens stand by Israel. Israel may defend itself. But there should also be a state for the Palestinians. Germany should only send weapons if civilians are protected enough.

After the fall of the Assad regime, the Greens want to support Syria with humanitarian aid, reconstruction and the easing of EU economic sanctions. The party rejects quick returns of Syrian refugees because the country's direction is still unclear. Those who want to help rebuild should not lose their residence permit by doing so.

The Greens want to help Syria make a new start. Germany should send aid and support rebuilding. Refugees from Syria should not have to go back quickly now. The situation in the country is still unsafe.

The Greens want to keep adjusting sanctions against those responsible in the Iranian regime and monitor compliance. The Revolutionary Guards are to be listed as a terrorist organization at EU level in a legally sound way. At the same time the party relies on diplomacy to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

The Greens want penalties against the rulers of Iran. The penalties should not hit ordinary people. The EU should class the Revolutionary Guards as a terror group. Iran should not get nuclear weapons.

The Greens want to detect crises and conflicts earlier and better coordinate foreign, security and development policy. A center for strategic foresight is to be set up to develop future scenarios. It would build on a shared situation picture and situation center across all ministries.

The Greens want to spot crises earlier. For this, there should be a new center. Experts there think about what could happen in the future. The ministries should work together better.

The Greens want to reform the UN, including the Security Council, where world regions are to be represented more fairly. Germany and the EU are to step up their UN engagement diplomatically, financially and in personnel. Humanitarian aid is to be awarded more flexibly and over several years.

The Greens want to change the United Nations. All parts of the world should be represented more fairly in the Security Council. Germany should do more there and give more money. Aid for people in need should be easier to plan.

The Greens want to strengthen international criminal justice and stand behind the International Criminal Court. The crime of aggression, meaning waging a war of aggression, should become easier to prosecute. To that end, the court's statute is to be reformed.

The Greens support the International Criminal Court. This court punishes grave crimes such as war crimes. It should also be able to punish wars of aggression better. For this, the court's rules should be changed.

The Greens want to support civil society organizations worldwide that stand up for free speech and the rule of law. Persecuted human rights defenders, journalists, artists and scholars are to get protection programs. Those most at risk should be able to come to Germany through humanitarian visas and faster procedures.

In many countries, people who stand up for human rights are persecuted. The Greens want to help these people. There should be protection programs at home or abroad. People in great danger should quickly get a visa for Germany.

The Greens want to continue the process of reconciliation with former German colonies such as Namibia, including symbolic and material reparations. They also want to strengthen the intermediary organizations of Germany's foreign cultural and education policy, arguing that culture fosters understanding in times of crisis.

Germany once had colonies, for example Namibia. Germany committed crimes there. The Greens want to keep working on reconciliation with these countries. Germany should make amends. Cultural exchange with other countries should also grow.

The Greens want to pursue a feminist foreign and development policy that strengthens the rights, resources and representation of women, girls and marginalized groups worldwide. The program argues that equality makes societies more peaceful, fairer and economically more successful.

The Greens want to strengthen women and girls around the world. This should be a goal of German foreign policy. Germany should do more against violence toward women. Women's groups should get more money. Queer people should also be better protected.

The Greens want to spend significantly more than two percent of economic output on security and defense on a permanent basis, financed in part by higher borrowing. Germany and Europe are to take on more responsibility for their own security regardless of US policy and strengthen NATO's European pillar.

The Greens want to spend more money on defense. It should be clearly more than 2 percent of economic output. The state should be allowed to borrow more for this. Europe should protect itself more. EU countries should work closely together on this.

The Greens want to advance disarmament and arms control, strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and secure an international ban on fully autonomous lethal weapons. At the same time, the program calls NATO nuclear sharing an essential pillar of security in light of Russian threats. Globally, the party relies on civilian crisis prevention.

The Greens want fewer weapons in the world. The goal is a world without nuclear weapons. As long as Russia makes threats, Germany should stay part of NATO's nuclear protection. Weapons that decide over life and death with no human involved should be banned. Conflicts should be solved early and without the military where possible.

The Greens want to equip the Bundeswehr with modern gear with the help of a capable European defense industry. EU states are to develop, produce and buy armaments together rather than maintain parallel structures.

EU countries should develop and buy weapons and equipment together. Today each country does much of this alone. The Greens think this costs too much. Europe should be able to make more of its own arms. This should make Europe more independent.

The Greens want to enshrine criteria for arms exports more firmly in law in Germany and Europe. Exports are meant to protect partners but must not lead to German or European weapons being used to violate human rights or prop up authoritarian regimes.

The Greens want strict rules for selling weapons abroad. The rules should be written into a law. Weapons should not go to dictatorships. The state should check where the weapons end up.

The Greens want Germany to spend at least 0.7 percent of its gross national income on development cooperation, with 0.2 percent going to the least developed countries. Development policy is to remain independent and, as the program describes it, feminist, inclusive and decolonial.

Germany should keep helping poor countries. Germany should spend at least 0.7 percent of its income on this. Part of it should go to the poorest countries. Countries with heavy debts should have debts canceled. Germany should also help build health systems.

The Greens want to realize the right to water and food worldwide. Among other things, exports of pesticides that are not permitted in Germany because of environmental and health risks are to end.

All people should have enough water and food. Some pesticides are banned in Germany. The Greens want Germany to stop selling them abroad too. Small farmers should be able to keep their land. No one should bet on water and food on financial markets.

The Left condemns Russia's attack on Ukraine and calls for a change of strategy: diplomatic initiatives for a ceasefire in place of further arms deliveries. Targeted sanctions against the Russian leadership and arms industry are meant to increase pressure.

The Left says Russia was wrong to attack Ukraine. Russia should pull out its soldiers. But Germany should stop sending weapons. It should start peace talks together with other countries. Sanctions should hit the powerful in Russia, not ordinary people.

The Left welcomes the end of Assad's rule and calls for democratic elections and guaranteed basic rights in Syria. Autonomy for the Kurdish areas is to be secured, Turkish attacks are to stop, and German arms exports to Turkey are to end.

Assad's government in Syria is over. The Left wants free elections there. The Kurds in the north should keep governing themselves. Turkey should not attack them. Germany should stop selling weapons to Turkey.

The Left considers NATO unsuited to providing security in Europe and wants to build a cooperative security order modeled on the CSCE instead. It would include every country on the continent and make NATO unnecessary.

The Left sees NATO as a purely military alliance. It wants a new security order for Europe. All European countries should take part. Then NATO is no longer needed, the party says.

The Left wants to cut military spending sharply, abandon NATO's two-percent target and use the Bundeswehr special fund for civilian infrastructure. It rejects the planned stationing of US intermediate-range missiles in Germany, arguing that this heightens confrontation with Russia.

The Left wants to spend much less money on the military. The money should go to schools, health and social programs. The US wants to put new missiles in Germany. The Left is against that. Europe should disarm, meaning reduce its weapons.

The Left wants to end all Bundeswehr deployments abroad. The armed forces would become a purely defensive army that is structurally incapable of attack.

German soldiers are deployed in other countries. The Left wants to bring them all home. The Bundeswehr should only defend its own country. It should not be able to attack.

The Left wants to end nuclear sharing, Germany's participation in the deployment concept for US nuclear weapons stored in Germany. These weapons are to be withdrawn, and Germany is to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

US nuclear weapons are stored in Germany. The Left wants them removed. Germany should sign a UN treaty. This treaty bans nuclear weapons. In the end, Europe should have no nuclear weapons at all.

The Left calls for an immediate ceasefire and a peace process in Israel and Palestine. Germany should stop delivering weapons to Israel, recognize Palestine as a state and enforce the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants.

The Left wants the fighting in Israel and Palestine to stop at once. Germany should send no more weapons to Israel. Germany should recognize Palestine as a state. Neighboring countries should recognize Israel as a state.

The Left wants to prohibit the export of military goods without exception. Arms companies would be transferred into common ownership and converted to civilian production.

German companies sell weapons abroad. The Left wants to ban that completely. Arms companies should belong to the public. They should make other, useful things. The jobs should stay.

The Left opposes a return to conscription and wants to stop Bundeswehr recruiting at schools, universities and education fairs. It is taking a stand against what it calls the militarization of society.

The Left does not want a military draft. No one should be forced to serve in the Bundeswehr. The Bundeswehr should not recruit young people at schools and universities. It should not send recruiting letters either.

The Left wants to reverse the cuts to development policy and humanitarian aid and permanently provide at least 0.7 percent of economic output for it. It also calls for debt relief for countries of the Global South, more climate aid and a worldwide billionaire tax.

The Left wants to help poor countries more. Germany should give a fixed share of its money for this. Poor countries should not have to repay part of their debts. Very rich people should pay a tax worldwide. Poor countries should also get more money for climate protection.

The ÖDP wants Germany to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to have all nuclear weapons removed from the country. The Bundeswehr should act militarily only in an emergency and in self-defense. According to the platform, foreign policy should above all serve peace and the protection of the basis of life.

The ÖDP wants no nuclear weapons in Germany. Germany should sign a treaty against nuclear weapons. The army should only fight to defend the country. Peace should be the most important goal.

The ÖDP wants to reduce the causes of flight by turning trade agreements into fair trade agreements and banning arms exports to countries outside the EU. It justifies this with shared responsibility for the climate crisis, conflicts and economic hardship in the Global South.

The ÖDP wants fewer people to have to flee. Trade with poor countries should be fair. Germany should not sell weapons to countries outside the EU. The party says Germany shares responsibility for the problems there.

The PdF wants to keep a values-based foreign policy but give German and European interests more weight. Germany is to become more self-sufficient in key areas such as energy, armaments, and communications technology.

The PdF wants a foreign policy based on values. But German and European interests should count more. Germany should rely more on itself for energy, weapons, and communications technology. That way it depends less on authoritarian states.

The PdF wants Germany to play an active part in the United Nations and wants its structures reformed. The veto in the Security Council is to be changed, and the UN is to gain more authority in some cross-border fields.

The PdF wants to make the United Nations stronger. The short name is UN. The veto in the Security Council should change. With a veto, one country can stop a decision. The UN should also decide more, for example on climate.

The PdF sees NATO as the core of German defense. Germany is to spend two percent of its economic output on defense and play an important role in the alliance.

NATO is a defense alliance. The PdF thinks NATO is very important. Germany should spend 2 percent of its economic output on defense. Germany should also keep taking part in exercises and missions.

The PdF wants worldwide relief for natural disasters and humanitarian crises to be more closely coordinated. This is to be achieved through a UN-coordinated network, stronger local structures, and projects designed for the long term.

The PdF wants to improve help after disasters. Aid groups around the world should work together. The United Nations should lead this. Local helpers should get money and technology. The help should also work in the long run.

The PdF wants to realign development aid because it considers current policy inefficient. Partner countries are to be chosen by human rights record and need, projects are to be consolidated, and funds are to be monitored more strictly.

The PdF wants to change development aid. Partner countries should respect human rights. There should be fewer but bigger projects. A website should show all projects and spending. Outside experts should check how the money is used.

The PdF wants Germany to act as an active mediator in international conflicts. Negotiations and targeted economic sanctions are to be the main tools, with military action only as a last resort.

The PdF wants to solve conflicts mainly through talks. Germany should mediate between countries in conflict. Sanctions should help too. These are penalties in trade. The military should only be the last option.

The PdF wants to build a joint army of the European Union. It is to be defensive in nature, overseen by the European Parliament, and primarily protect the member states.

The PdF wants a joint army for the EU. The army should only defend. The European Parliament should oversee it. Countries should share technology and knowledge. That should save money.

The PdF wants to upgrade the Bundeswehr's technology, improve training, and speed up procurement. The platform justifies this with the security situation and with shortfalls in equipment, personnel, and procurement.

The PdF wants to equip the German army better. The troops should get modern technology, such as drones. Training should get better. Buying equipment should be faster.

The PdF favors military service as part of a general compulsory service and wants a public debate about it. The platform cites the Bundeswehr's personnel shortage and equipment that it considers insufficient for national and alliance defense.

The PdF likes the idea of a service duty for everyone. Service in the army would be part of it. Society should discuss this. The duty should apply to women and men alike.

The PdF wants to continue military and financial support for Ukraine at least at the current level. The platform views the war as a European war and warns that a Ukrainian defeat would have negative security consequences for Europe.

The PdF wants to keep helping Ukraine. Germany should send weapons and money, at least as much as now. Europe should manage this even without the US. The people of Ukraine should decide about peace talks themselves.

The PdF affirms the defense of Israel as a German Staatsräson (reason of state). At the same time, it considers criticism of Israeli actions justified when they contradict international norms.

The PdF stands by Israel. Germany should support Israel in defending itself. But the party also wants to be able to criticize Israel. That applies when Israel breaks international rules.

The PdF relies on military deterrence to prevent a war over Taiwan and wants to push international partners to get more involved. It justifies this with the severe consequences such a war would have for the global economy and for Germany.

The PdF wants to prevent a war over Taiwan. It relies on deterrence for this. That means: military strength should make an attack unattractive. Other countries should get more involved.

The SPD wants to permanently spend at least two percent of economic output on defense and modernize the Bundeswehr. Germany is to take on more responsibility within NATO for protecting Europe because, in the platform's view, the United States will no longer carry the main burden.

The SPD wants to spend more money on the armed forces. It should be at least two percent of economic output. The armed forces should become more modern. German soldiers should be based in Lithuania for good. Germany should take on more tasks in NATO.

Because of the changed security situation, the SPD plans a new, flexible military service. It is to be voluntary, guided by the needs of the Bundeswehr, and aimed above all at building a resilient reserve.

The SPD wants a new military service. That means people serve in the armed forces for a while. The service should be voluntary. The state should record who is eligible. This should give the armed forces more reserve troops.

The SPD wants to support Ukraine diplomatically, militarily, financially and with humanitarian aid for as long as necessary. Germany and NATO are not to become parties to the war themselves, which is why the SPD rejects delivering the Taurus cruise missile. It welcomes peace initiatives but not a peace dictated by Russia.

The SPD wants to keep helping Ukraine. Germany delivers weapons and trains soldiers. But Germany does not deliver the Taurus cruise missile. Germany should not be drawn into the war itself. Ukraine should take part in any peace talks.

The SPD wants to push for new approaches to arms control and for disarmament. Its goal remains a world without nuclear weapons. It supports a global no-first-use commitment and preserving the New START treaty.

The SPD wants fewer weapons in the world. Its goal is a world without nuclear weapons. No country should use nuclear weapons first. A treaty limits the nuclear weapons of the US and Russia. That treaty should stay and be extended.

The SPD wants to expand existing partnerships, above all with France, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. With the US, it wants to reduce trade barriers and avoid a subsidy race; at the same time, Europe is to become more self-reliant in security policy.

The SPD wants to keep and strengthen close partners. These include France, Poland, the UK and the US. There should be no trade fight with the US. But Europe should do more for its own security.

The SPD wants to implement Germany's China strategy and coordinate policy toward Beijing at the European level. In critical areas the economy is to become less dependent on China, while dialogue is to continue, including on contentious issues.

The SPD wants Europe to act together toward China. Germany should depend less on China for important goods. Still, the SPD wants to keep talking with China. Difficult topics should be raised too.

The SPD wants to deepen cooperation with countries of the Global South and aims for a new North-South policy. The platform argues that many of these states are turning away from liberal democracies and that Europe's own security and prosperity are also at stake.

The SPD wants to work more closely with countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. These include India, Indonesia, South Africa and Brazil. The countries should be equal partners. The SPD also wants reconciliation with Namibia.

The SPD commits to Israel's right to exist and its security as a German reason of state while calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. In the long run it holds to two states created through negotiation, arguing that only a political prospect can secure Israel permanently.

The SPD stands with Israel. But it demands that the fighting in Gaza stop right away. People in Gaza should get food and medicine. In the end there should be two states: Israel and Palestine.

The SPD supports international sanctions against Iran's leadership and demands that the Revolutionary Guards be listed as a terrorist organization in the EU. It cites Iran's role in regional conflicts, its help for Russia and repression inside the country.

The SPD wants to put pressure on Iran's government. It supports penalties against the country. The Revolutionary Guards are a powerful force in Iran. The EU should classify them as a terror group.

The SPD wants to spend at least 0.7 percent of economic output on development cooperation and keep the development ministry as a separate department. According to the platform, the aim is to overcome poverty, hunger and inequality and to prevent crises.

The SPD wants to help poorer countries. Germany should give a fixed share of its income for this. The development ministry should stay independent. Women and men should have equal rights everywhere.

The SPD wants to reform multilateral organizations, including the UN Security Council with its veto rule, which it regards as obstructive. Together with Brazil, India and Japan, it seeks a permanent seat on the Security Council.

The Security Council is an important body of the United Nations. Single countries can block decisions there. The SPD wants to change that. Germany should get a fixed seat there. Countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America should have more say.

The Tierschutzpartei rejects rising military budgets and special funds and wants to steer the money into education, the environment and social programs. The Bundeswehr is to remain a defensive army focused mainly on peacekeeping. Conflicts should be resolved primarily through negotiation.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to spend less on the military. The money should go to education, the environment and social programs. The Bundeswehr should mainly keep the peace. Countries should settle disputes by talking.

The Tierschutzpartei rejects arms deliveries to the entire Middle East because, in its view, they escalate conflicts and cause civilian casualties. It wants sanctions against the governments of Israel and Egypt so that aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip are no longer blocked.

The Tierschutzpartei wants no weapons sent to the Middle East. It says weapons make the conflicts worse. It wants to put pressure on Israel and Egypt. Aid should reach the people in the Gaza Strip.

The Tierschutzpartei calls for a long-term peace strategy for Ukraine and the surrounding region. It wants to keep supporting humanitarian aid projects and protect refugees.

The Tierschutzpartei wants a lasting plan for peace in Ukraine. It wants to keep supporting aid projects. Refugees from Ukraine should get protection. Talks between countries matter to the party.

Volt wants to create a European army with shared equipment, tactics and procurement. Germany would spend at least 3 percent of its economic output on defense. The platform expects lower costs, more efficiency and greater independence.

Volt wants one shared army for Europe. Everyone should have the same equipment. Germany should spend more money on defense. It should be at least 3 percent of economic output. The reserve forces should also get better.

Volt wants to make Bundeswehr procurement faster and more flexible. The requirement to submit arms projects above 25 million euros to parliament would be dropped; instead, all contract awards would be published. The platform sees this as a precondition for the success of the Zeitenwende (the turning point in defense policy).

The Bundeswehr should get new equipment faster. Today parliament must approve big purchases one by one. Volt wants to end that. Instead, the state should make all contracts public. New weapons should be tested before they are bought.

Volt wants Germany to do more to resolve international conflicts, with more diplomacy and also more Bundeswehr deployments. The platform argues that conflicts indirectly affect Germany too, for example through a rising cost of living.

There are more wars in the world than before. People in Germany feel this too, for example in prices. Volt wants Germany to do more. Germany should negotiate more. The Bundeswehr should also be deployed more often.

Volt wants to counter Chinese influence more firmly, reduce economic dependence on China and at the same time expand dialogue. According to the platform, democracy and human rights should rank above economic pressures.

China is an important trade partner. Volt thinks Germany depends too much on China. Companies should also buy and sell in other countries. Important networks and facilities should be protected from China's influence. Volt still wants to keep talking with China.

Volt wants to supply Ukraine with all the weapons it needs and place no limits on their use. Sanctions against Russia are to be expanded at the same time. In the party's view, the war can only be ended at the negotiating table, and Russia must be pressured into coming to it.

Volt wants to give Ukraine all the weapons it needs. Ukraine should be free to use them without limits. The penalties against Russia should get tougher. This should push Russia to talk about peace.

After the war, Volt wants to pay for Ukraine's reconstruction with confiscated Russian money. The country is to receive security guarantees and be brought into European structures step by step. The platform argues that everyone benefits from a stable neighborhood.

After the war, Ukraine should be rebuilt. Volt wants to use Russian money that was seized for this. Other countries should protect Ukraine. Step by step, Ukraine should become part of Europe.