Volt: program for the 2025 federal election

Volt wants to expand regional economic development funding to advance infrastructure and economic growth in a targeted way. Incentives for remote jobs in rural areas and regional start-up centers are meant to keep skilled workers and young companies in the regions.

Volt wants to give more support to the economy in the regions. The state should spend more on roads, networks and businesses there. Companies should get benefits if they offer remote jobs in rural areas. That keeps skilled workers in the region. Young founders should get help in special centers.

Volt wants to reduce the administrative burden on companies. Procedures are to become digital and faster, and EU law is to be transposed without national add-ons. According to the platform, public administration should turn from a disadvantage into an advantage for Germany as a business location.

Volt wants less paperwork for companies. Government offices should work digitally and faster. Companies should write fewer reports about their suppliers. Big building projects should get a permit within three months.

Volt wants to give founders better security and make it easier for young companies to get capital. The platform sees new businesses as a source of innovation, jobs, and social and ecological change.

Volt wants to help people who start a company. Self-employed people should have better protection. Young companies should get money from investors more easily. There should be a new kind of company whose assets stay in the company.

Volt wants future technologies to be funded jointly through the EU instead of by each member state on its own. This is meant to let Europe keep up with the US and China. Corporate research would get more favorable tax treatment.

Volt wants the EU to fund new technology together. Today each country funds its own companies. This should help Europe keep up with the US and China. Companies should be able to deduct more research costs from their taxes.

Volt no longer wants gross domestic product to be the sole yardstick for economic performance. New indicators would also capture social and environmental factors, which the party says would give a more realistic picture.

Today the economy is mostly measured with GDP. GDP is the value of all goods and services in a country. Volt wants to develop more measures. They should also show the environment and social matters.

Volt wants to clear the investment backlog of recent decades with large-scale investment and to set up an infrastructure fund for this purpose. In the party's view, this secures prosperity, social peace, and the strategic autonomy of Germany and Europe.

Volt wants to put a lot of money into roads, rail, networks and schools. Volt says the state has done too little here for a long time. A new fund should also attract private investors. A fund is a pot of money for a set purpose. Independent bodies should prevent misuse.

Volt wants to require manufacturers to make their products durable and recyclable and to introduce a comprehensive right to repair. The aim is a shift to a circular economy so that the use of raw materials no longer rises with economic growth.

Volt wants products to last a long time. People should be able to repair and recycle them. Companies should have to offer spare parts. Independent repair shops should also get spare parts at fair prices. This is how Volt wants to save raw materials.

Volt wants to give everyone a right to be released from work for further training in future-oriented occupations. Large companies would have to pay for training when they lay people off for business reasons. The goal is for everyone to have a chance in the job market and contribute to the economy.

Volt wants a right to further training. Everyone should get time off work for it. This applies to jobs with a future, such as in technology. Big companies should pay for training when they lay people off.

Volt wants to tie the minimum wage to the median gross wage and raise it to 60 percent of that figure. Based on 2024 data, that would be €14.61. The platform says this would secure people's livelihood and lead to adequate pension entitlements.

Volt wants a higher minimum wage. It should be 60 percent of the middle wage. In 2024 that would be €14.61 per hour. The minimum wage should be recalculated regularly. People should be able to live on their work.

Volt wants a fundamental reform of mini-jobs (marginal employment) and wants to bring these workers into the social insurance system. The aim is to close gaps in coverage and make it easier to move into regular employment.

Volt wants to change the rules for mini-jobs. These are small jobs with low pay. People in mini-jobs should be covered by social insurance. Then they have better protection. Moving to a regular job should become easier. There should also be less paperwork.

Volt wants to improve the legal position of people who work through digital platforms. Workers in fields such as passenger transport and logistics would be recognized as employees by law. Bogus self-employment and day labor would be tackled.

Some people work through apps, for example as drivers or couriers. Volt wants to protect them better. The law should treat them as employees. Then they have the same rights as other workers. They should also have social protection.

Volt wants to make working-time law more flexible along the lines of the EU Working Time Directive, using average weekly working time as the reference. At the same time, worker protection would be increased where flexibility causes disadvantages.

Volt wants to change the rules on working hours. Working time should be spread more freely over the week. Working hours should fit people's lives better. Shorter rest periods should only be allowed when working from home. Where the new rules do harm, protection should get stronger.

Volt wants to promote working from home and remote work and give them a clearer legal footing. Whether a job counts as a home-office position would be settled at the start of employment and become a binding part of the contract.

Volt wants to support working from home. It should be clear from the start whether a job allows this. It should be written in the work contract. Then both sides know where they stand. Work and private life should fit together better.

Volt wants to introduce a basic income that covers the cost of living and is designed as a negative income tax. It would replace existing welfare benefits, protect against poverty and cut administrative effort.

Volt wants a basic income. People with no income get money from the state automatically. They do not have to apply. The money replaces other state benefits.

Volt wants to restructure the Ausgleichsabgabe, the levy paid by employers that employ too few people with disabilities. It would be based on a percentage of average gross monthly income and on the size of the company.

Companies must hire people with disabilities. If they hire too few, they pay a levy. Volt wants to calculate this levy in a new way. Large companies should pay more than small ones. Companies that create extra jobs should get tax benefits.

Volt wants to abolish sheltered workshops for people with disabilities and replace them with inclusive companies that pay the minimum wage and grant employee rights. The platform points to the Netherlands as a model.

Today many people with disabilities work in special workshops. Volt wants to end these workshops. They should become companies open to everyone. There, workers get the minimum wage and normal employee rights.

Volt regards sex work as a legal profession and as part of bodily self-determination. It would be put on an equal footing with other work under labor law, and remaining criminal provisions and the mandatory health counseling would be dropped. The party wants to reduce discrimination against people working in the sex trade.

Volt says sex work is a job like others. The same work rules should apply to it. Required health counseling should end. Tests for infections should be free. Victims of human trafficking should be allowed to stay in Germany.

Volt wants to gradually extend the statutory pension system to civil servants, the self-employed and freelancers, and to guarantee an income above the poverty line in old age. The retirement age would follow life expectancy, and additional retirement saving would become easier.

Volt wants to rebuild the pension system. Civil servants and self-employed people should also pay into the public pension. Nobody should be poor in old age. The retirement age should follow life expectancy. If people live longer, they work longer. Every child should get starting money for retirement saving at birth.

Volt wants to open a state-funded retirement investment account for every child at birth. The state would pay in 1,000 euros to start and then 100 euros each year until the child comes of age. According to the platform, this funded supplementary pension is meant to strengthen security in old age and personal responsibility.

Volt wants a retirement account for every child. The money in it is invested. The state pays in 1,000 euros at birth. Then it pays 100 euros every year until the child is 18. The money is meant to add to the pension later.

Volt wants a federal budget in which revenue, debt, and spending are in balance while still leaving room for investment. The budget is to be managed transparently and planned for the long term so that businesses can plan reliably.

Volt wants a balanced budget for the state. Income, debt, and spending should fit together. The state should still put money into roads, networks, and changing the economy. The budget should be open and planned for many years.

Volt wants to reform the Schuldenbremse (debt brake), which the platform considers too rigid and an obstacle to investment in the future. Certain net investments would no longer count under the rule, and the permitted level of new borrowing would rise.

Volt wants to change the debt brake. The debt brake limits how much new debt the state may take on. It should no longer apply to investments in the future. The state should also be allowed a little more debt overall. Experts should check the spending.

Volt wants to pursue tax avoidance and tax evasion more forcefully in order to secure revenue for tasks such as education, health, and infrastructure. To that end, loopholes are to be closed, agencies expanded, and penalties toughened.

Volt wants to do more against tax fraud. Gaps in the law should go away. The offices that investigate tax crimes should grow. Serious cases should bring higher penalties. This way the state should take in more money.

Volt wants to bring the corporate tax burden down to the OECD average and promote private investment with a bonus. The platform considers the burden high by international comparison but wants companies to contribute a fair share to the community.

Volt wants companies to pay less tax. Taxes should be as high as the average in other industrial countries. Companies that invest should get a 10 percent bonus for two years. The EU should have a minimum tax for companies.

Volt wants to dismantle subsidies that harm the climate in several stages by 2028, including the tax exemption for jet fuel and advantages for company cars, the commuter allowance, and diesel. The party expects lower emissions, a more stable budget, and extra money for climate action and social compensation.

The state supports some things that harm the climate. Volt wants to end this support step by step. Jet fuel should be taxed. Diesel and company cars with combustion engines should cost more. The saved money should go to climate action and social support.

Volt wants to scrap the tax advantage for company cars. In the party's view, it encourages the purchase of climate-damaging cars and mainly benefits the well-off.

People who use a company car privately pay little tax on it today. Volt wants to end this benefit. Volt says the benefit mostly helps rich people. Volt also says it leads to more cars that harm the climate.

Volt wants to strengthen private wealth building as a fourth pillar of retirement provision. The tax-free allowance on investment income would rise substantially for adults and could be carried over to later years, and financial literacy would be promoted. The platform expects this to support upward mobility and protect against old-age poverty, especially for younger people.

Volt wants to make it easier for people to save money themselves. People would pay less tax on gains from investments. A tax-free amount would go up. Everyone should also learn more about money.

Volt wants to restructure income tax so that low and middle incomes pay less and very high incomes pay more, without changing total revenue. This includes a higher basic allowance, ending the solidarity surcharge and Ehegattensplitting (joint tax splitting for married couples), and a higher top tax rate. The platform justifies this with strengthening the middle class and families.

Volt wants to change income tax. People with low and middle incomes would pay less. People with very high incomes would pay a bit more. The tax advantage for married couples would end. In return, the child benefit would go up.

Volt wants to add up inheritances and gifts over a whole lifetime and tax them progressively. The current exemption rules for business assets would be dropped, while allowances for family members would rise. The platform aims to reduce the concentration of wealth and raise more tax revenue.

Volt wants to change the tax on inheritances and gifts. Everything a person inherits or receives as a gift in life is added up. People who receive a lot pay more tax. Family members may receive more tax-free. Businesses get their own rules.

Volt wants to tax wealth above high exemption thresholds at rising rates. The platform presents this as a balance between social fairness and economic stability.

Volt wants a tax on very large fortunes. People who own more pay a higher share. A high amount stays tax-free for each person.

Volt wants to exempt staple foods from value-added tax and apply the reduced rate to sustainable and essential products. In the party's view, the tax weighs especially heavily on low-income households.

Volt wants to change the sales tax. Bread, fruit and vegetables would have no tax. The tax on some other products would go down. This is meant to help people with little money.

Volt wants to gain new housing mainly from existing stock: by converting vacant commercial buildings, densifying and adding floors. Municipalities are also to own more apartments themselves. The platform justifies this with housing that is both affordable and climate-friendly.

Volt wants to create more homes. Empty offices and shops would become apartments. It would be easier to add floors to existing buildings. Cities and towns would own more apartments themselves.

Volt wants to overcome homelessness with the Housing First approach, under which people are given a permanent home first. In addition, a basic right to adequate and affordable housing would be written into the Basic Law (Germany's constitution). According to the platform, the approach has proven itself internationally.

Volt wants nobody to have to live on the street. Homeless people would get a permanent home first. This is called Housing First. They would also get help, for example with debt and work. The right to an affordable home would be put in the constitution.

Volt wants to advance low-cost, climate-friendly housing construction with a dedicated subsidy system. Cooperatives and building groups would get tax advantages, and social housing commitments would last longer. According to the platform, the aim is a lasting basic supply of affordable housing.

Volt wants to support building low-cost homes. The homes should also be good for the climate. Housing cooperatives would pay less tax. Social housing would stay cheap for longer.

Volt wants to speed up construction through uniform rules, digital procedures and leaner permitting. The building codes of the federal states would be aligned. The platform sees removing legal obstacles as a route to efficient and climate-friendly construction projects.

Volt wants building to go faster. Building rules should be similar in all states. Applications would be handled digitally. Builders who offer good options for buses, bikes or car sharing would have to build fewer parking spaces.

Volt wants to scrap Ehegattensplitting (joint tax splitting for married couples) and give each parent an individual entitlement to seven months of Elterngeld (parental allowance). Care for children and people needing long-term care is to be expanded substantially. The aim is to bring more women, older people, and people with disabilities into work.

Volt wants to end a tax benefit for married couples. Each parent should get seven months of parental pay. There should be more care for children and for people who need help. This way more people can have a job.

Volt wants to set uniform nationwide staff-to-child ratios and group sizes for early childhood education. This comes with digital allocation of places, language support and mixed teams, to give children equal opportunities and relieve parents.

Volt wants the same rules for all daycare centers in Germany. One staff member would look after only a few children. Groups would be small. A website would show free daycare places.

Volt wants to introduce eight weeks of paternity leave and a minimum parental leave of three months for each parent. The Elterngeld (parental allowance) would be calculated more simply, and single parents would get more child sick days, full child sickness pay and special protection against dismissal. The platform argues this promotes shared parenting and the economic equality of women.

Volt wants eight weeks of leave for fathers after a birth. Each parent should take at least three months of parental leave. The parental allowance should become simpler. Single parents should get more help. Their jobs should be better protected.

Volt wants vocational training to also be offered in English or in the language of the neighboring country. This is meant to make it easier for international talent to get a training position. Companies and trainees are expected to benefit from stronger international ties.

Volt wants job training to be offered in English too. Near the border, the neighbor country's language should also be possible. Then more young people from abroad can train here. Later, all trainees should learn English.

Volt wants to abolish the Kooperationsverbot, the rule that largely bars the federal government from taking part in the states' education policy. Federalism in education is to be phased out step by step to allow uniform nationwide standards and faster decisions.

Today the German states mostly decide about schools. The federal government can hardly take part. Volt wants to end this ban. Then the same rules for education would apply all over Germany.

Volt wants to make education free for children and young people, from childcare starting at birth to learning materials and meals. The platform treats education as a basic right whose access should not depend on parents' income.

Volt wants education to cost nothing. Daycare would be free for all families. Children get free breakfast and lunch at daycare and school. Schoolbooks would also be free.

Volt wants everyone to be able to learn together regardless of their needs or abilities. To that end, educational institutions would receive more money and staff for inclusion.

Volt wants all children to learn together. This includes children with disabilities. Schools and daycare centers would get more money for this. There would also be more helpers.

Volt wants to relieve teachers through additional staff and make their employment more flexible and fair. The platform sees good working conditions as a precondition for supporting learners well.

Volt wants to make work easier for teachers. Other professionals would take over some tasks. Teachers who are employees would earn as much as civil-servant teachers. All would get time and money for training.

Volt wants to improve working conditions in daycare centers and raise the pay of early childhood educators to the level of school teachers. The platform argues that high-quality early education depends on motivated and valued staff.

Volt wants to pay daycare staff better. They should earn as much as school teachers. They should also get money during their training. Volt says this makes the job more attractive.

Volt wants to end the split into Hauptschule, Realschule, and Gymnasium and have all children learn together for longer. School diplomas would be uniform nationwide. The platform says this strengthens equal opportunity and social cohesion.

Germany has three types of secondary school today. Volt wants to end this split. All children should learn together for longer. Diplomas should be the same across Germany. Volt says this is fairer.

Volt wants to replace school grades with individual performance assessment and tailor teaching more closely to each child. Project work and mixed-age learning would become central, and curricula would be slimmed down. The platform says this fosters skills and self-reflection.

Volt wants to end grades in school. Instead there would be talks and learning diaries, for example. Children should learn more in projects. Each child should learn according to their strengths. Curricula should become shorter.

Volt wants specialists in psychology, social work, health, and special education to be permanently based in schools. They would work closely with teachers, because the platform sees health and well-being as preconditions for successful learning.

Schools should not only have teachers. Volt also wants experts for psychology, social work, and health there. They help children with problems. Volt says children learn better when they feel well.

Volt wants children with and without disabilities to learn together in one school. Special-needs schools would continue only as a transitional arrangement. The platform cites equal opportunity and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Children with and without disabilities should learn together. Schools should become barrier-free for this. That means everyone can use them without obstacles. Special-needs schools would only exist for a transition period.

Volt wants to anchor democracy education in all subjects and give students more say. According to the platform, democracy must be actively experienced so that young people take on responsibility.

Children should practice democracy at school. They should have more say. Class councils are one way to do this. Parents should also be able to make proposals.

Volt wants digital skills taught from elementary school onward and computer science to be a focus throughout. Schools would receive modern equipment and fast internet. The platform sees this as preparation for a connected world.

Children should learn to use computers in elementary school already. Computer science should matter in every school year. Schools should get new devices and fast internet. Parents should get training too.

Volt wants to introduce a dual-track teaching degree and link university study more closely with the practical training phase. More hands-on experience is meant to prepare future teachers better and secure school quality.

Future teachers should practice in schools earlier. Volt wants a dual degree. That means study and work at a school happen together. Degrees from other countries should count.

Volt wants to keep small rural schools open. Mixed-age teaching and digital networking are meant to make this workable even with few children. The platform regards village schools as important for vibrant rural regions.

Volt wants to keep schools in villages. Children of different ages can learn together there. Small schools should connect over the internet. This gives them more learning options.

Volt wants to raise the standing of vocational occupations through nationwide campaigns, modernize training plans, and help small businesses offer apprenticeships. According to the platform, this secures skilled workers and strengthens the labor market.

Volt wants more young people to choose vocational training. There would be advertising across Germany. Training should become more modern. Small companies should get help to train people.

Volt wants to give students and trainees more financial security. BAföG (federal student aid) rates would be tied to local living costs, and state-recognized vocational training and continuing education would be free for everyone. The platform argues that education should not depend on a person's financial situation.

Volt wants more money for students and trainees. BAföG is money from the state for learners. It should match the cost of living in each place. People in expensive cities should get more. Recognized training courses should cost nothing.

Volt wants every learner to be able to spend at least four weeks abroad during vocational training or university. Exchange programs such as Erasmus+ would be expanded, and degrees would be uniform across Europe. The platform expects this to foster personal development, European cohesion and knowledge transfer.

Volt wants more learning abroad. All trainees and students should be able to spend at least four weeks abroad. Programs like Erasmus+ should grow. Degrees should be the same all over Europe. Then other countries accept them faster.

Volt wants to give researchers from the postdoc stage onward a flat basic budget that replaces time-consuming grant applications. They would have to pass half of it on to other researchers. Non-professorial academic staff would also get clearer career paths.

Volt wants to give researchers a fixed amount of money for their work. This starts after the doctorate. They then have to write fewer applications. They pass half of the money on to other researchers. This should help researchers work together more.

Volt wants an education leave law that allows paid time off work for continuing education. In addition, adult education centers would be expanded, retraining promoted and learning materials made freely accessible. The platform regards lifelong learning as necessary to keep up with the demands of the modern world.

Volt wants people to be able to learn all their lives. A new law should help with this. Workers then get time off for further training. They still get paid during this time. Adult education centers should also offer more courses.

Volt wants to strengthen anti-racism education, including colonial history in curricula, intercultural programs and staff training. According to the platform, this promotes respect and helps people recognize discriminatory structures.

Volt wants more education against racism. Schools should teach about the colonial era and its effects. Children from different cultures should meet and talk more. Volt also wants to support projects for democracy.

Volt wants a single health insurance system that also covers civil servants and the self-employed. It would first be set up in Germany and become European in the long term. To fund it, the income ceiling for contributions would rise, and health and long-term care insurance would be merged.

Volt wants one health insurance for all people. Civil servants and self-employed people should be in it too. At first this should apply in Germany. Later there should be one insurance for all of Europe. People with high pay should pay more.

Volt wants to merge the statutory health insurers into four nationwide funds and organize them as nonprofit cooperatives. Insured people would have a say through cooperative shares instead of the current social insurance elections. The platform expects this to bring more transparency, efficiency and participation.

Today there are many health insurers. Volt wants only four for all of Germany. These insurers should be cooperatives. A cooperative belongs to its members. Insured people buy shares and then have a say.

Volt wants to unify how medical services are paid for and base payment on quality and need. Statutory insurers would no longer pay for services without scientific proof of effectiveness, such as homeopathy. According to the platform, the goal is to avoid overtreatment, undertreatment and inappropriate care.

Volt wants new rules for paying doctors and hospitals. Quality and need should count. Insurers should no longer pay for homeopathy. There is no proof that homeopathy works. No one should get too much or too little treatment.

Volt wants health care to be planned region by region according to local need. In rural areas, regional care centers staffed by several health professions are to be set up. Patients who see a specialist without a referral would pay a share of the cost themselves.

Volt wants to plan health care for each region separately. Rural areas should get new health centers. Different health workers work together there. People who see a specialist without a referral should pay a fee.

Volt wants to expand remote treatment and send mobile health units to remote areas. At the same time, uniform digital standards are meant to make it easier for everyone involved to exchange medical data.

Volt wants more treatment by video and phone. Mobile clinics should drive to remote places. Doctors' offices and hospitals should share data using the same rules.

Volt wants medicines to be produced in Europe again in order to prevent supply shortages. In addition, prices within Europe are to be aligned, advertising and discounts regulated, and pharmacies paid in a different way.

Volt wants medicines to be made in Europe again. This should stop medicines from running short. Prices should become more similar across Europe. Pharmacies should be paid in a new way.

Volt wants to give priority to the emergency care reform already under way and finish it quickly. The rescue service is to gain legal standing of its own, be digitally connected, and be supported by telemedicine. This is meant to secure care and address staff shortages.

Volt wants to improve help in emergencies. A law on this has already been started. Volt wants to finish it fast. The numbers 112 and 116117 should be linked digitally with hospitals.

Volt wants to make professions such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychotherapy, and midwifery more attractive. This includes pay during training, uniform nationwide standards, secure funding for advanced training, and a say in the Federal Joint Committee.

Volt wants to strengthen health professions. These include physiotherapy and midwifery. Trainees should be paid. These professions should get a vote in an important committee.

Volt regards the climate crisis as the century's greatest health threat and wants to expand prevention. The plans include a heat strategy with the states, more funding for cooler city centers, and more resilient hospitals.

Volt says the climate crisis is a big danger to health. So there should be a plan against heat. Cities should become cooler, for example with more green spaces. Hospitals should be better prepared for crises.

Volt wants to expand everyday health promotion regardless of income. Plans include more money for grassroots sports, easier access to healthy food, a rating system for food, nutrition as a school subject, and health kiosks across the country.

Volt wants people to be able to live healthier lives. Sports clubs should get more federal money. Schools should teach about nutrition. There should be health kiosks everywhere. People can easily get advice there.

Volt wants to introduce a tax on sugar, sugar substitutes, and sweeteners. It is meant to push manufacturers to use less sugar, help prevent diseases such as diabetes, and relieve the health system.

Volt wants a new tax on sugar and sweeteners. Sweet drinks will then cost more. Companies should therefore put less sugar in their products. This is meant to prevent diseases like diabetes.

Volt wants to prevent mental illness early through prevention and make psychotherapy easier to access. To that end, more insurance-funded therapist licenses are to be created, and resilience is to be fostered from daycare age.

Volt wants to strengthen mental health. There should be more therapy places paid for by health insurance. Even small children in daycare should learn to cope with stress. Volt also wants to act against bullying and loneliness.

Volt wants to give more support to services that make drug use safer, including drug checking, supervised consumption rooms and substitution treatment. It also calls for education, less stigma, and addiction prevention that covers gambling and media use as well.

Volt wants to help people who use drugs. They should be able to use drugs more safely. One example is drug checking. Experts test what is in a drug. Volt also wants more education about addiction.

Volt wants to reduce the disadvantages that women and people of other gender identities face in health care. To do so, it would expand research, training for medical staff and low-cost screening. The platform points to research gaps, faulty diagnoses and poorer access to therapies.

Volt says medicine pays too little attention to women. So there should be more research on this. Doctors should get training. Women should get cancer screening at low cost.

Volt wants to decriminalize the possession and use of all psychoactive substances and do without sanctions. The partial legalization of cannabis would stay and be extended to sales in specialized shops. The party treats the use of such substances as part of bodily self-determination.

Volt no longer wants to punish people for having drugs. This should apply to all drugs. Cannabis should stay legal. People should be able to buy it in special shops. Education should protect health and young people.

Volt wants more physical activity at school, at work, and in leisure time, because the platform says it prevents lifestyle diseases. The plan includes daily exercise offerings in schools, free municipal sports programs for adults, and more uniform health insurer bonus programs.

Volt wants people to move more. That keeps them healthy. Schoolchildren should be able to exercise every day. Towns should offer free sports for adults. Health insurers should reward exercise more.

Volt wants to simplify and digitize immigration for workers and skilled professionals. Immigrants are to be allowed to work right away, whatever their residence status. The platform points to the labor shortage, which it says costs the economy more than 90 billion euros a year.

Volt wants to make it easier for people from abroad to work in Germany. They should be allowed to work from the first day. All forms should be available online in one place. The office should decide on a visa within three months.

Volt wants to abolish the Dublin III Regulation and distribute asylum seekers among EU countries according to fixed criteria. It also calls for a state-run European sea rescue service and for reversing the tightening of the Common European Asylum System.

Volt wants to change the asylum system in Europe. Today, the country where a person first arrives is often responsible. Volt wants to share people more fairly among all countries. Europe should rescue people at sea together. There should be no asylum procedures in camps at the borders.

Volt wants to make asylum procedures in Germany faster and fairer through free counseling and specialized court chambers. Especially vulnerable refugees should be able to enter directly and safely through resettlement, and people persecuted because of their gender should get more protection.

Volt wants to make asylum procedures in Germany faster. All asylum seekers should get free advice. Special sections at courts should handle the cases. People in great danger should be able to come to Germany safely. This is called resettlement.

Volt wants to create a new residence permit for people fleeing the effects of climate change and to recognize climate and environmental reasons in the asylum system. According to the program, this gives those affected a future and brings skilled workers to Germany.

Some people have to leave their homes because of climate change. Volt wants to give them a new residence permit. It is called the Climate Card or climate work visa. Young people from affected countries should be able to train in Germany. Volt says Germany also gains skilled workers this way.

Volt wants to let asylum seekers work from day one and to reorient immigration offices around a welcoming mission statement. Free German courses are to be available to everyone, regardless of residence status.

Volt wants asylum seekers to be allowed to work right away. Immigration offices should become friendlier and get a new name. German courses should be free for everyone. This also applies to people without a secure right to stay. Children should get language support starting in daycare.

Volt wants to offer people whose asylum application was rejected a so-called opportunity year (Chancenjahr). Those who work or contribute to society during that time should be able to obtain a residence permit.

Some asylum applications are rejected. Volt wants to give these people an opportunity year. During this year they may work. After that they can get a residence permit. People who find no job help with social tasks.

Volt wants to use deportations only as a last resort and exempt well-integrated people from them. The program justifies this by saying deportations are a severe intervention in the lives of those affected.

Volt wants fewer deportations. People who work, train or study should be allowed to stay. This only applies to people without a criminal record. Single women and children should not be sent to countries outside the EU. Volt wants to support voluntary return, but without pressure.

Volt wants stronger protection for people in the LGBTQIA+ community against violence and hate crime. It plans more support and prevention services, public campaigns, and dedicated contact points for those affected. The platform points to rising violence, especially against trans people.

Queer people often face violence. This is especially true for trans people. Volt wants to protect them better. There should be more help and prevention. Campaigns should inform people about the problem. Victims should get their own places to find help.

Volt wants comparable work to be paid equally regardless of personal characteristics such as gender, origin or disability. It also wants to strengthen collective bargaining coverage and make skills count more than formal degrees in the public sector.

Volt wants equal pay for equal work. This should apply to everyone. Gender, origin, religion or disability should not matter. More companies should pay union-agreed wages. In public-sector jobs, experience should count more than a degree.

Volt wants to define racism and racist violence as specific legal terms in criminal law and remove the word "Rasse" (race) from all statutes. It also wants to expand counseling and contact points for people affected by discrimination.

Volt wants criminal law to name racism clearly. The word "race" should be removed from laws. People who face discrimination should find more places that help them. Volt also wants campaigns against hatred of Sinti and Roma.

Volt wants a nationwide action plan against Islamophobia. The platform justifies this by saying Muslims face disadvantages in housing, education and employment.

Volt wants a plan against hostility toward Muslims for all of Germany. Volt says Muslims are often treated unfairly. Muslim women should get special protection. Researchers should study the causes.

Volt wants to better protect Jewish communities and fight antisemitism. The platform derives this from Germany's historical responsibility for the Holocaust.

Volt wants to protect Jewish communities better. There should be more officers and reporting offices against hatred of Jews. Schools should teach about the Shoah. The Shoah is the murder of Jews under the Nazis.

Volt wants to shift legal guardianship for people with disabilities to supported decision-making and give preference to outpatient care at home. Elections and civic education would become accessible.

People with disabilities should decide more for themselves. Guardians should support them instead of deciding for them. Care should take place in their own home where possible. Polling places must be accessible. That means everyone can use them without barriers.

Volt wants to protect gender identity and sexual diversity in Article 3 of the Basic Law and introduce co-motherhood from birth. Conversion treatments would be banned completely.

Volt wants the constitution to protect queer people from unfair treatment. With two mothers, the second mother should count as a parent from birth. Conversion treatments should be fully banned. These are attempts to change a person's sexual orientation or gender.

Volt wants to make feminism a guiding principle of politics. Budgets at every level of government would have to be planned in a gender-sensitive way, and every law would be checked for its effects on the genders. The party says this strengthens democracy and equality.

Volt wants politics to pay more attention to women. For every budget, officials should check how the money affects women and men. They should check this for every law too. Volt says this makes politics fairer.

Volt wants to close the pay gap between women and men. It plans transparency duties for companies, legal criteria for equal pay, a 50 percent women's quota on supervisory boards and in leadership positions, and an end to Ehegattensplitting (joint tax splitting for married couples). The party sees this as a step toward equality and social justice at work.

Women often earn less than men. Volt wants to change that. Larger companies should publish their pay data. Half of the top jobs should go to women. Married couples should no longer get a joint tax break. In return, the child benefit should go up.

Volt wants to fully implement the Istanbul Convention and protect women better against violence. It plans more places in women's shelters, round-the-clock emergency services, broader criminal liability and prevention that focuses on perpetrators. The platform calls gender-based violence a massive violation of human rights.

Volt wants to protect women better against violence. There should be more places in women's shelters. Staying there should be free. After a rape, help should be available fast, day and night. There should be more protection online too. Offenders should have to take courses.

Volt wants to repeal Section 218 of the Criminal Code and fully decriminalize abortion up to the 18th week of pregnancy. Mandatory counseling and waiting periods would end, and public health insurers would cover the costs. Non-commercial surrogacy and egg donation would also be legalized.

Volt wants to allow abortions up to the 18th week. They should no longer be a crime. Counseling should no longer be required. Health insurance should pay the costs. Egg donation should be allowed too. Parents should have more rights after a miscarriage.

Volt wants Germany to be climate neutral by 2040 at the latest, as its contribution to the Paris Agreement. Climate protection, competitiveness, and social fairness are to be pursued together. The goal is a circular economy that stays within planetary boundaries.

Germany should be climate neutral by 2040. That means the country no longer harms the climate. Emissions should drop sharply in the coming years. The economy should still stay strong and fair.

Volt wants to lower energy prices because, in the platform's view, they help determine competitiveness, especially for industry. To that end, the energy tax would be cut and the federal government would cover part of the grid fees.

Volt wants energy to cost less. The tax on energy should be as low as possible. Later it should end in the whole EU. The government should pay part of the cost of the power grids.

Volt wants to factor ecological and social costs into economic decisions through market-based instruments. The second European emissions trading system would start on schedule, and the sales tax would depend on sustainability. Part of the revenue from carbon pricing would flow back to the population.

Volt wants harm to the climate and the environment to have a price. Trading in CO₂ permits in Europe should grow in 2027. The sales tax should depend on how sustainable a product is. At least one third of the CO₂ money should go straight to the people.

Volt wants to allow fossil fuels in industrial plants only until 2035 and to require climate-neutral energy for new plants. The platform justifies this with climate targets, securing Germany as a business location, and reducing dependence on fossil resources.

From 2035, factories should stop using oil, gas and coal. New plants must run on electricity or hydrogen. Volt wants to fund new production methods. Some emissions cannot be avoided. Volt wants to capture and store these.

Volt wants political decisions to undergo mandatory checks of their climate impact and wants climate action to be binding at every level of government. More transparency about emissions and products is meant to enable informed purchasing decisions and build acceptance.

Politicians should check every decision for its effect on the climate. Federal, state and local governments should have to protect the climate. An online overview should show emissions every year. Shoppers should get clear information about products.

Volt wants all electricity demand in 2035 to be met continuously from renewable energy. To get there, grids would be expanded faster, storage made more economically attractive, and solar installations on buildings made mandatory nationwide.

From 2035, all electricity should come from wind, sun and other renewable sources. Volt wants to expand power grids faster. Power storage should pay off more. New buildings should have to get solar panels. This also applies to major renovations.

Volt wants to cut the electricity tax to the minimum permitted in the EU and restructure grid fees so that energy stays affordable. The platform argues that the costs of the energy transition are unevenly distributed and often fall on those who cannot have solar panels or a heat pump.

Volt wants to cut the tax on electricity sharply. Fees for the power grid should also stay low. The energy transition costs a lot of money. Volt says the costs are not shared fairly. People should be able to take part in energy projects.

Volt wants to set out in law a path for turning gas distribution grids into hydrogen grids and to secure the long-term supply of green hydrogen. The party says this matters most for industries that cannot be fully electrified.

Green hydrogen is a gas made with green electricity. Some factories cannot run on electricity alone. They need this hydrogen. Volt wants to convert gas grids for hydrogen step by step. Germany and Europe should work together to secure enough hydrogen.

Volt wants to shift heating to renewable sources by simplifying permits for geothermal energy and large heat pumps and by expanding district heating and the use of waste heat. Heating systems labeled "H2-ready" would no longer be subsidized, because the party considers running them on green hydrogen unrealistic.

Volt wants heating to work without oil and gas. Geothermal energy and large heat pumps should get permits faster. District heating should be expanded. Heat from factories and data centers should also be used. Heaters built for hydrogen should get no more subsidies.

Volt wants to write adaptation to the effects of the climate crisis into the Basic Law as a joint task of the federal and state governments and finance it through a long-term fund. This is meant to better prepare cities and rural regions for extreme weather events.

The climate is changing. There is more heat and more heavy rain. Volt wants to prepare cities and villages for this. This should be written into the Basic Law, Germany's constitution, as a task. A fund should pay for it for at least 30 years. A fund is a pot of money for one purpose.

Volt wants to prepare Germany better for the effects of the climate crisis. This includes more flood protection, a health system geared to heat and infection risks, and resilient mixed forests.

Volt wants to prepare Germany for the effects of the climate crisis. There should be more protection against floods. The health system should cope better with heat. Forests should have many kinds of trees.

Volt wants to promote technologies for capturing, using and storing CO₂ and put them on a clear legal footing. In the party's view they are needed for climate-neutral manufacturing and secure jobs and competitiveness.

Volt wants to support technology that captures CO₂. CO₂ is a climate gas. It can be reused or stored in the ground. Volt prefers reusing it over storing it. Energy companies should take part of their CO₂ back out of the air.

Volt wants to launch a nationwide program for energy retrofits of public buildings. The state is to become a role model for private owners. According to the platform, climate-neutral building and renovation lowers energy costs and helps meet climate targets.

Volt wants to renovate public buildings, such as offices and schools. The buildings would then need less energy. The state should set an example. There would be funding for climate-neutral building.

Volt wants to secure the quantity and quality of water because, in the program's view, climate change, pollution and rising demand are putting the resource under pressure. Public water supply is to take priority over other uses, and supply and wastewater networks are to be renewed.

Volt wants to protect water. Water for people should come first. Other users come after that. The state should spend more money on pipes and wastewater. Fewer harmful substances should get into the water.

Volt wants to strengthen forests and peatlands as natural carbon sinks and habitats. At least one billion trees are to be planted by 2035, clear-cutting is to be banned, and the rewetting of peatlands greatly expanded.

Volt wants to protect forests and peatlands. They store the climate gas CO₂. One billion new trees should grow by 2035. Nobody should be allowed to cut down whole areas of forest at once. Dry peatlands should become wet again.

Volt wants to expand reuse and recycling to conserve raw materials and cut waste. To this end, deposit, lending and reusable systems are to grow, quotas are to rise, and waste law is to be overhauled.

Volt wants less waste. There should be more deposit and reusable systems. More old products should be collected and recycled. For example, more old batteries should be returned. Repairing things and buying used goods should pay off more.

Volt wants to tighten animal protection outside agriculture. Plans include new duties for pet owners, a long-term phase-out of animal testing, stronger enforcement, and the transformation of zoos.

Volt wants to protect animals better. Dogs and cats should get a chip. People who keep an animal should prove their knowledge. Animal testing should become less and later end completely. Zoos should no longer show wild animals.

Volt wants to restructure EU farm support by 2030: instead of direct payments, there would be a premium for services that benefit the environment, climate and animal welfare. Agriculture is thereby meant to combine sustainability with economic efficiency.

Farmers get money from the EU today. Volt wants to hand out this money differently. By 2030 there should be a new premium. Money goes to those who do something for the environment, the climate and animals. Fields should become smaller and more varied.

Volt wants to raise animal welfare in agriculture. CO₂ stunning and tethering are to be replaced by more animal-friendly methods, and animal products are to be clearly labeled by husbandry method and origin.

Volt wants farm animals to have a better life. Animals should no longer be tied up in the barn. Stunning with CO₂ before slaughter should end. Meat and milk should show how and where the animals lived. Pictures should show this.

Volt wants to reshape urban transport so that fewer cars are on the road and buses, trains, bicycles and pedestrians get more space. In rural areas, flexible services such as on-demand buses are meant to preserve individual mobility while creating climate-friendly alternatives.

Volt wants fewer cars in cities. Buses and trains should run more often and on time. There should be more safe bike lanes. In the countryside, there should be on-demand buses. An on-demand bus comes when you call for it.

Volt calls for nationwide speed limits: 120 km/h on the Autobahn, 80 km/h on rural roads and 30 km/h in built-up areas. According to the platform, this would make traffic safer, cut CO₂ emissions and reduce noise.

Volt wants new speed limits for all of Germany. The limit on the Autobahn should be 120 km/h. The limit on country roads should be 80 km/h. The limit in towns should be 30 km/h. Volt says this is safer, quieter and better for the climate.

Volt wants to expand and modernize the rail network, keep the Deutschlandticket (nationwide transit pass) and restructure Deutsche Bahn. According to the platform, rail should become a reliable alternative to cars and planes and enable emission-free freight transport.

Volt wants more and better rail lines. The Deutschlandticket should stay. That is a transit pass for all of Germany. Deutsche Bahn should be split up: the tracks and the train service would be separate. Europe should get more fast trains and night trains.

Volt wants riding without a valid ticket to be treated as an administrative offense rather than a crime. Above all, no one should serve a substitute prison sentence for it anymore.

Riding a bus or train without a ticket is a crime in Germany today. Volt wants to change that. It should only be a minor offense, like a parking violation. No one should go to prison for it.

Volt wants to introduce an electronically collected toll on the Autobahn, with the amount depending on distance driven and emission class. According to the platform, those who use the infrastructure heavily should contribute more to its upkeep and expansion.

Volt wants a toll on the Autobahn. A toll is a fee for driving on a road. People who drive farther pay more. People with cars that pollute more also pay more. The toll applies only on the Autobahn.

Volt wants to consolidate oversight of the digital sphere, which the platform says is spread across more than 80 agencies, into three areas. This is meant to clarify responsibilities and give businesses fixed points of contact. The agencies in charge are to become more independent.

Today a great many agencies are in charge of the internet. Volt wants to change that. There should be only three areas: security online, market oversight, and data protection. The agencies should work independently. Companies then know whom to contact.

Volt rejects the blanket use of surveillance technology and its automated analysis. Systems that biometrically identify people remotely in real time are to be banned. The platform justifies this with the protection of privacy and informational self-determination.

Volt does not want surveillance everywhere. Cameras should not be allowed to recognize people by their faces automatically. This should also apply at borders and in prisons. There should be clear limits on how the police use artificial intelligence. This is how Volt wants to protect privacy.

Volt wants security flaws in IT systems to be reported openly and fixed quickly. The so-called hacker paragraph is to be dropped so that security researchers need not fear prosecution. Volt rejects state backdoors in software.

Volt wants to close security gaps in computer systems quickly. There should be one central list for them. Researchers should be allowed to look for gaps without being punished. That is why the hacker paragraph should go. The state should not build secret entrances into programs.

Volt wants to give people more control over their data and protect them from manipulative practices online. At the same time, regulation should not hold back companies' capacity to innovate. In the platform's view, data protection should become a competitive advantage.

Some websites trick people. These tricks are called dark patterns. Volt wants clear laws for them. All of Europe should also have shared rules to protect consumers. Companies should get simple help to follow data protection rules.

Volt wants to set up a new digital ministry that defines the IT strategy for all of Germany. It would steer the digitalization of public administration and cut duplicate structures. The platform expects this to produce more efficient and user-friendly public services.

Volt wants a separate ministry for digital matters. It should plan the computer technology of all agencies. The same rules and standards should apply everywhere. Agencies should have to share finished digital solutions with each other. This should make public administration faster and simpler.

Volt wants public authorities to offer their services digitally, on mobile devices, and as far as possible proactively. People should have to submit their data only once. The platform points to Estonia as a model.

Volt wants government offices to go digital. People should be able to do many things on their phone. Offices should give some services on their own. People should give their data only once. Everyone should be able to use the services.

Volt wants to promote the development and use of artificial intelligence in business and research. The platform expects this to bring more competitiveness, new jobs, and technological sovereignty.

Volt wants to support artificial intelligence. The short word for it is AI. Companies should be able to test AI safely. There should be more money and more large data centers. People should be able to train for new jobs with AI.

Volt wants to limit AI risks such as discrimination, data misuse, and disinformation through a uniform legal framework. Private individuals should decide for themselves whether their data is used for AI.

Volt wants clear rules for artificial intelligence. Each person should decide whether AI uses their data. The EU's laws should be applied strictly. They should protect people from unfair treatment and false information.

Volt wants to speed up the rollout of fiber and 5G across the country and set binding minimum speeds for internet connections by 2030. The platform calls access to fast, affordable internet a basic right and wants to support rural regions in particular.

Volt wants fast internet for everyone in Germany. More fiber cables should be built for this. By 2030, every connection should have a minimum speed. Villages and small towns should get money from the government for this.

Volt wants to make Germany and Europe more independent in digital technologies, for example by supporting semiconductor production, European cloud infrastructure and open source in public administration. Cities would be planned more sustainably using sensor data and open systems.

Volt wants Europe to depend less on others for digital technology. The government should support companies that make computer chips. There should be European cloud services. Public offices should use open-source software. That is software whose code anyone can look at.

Volt wants to write the promotion of digital skills into law and embed it in schools, vocational training and further training through a nationwide framework. Libraries and community centers would become learning centers with digital and analog offerings. In the platform's view, no one should be disadvantaged for lacking digital knowledge.

Volt wants everyone to be able to use digital technology. A law should make this a task of education. There should be one shared plan for all of Germany. Libraries and community centers should become places to learn. They offer courses and help.

Volt wants to act against all forms of extremism, relying on prosecution, prevention, victim protection and international cooperation. Police and the courts are to get more resources, and penalties for hate crime are to rise.

Volt wants to fight extremism. Extremism means people reject democracy and often want to end it by force. Police and courts should get more staff and money. Hate crimes should be punished more harshly. Schools should teach young people about the dangers. Victims should get help.

Volt wants to make Europol a European police force in its own right, with its own enforcement powers. The EU treaties would be amended for this purpose. The platform argues that organized crime and terrorism operate across borders.

Europol is the police agency of the EU. Today it cannot arrest anyone itself. Volt wants to change that. Europol should become a real police force for Europe. The EU Parliament should oversee it.

Volt wants to relieve the police of tasks outside their core role. At the same time, states and municipalities would get help recruiting more staff for police and public order offices. The platform points to heavy workloads and large amounts of overtime.

The police have a lot of work. Volt wants to take some tasks away from them. Other offices should do these tasks. There should also be more police officers. Training should become more attractive for that.

Volt wants to give the police modern technology and strengthen cybercrime units in the police and the justice system. At the same time, EU-level standards for digital fundamental rights would apply, especially for the use of state trojans. The platform cites the rise in online crime as the reason.

There is more and more crime on the internet. Volt wants to give the police better technology. This includes cameras worn on the body, called bodycams. There should be more experts fighting internet crime. The EU should set rules to protect basic rights.

Volt wants to add staff to special units fighting organized crime and to check imported goods systematically. The handling of criminal cases would be fully digital. In the platform's view, organized crime threatens democracy and the rule of law.

Volt wants to act more strongly against criminal gangs. Special units should get more staff. Goods from abroad should be checked more closely. Police and prosecutors should work digitally. This should make cases faster.

Volt wants a police law that applies equally in all German states. Training, equipment, and funding of the police forces would also be aligned. The platform expects more effective law enforcement and equal protection in every region.

Today each German state has its own police law. Volt wants one law for all of Germany. Training should be the same everywhere. All police forces should have the same modern equipment. Money should also be shared more evenly.

Volt wants stronger protection for places of worship and more support for religious communities. The platform points to growing threats and hate crimes, especially against Jewish and Muslim communities.

Volt wants to protect churches, synagogues and mosques better. Jewish and Muslim communities are often threatened. Campaigns should reduce prejudice. The communities should get more help from the state.

Volt wants to expand independent complaints offices, require training for security forces and make the police and judiciary more diverse. In the platform's view, unfair treatment by authorities undermines trust in public safety and the courts.

Some people experience racism from the police. Volt wants to act against this. There should be more independent offices for complaints. Police officers should take training courses. More kinds of people should work in the police and the courts.

Volt wants to reach young offenders early with prevention programs and expand care for unaccompanied refugee minors. Caregivers would get more resources, and more people would be recruited for volunteering and social work.

Volt wants to help young people who have committed crimes. The help should come early. Young refugees without parents should also get better care. Caregivers should have enough resources. More men should work in social jobs.

Volt wants to improve the draft KRITIS-Dachgesetz (umbrella law on critical infrastructure) and use it to implement EU requirements on the resilience of critical infrastructure. Responsibility for protecting it would be centralized at the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).

Critical infrastructure means important facilities, for example for power and water. Volt wants to protect these facilities better. A law should be improved for this. One agency should be in charge of protection. This agency is called the BSI.

Volt wants to reallocate responsibilities among the federal government, the states and municipalities and to strengthen municipal finances. To that end, the Gewerbesteuer (local business tax) is to be replaced by a revenue source that does not depend on the business cycle.

Volt wants new rules on who does what in the state. This concerns the federal government, the states, and towns and cities. Towns and cities should get money more reliably. For this, Volt wants to replace the local business tax. Companies pay this tax to their town.

Volt wants the federal government to work toward verifiable impact goals and ministries to cooperate more closely. Laws are to be checked for their practical effect both before and after they are passed.

Volt wants the government to set clear goals. People should be able to measure whether it reaches them. New laws should first be tested in towns and cities. Later, someone checks whether the laws work. Budget money should also be tied to goals.

Volt wants to make public administration more digital, flexible and service-oriented. Applications are to count as approved if the authority does not process them in time, and central contact points are to simplify access to services.

Volt wants to modernize government offices. There should be one central place for many requests. If an office does not handle an application in time, it counts as approved. Rules should be checked regularly and made simpler. Work in the offices should become more flexible.

Volt wants to lower the voting age to 16 for all elections and introduce a backup vote. EU citizens are to be allowed to vote and run in state and federal elections after three years of residence.

Volt wants people to vote from age 16. This should apply to every election. There should also be a backup vote. It counts if the first party gets too few votes. People from other EU countries should be allowed to vote after three years.

Volt wants to introduce a national anti-corruption strategy and disclose lobbying influence on legislation. In addition, citizens' budgets in municipalities and a youth parliament are meant to strengthen participation.

Volt wants to do more against corruption. Corruption means someone uses their office for personal gain. People should be able to see who influenced a law. Local residents should decide on part of their town's money. Young people should get their own parliament.

Volt wants to narrow the differences between eastern and western Germany, relying on new participation formats and cultural funding. In the platform's view, a united Germany is a precondition for credibly advocating more European integration.

Volt wants East and West in Germany to grow closer together. For this, there should be a Future Council. There, citizens, politicians and associations look for solutions together. Schoolchildren everywhere should learn about the years around reunification. Meeting places for youth, clubs and culture should get money.

Volt wants to set up a central digital platform for public participation. Government spending would also be published in one place for everyone to see. The party says this would strengthen trust in how the state works.

Volt wants one website for taking part in politics. People can give their views there. The state should also show what it spends money on. Volt says this helps people trust the state.

Volt wants a European constitution to be drafted that opens the way to a federal European republic. In the platform's view, Europe needs a democratically legitimized foundation in order to act effectively and beyond national interests.

Volt wants a constitution for Europe. A constitution is the most important law of a state. The EU should become one federal state. Volt calls this a federal European republic. People in Europe should have a say in this.

Volt wants the European Parliament to be able to propose laws itself and to have an equal say in all lawmaking. The platform argues that Parliament is the only directly elected EU institution and should actively represent citizens' concerns.

Today the European Parliament cannot propose laws. Volt wants to change that. Parliament should have an equal say on all laws. The Council of the EU should change too. People should elect its members directly.

Volt wants to convert the European Commission into a government with broader powers that answers to Parliament. The European Council would be abolished in the long run, and the EU would get its own revenue.

Volt wants a real government for Europe. The EU Commission should become this government. Parliament should keep watch over it. There should be ministries like in a state. The EU should also collect its own money, for example through a digital tax.

Volt wants tasks and funding assigned to whichever level handles them most effectively. Regional and local responsibilities would stay where that makes sense, while areas such as foreign policy would be governed at the European level.

Volt wants to share tasks well. Cities and regions should handle some tasks themselves. Europe should handle other tasks together, such as foreign policy. Regions along borders should get more support.

Volt wants to create citizens' councils at the European level so that people can take part directly in EU policy. In the party's view, this would build trust in the EU and reduce disillusionment with politics.

Volt wants citizens' councils for Europe. In a citizens' council, randomly chosen people discuss politics. This way people in the EU can have a direct say. Volt hopes people will then trust the EU more.

Volt wants cross-border candidate lists for European elections, a European law on political parties, and a uniform electoral law. The platform sees this as the path to a European democracy with shared opinion-forming and more transparency.

Volt wants to change European elections. Parties should put up lists for all of Europe. Then people can vote for candidates from other countries. There should be European parties that people can vote for everywhere. The same voting rules should apply in all EU countries.

Volt wants the EU to decide by qualified majority instead of unanimously in key areas such as foreign and budget policy. According to the platform, unanimity often blocks progress and is exploited by individual states for national goals.

On some questions, all EU countries must agree. A single country can then stop everything. Volt wants to change that. In the future, a large majority of countries should be enough. This should also apply to foreign policy and the budget.

Volt wants EU money to go only to member states that respect the rule of law. Violations of core values such as press freedom and judicial independence are to be sanctioned consistently.

Volt wants the EU to give money only to countries that follow the rule of law. That means, for example, independent courts and a free press. Countries that break these rules should be punished. The EU should also do more against corruption.

Volt wants to dissolve Frontex and merge the national border agencies into a new European authority. The EU asylum agency would be expanded to organize the reception and distribution of people seeking protection. Secure external borders are meant to make fixed checks at internal borders permanently unnecessary.

Frontex is the EU border agency. Volt wants to close Frontex. A new European agency should guard the borders. A second agency should look after people seeking protection. The EU Parliament should oversee both.

Volt wants to merge the member states' diplomatic services into the European External Action Service so that Europe speaks with one voice. Europe should also become more independent of the US, reform NATO and develop nuclear sharing based on French capabilities.

Volt wants one shared foreign policy for Europe. The countries' foreign services should become part of one European service. Europe should depend less on the US. France's nuclear weapons should protect the whole EU. Volt still wants fewer nuclear weapons worldwide.

Volt wants to remove barriers for companies and workers in the EU single market. The plan includes a common capital market, an optional EU body of business law, and in the long run a European social insurance. The platform sees the single market as a stabilizer in a world trade shaped by geopolitics.

Volt wants companies to work more easily across the whole EU. For this, there should be common EU rules that companies can choose. Investing money across borders should be easier. Later there should be a European social insurance.

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.

Volt wants a thorough reckoning with Germany's colonial history and the return of looted or expropriated cultural objects and assets. Monuments and street names with a troubled history would be reviewed.

Volt wants to study Germany's colonial past closely. Germany should give back stolen art. Some monuments and street names should be checked. They may then get a new meaning or a new name.

Volt wants to write culture into the Grundgesetz (Germany's constitution) as a state objective. This is meant to give cultural policy more weight. Minority cultures, customs, historic monuments, and the independent arts scene are also to be protected.

Volt wants to put culture into the constitution. The constitution is Germany's most important law. The state would then have to pay special attention to culture. Volt also wants to protect the cultures of minorities.

Volt wants more people to be able to enjoy culture regardless of income, age, or where they live. This includes nationwide culture tickets for people with little money, extending the Kulturpass (culture pass for young people), and mobile services in rural areas. Arts education in schools is also to be strengthened.

Volt wants everyone to be able to enjoy culture. People with little money should get culture tickets. Young people should keep their culture pass. Buses with books and culture should travel to rural areas. Schools should keep teaching art and music.

Volt wants artists to be better paid and better protected. The plan includes a base fee for public contracts, a higher federal subsidy to artists' social insurance, and easier access to unemployment insurance. In the party's view, this secures cultural life in the long run.

Volt wants to protect artists better. They should get a minimum fee for public contracts. The federal government should pay more into their social insurance. It should be easier for them to join unemployment insurance.

Volt wants the culture budgets of the federal government, states, and municipalities not to shrink and to grow over the long term as needed. The party opposes cuts to culture. Funding is to come from the Bundeskulturfonds (federal culture fund) and from tourist taxes.

Volt does not want to cut money for culture. The federal government, states, and towns should pay at least as much as now. Later there should be more money if needed. Fees paid by tourists should also help culture.

Volt wants to preserve a diverse and independent media landscape, which the platform describes as a pillar of democracy. Media workers are to be better protected, and local newspapers and nonprofit journalism are to receive support. A new competence center is to bundle media education and advice.

Volt wants to protect journalists better. A new center should advise and train them. The center should also teach people how to use media well. Local newspapers should get money from the state.

Volt wants to reform public broadcasting with the involvement of a citizens' council. In addition, an independent public broadcaster is to be created at the European level to make EU topics more visible.

Volt wants to change Germany's public TV and radio. A council of citizens should have a say in this. Volt also wants a new broadcaster for all of Europe. It should report on EU topics.

Volt wants to fund sports clubs, make sports facilities accessible, and reorganize funding for elite sports. The party justifies this with the importance of sports for health, social cohesion, and personal development.

Volt wants to give money to sports clubs. Sports fields and gyms should be open to everyone, including people with disabilities. Campaigns should win new members for clubs. Top athletes should also get better support.