German coalition agreement- fully translated Europe programme

1. A new departure for Europe

The European Union is a historically unique, successful project of peace; it has to maintain those features. It combines economic integration and welfare, anchored into freedom, democracy and social justice. The core of this vision is that the EU uses its shared political and economic power to foster peace outside while creating security and prosperity inside. Germany has much to thank Europe for, and it is committed to its success. For Germany, a strong and united Europe is the best guarantee for a future of peace, freedom and prosperity. The global balance of power has changed fundamentally in recent years- politically, economically and militarily. The shift in US global priorities,

The strengthening of China and the politics of Russia mean that Europe must be

Take its fate into his own hands. Only by uniting the EU countries have a chance to maintain a voice this world and enforce their common interests. Only together we can share our values, defend our solidarity and the social model that ties in with the social market economy. That is why the EU needs a renewal and a new departure.

[on fundamental principles]

2. We want a Europe of democracy and solidarity

• We want the cohesion of Europe based on its democratic credentials; Europe shall deepen the rule of law at all levels, as well as strengthening mutual solidarity.
• We want Germany to be actively involved in the debate on the future of EU and strengthening European integration.
• We want a more democratic Europe, with a strengthened European Parliament and a lively representative democracy at national, regional level and municipal level.
• We want to make Europe more citizen-friendly and transparent, thereby gain confidence.
• The democratic and constitutional values and principles on which European unification is built must remain valid in all the European Union

[on competitiveness]

3. We want a Europe of competitiveness and investment

• Investing in Europe means investing in the good future of our country, since Growth and prosperity in Germany are dependent on growth and prosperity in the rest of Europe.
• We want to increase the competitiveness of the EU and its growth potential in the context of globalization in order to secure jobs in the future; That is the basis of our future well-being.
• The social market economy- based on corporate responsibility, social partnership, participation and a fair distribution of profit- needs a renaissance, especially in times of digitalization.
• The EU needs to strengthen its strategic research policy, the innovation ability and to complete the Digital Single Market.
• Furthermore, we need to strengthen the European investment capacity by initiatives such as the European Investment Program (EFSI).

[on social policies and civil rights]

4. We want a Europe of opportunity and justice

• Europe must be a continent of opportunity, especially for young people. They are Europe's future. We want young people to be able to rely on Europe to fulfil their hopes. We want them to find good jobs in a continent with freedom of mobility, so they can move and exchange with others, building friendships and practicing European cohabitation. That is why we want an EU youth unemployment policy with resources, as well as expand exchange programmes such as Erasmus +.
• We want to strengthen fundamental social rights, in particular the principle of equal pay for equal job. We want to strengthen the European social pact by supporting work in the same place of living. We want a fair framework for employees and better coordination of European labour market policies.
• We want a European framework for minimum wage regulations as well as national basic social security systems in EU countries. We need to fight wage dumping and social inequalities in the economically weaker countries; this fight will also secure the German welfare state and the German social market economy.
• We want to promote fair mobility, but prevent abusive welfare tourism.
• We want more comparability of educational standards in the EU.
• We want to fight tax dumping, fraud and avoidance and money laundering both at EU and international level. We support a just taxation of large corporations, especially the Internet giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon; in the future, companies will no longer be able to avoid to their social responsibility by playing the different states of the EU against each other. Tax dumping must be prevented.
• We support a common, consolidated tax base and minimum rates for corporate taxes. We must enforce the principle that the country where the profit is made is also the country where profit is taxed. At this regard, we want to take a joint initiative with France to craft an European response to international changes and challenges in this area, not least in the USA.
• We want to introduce a substantial financial transaction tax.

[on external action policies]

5. We want a Europe of peace and global responsibility

• Global challenges need European answers. We are united in the clear rejection of protectionism, isolationism and nationalism. We need more, rather than less, international cooperation.
• Local challenges can only really be solved locally. Hence, we need a lively subsidiarity, including in its scope of action the strengthening of communities and countries.
• The common European foreign and security policy must be in line with the idea that Europe is a power of peace. It must be the principle and the very first priority the political action before the military and peacekeeping solutions are considered for prevention and civilian crises.
• We want strengthened and lively cooperation in security and defense policy (PESCO).
• Concerning refugee and migration policies, the EU needs to support its humanitarian effort and, at the same time, better manage migration .We want to combat the causes of departure comprehensively; we need to protect the external borders of the EU more effectively. And avoid divisions in the EU.
• We want to work with Africa in a coherent Africa strategy at all levels.
• We want an open and fair trade policy that benefits everyone and aims at growth, sustainability and equity.
• The EU must play a leading international role in climate protection; furthermore, the EU must push for an ambitious implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
• The EU also needs a common foreign and human rights policy.

[on Eurozone institutional reforms]

In order to achieve these goals, we want to strengthen the EU's ability to act, especially the European Parliament. We want to strengthen the EU financially, so that it can better fulfill its tasks; at this regard, work will need to be done in the next multiannual financial framework. Concerning resources allocation, we are in favor of specific budgetary resources for economic stabilization and social convergence, as well as to support structural reforms within the euro area; such a capability could be the starting point for a future investment budget for the Eurozone. We are also willing to increase the shareof Germany's EU budget. In this spirit, we will sought partnerships to empower, strengthen and reform the Eurozone, raising the global profile of the Euro and make it resilient in face of global crises. We aim to achieve fiscal oversight, economic co-operation in the EU and the Eurozone, and ensure cooperation in the fight against tax fraud and aggressive tax avoidance. To this end, we will examine proposals submitted by the European Commission and by other member states. We want to have a parliamentary control over the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) which should be enshrined in Union law as a European Monetary Fund.

Overall, we are guided by the fact that the EU supports solidarity between the Member States as between their citizens. The principle Mutual solidarity must also apply to the EU budget. At the same time, we affirm the principle that risk and liabilities are bound.

[on Franco-German partnership]

The renewal of the EU will only succeed if Germany and France merge all their strength working together for it. Hence want the Franco-German partnership to be further strengthened through renewed bilateral cooperation. A new Elysee Agreement is a first and important step to this end. Germany and France must in particular be a driver of innovation and will do so in projects such as research in artificial intelligence. We want to have common positions to discuss all important issues of European and international politics. We support differentiated integration in those areas where the EU has no capacity to act with 27 Member States.