Aftermath of the 2024 European elections (Part 2): Programmes of the Political Groups
17 June 2024
Drastic changes in group alignment are not expected, but some of the about 90 MEPs who are not yet in a group may join one in the coming weeks. The manifestos of the five political groups to which MEPs from Germany are aligned, are presented below.
EPP is a centre-right European political party with Christian-democratic, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. Following the elections, the party managed to maintain its position as the strongest force in the European Parliament. CDU/CSU is part of EPP. The group advocates for the protection of the European way of life. It wants to preserve Christian values and fundamental principles of democracy, human dignity, fundamental rights, freedom, equality, solidarity, the rule of law, justice, pluralism, and tolerance. It strives for a competitive and prosperous Europe, driven by economic growth, technological advancements, AI leadership – based on ethical standards and fundamental rights, by avoiding over-regulation – and climate protection. EPP wants to establish an innovation union for future technologies, for example by creating scientific centres of excellence such as a CERN for AI and an EU research-computing centre to simplify the exchange and data across Europe, for which funding is required. It calls for a doubling the EU research budget for the period 2024-2027, while setting a target of 4% of European GDP devoted to research and innovation by 2030. This would contribute to increasing the innovative drive of the EU’s economy based on an investment plan for European quality jobs to be launched. It wants to turn the EU’s ‘brain drain’ into ‘brain gain’ across Europe, based on an action plan, offering young people the chance to return to their home country from abroad and within Europe. EPP will promote a European plan for rural areas order to close the gap between rural and urban, strengthening the EU strategy for Outermost Regions and utilising the EU’s cohesion, economic and innovation policies. For the group a balance between economic, societal and environmental challenges and interests is required, for which creative researchers, responsible entrepreneurs and hard-working employees are needed, requiring uncomplicated access to the labour market. The party wants to invest more in Europe’s defence industry, and therefore also favours boosting dual-use research in the EU. Education-specific elaborations are more limited in the manifesto. EPP wants to continue combating youth unemployment and aims to expand Erasmus+, especially to young people living in rural areas.
S&D is the political group in the European Parliament of the Party of European Socialists (PES) and remains the second largest group in Parliament (provisional results: 136 seats). It mostly comprises members from PES and some members that do not belong to a party at European level but are close to the social democratic programme. From Germany, 14 MEPs from SPD are part of the group. The 2024 election manifesto of the socialist and social democratic family was adopted by PES. It calls for a strong and competitive European economy that prepares its industries and SMEs for the future. To secure quality jobs for all, a Roadmap for Quality and Well-Paid Jobs is needed. PES will fight for inclusive education and lifelong learning opportunities for all and for young people’s access to free quality education and training, as well as housing. It calls for widening Erasmus+ and making it accessible to all, as well as for an effective recognition of diplomas. It also claims the adoption of a Directive on Quality Traineeships in the EU, and for ensuring paid internships. PES will continue to promote the Sustainable Development Goals, peace, democracy, human rights, a feminist foreign policy, and economic and climate justice and calls for a new Green and Social Deal for a just transition, based on climate neutrality by 2050 and with strong EU 2040 climate targets. It will defend the rule of law at all levels, calling for “clear rules and sanctions, using all available tools to ensure that no EU funding reaches autocratic governments”. It wants to implement a strong European Common Security and Defence Policy complementing NATO to reach a strategically independent Europe that defends its freedom, security and territorial integrity. Research is mentioned in PES’ manifesto only in relation to the intended support of initiatives for common European public research on vaccines, lifesaving medicines, and antimicrobial resistance. PES welcomes the start of EU membership negotiations with Ukraine, Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It supports the European aspirations of Georgia and aims to further strengthen EU cooperation with the United States and other democratic allies and to build a strong partnership with the United Kingdom. It will rebalance the EU relations with China, “promoting our values and protecting our interests, and further cooperating to address pressing global issues”. Moreover, PES wants to build a new partnership of equals with the Global South.
The Greens/EFA group consists of five distinct European political parties, the larger European Green Party (EGP), part of the European Free Alliance (EFA) and the smaller parties Volt Europa (Volt), European Pirate Party (PPEU) and part of Animal Politics EU (APEU). MEPs from Germany are from Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (12 MEPs (-10)), Volt (MEPs (+2)) and Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei (1 seat retained). Die Piraten lost their seat in the 2024 election. The EGP advocates for a green and inclusive Europe and calls for European industry in particular, greening up through research and innovation, which helps strengthening European competitiveness. The party advocates for an increase of research as European support for research and development can contribute towards scientific and technological development and is beneficial for achieving other societal goals. More emphasis than on research and innovation is devoted to education, stated in the manifesto as follows:
“Accessible quality public education, training and lifelong learning should be available to everyone in Europe, regardless of where they live or their wealth. Education can equip our societies so they can overcome inequality, make progress on the green transition, and stay at the forefront of science and culture. Jobs in new green industries can only be filled if we have the people trained to do them. We have been ardent supporters of Erasmus+ since its inception and will introduce an Erasmus Equality principle to make sure that learners who could not otherwise afford Erasmus receive enough money to fully fund their time abroad. Erasmus+ must be equally accessible for all, regardless of one’s country or economic background. Our Green and Social Deal will introduce a shared green education and training project that helps connect schools, universities, and training centres to connect learning institutions across Europe. Citizenship education about the EU, including anti-extremism, anti-hate, and anti-racism education, should be part of curricula and non-formal education learning recognized at the EU level. Education investments are a critical part of our proposals to finance the transition, and need to give everybody the chance to learn and provide the skills we need for the future.”
The Greens also want to make it easier for newcomers to work and integrate through access to education, language support and job opportunities.
EFA also has its own 2024 election manifesto (link), just like VOLT, which wants to increase the budget for European exchanges to make ERASMUS+ more accessible and inclusive for school students, teachers and apprentices (link).
Renew Europe (Renew) is a liberal, pro-European group, that forms the common campaign platform for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europa (ALDE Party; FDP with 5 MEPs is a member; lead candidate: Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann), members of the association New Europeans, founded in March 2024 under French law, bringing together Macron’s Renaissance party and other French, Romanian, Slovenian, Polish and Danish parties that are inside Renew Europe, as well as the European Democratic Party (EDP, of which Freie Wähler with 3 MEPs are part). In its 2024 campaign Renew Europe Now, the group wants the next Commission to focus on investment in research, development, innovation, and people, attracting private investment to making Europe more competitive and sustainable. It wants “to make life easier for SMEs, cut red tape, reduce our energy dependencies, create more access to other markets, make trade fairer, mobilise private investment for innovation and attract talents.” It believes that “more and better jobs are a key driver for a more social Europe” and sees the last five years about setting up rules for the Green Deal and the digital transition, and now the time for implementation. Education, especially for youth, should be strengthened, to provide them with opportunities, and strengthen liberal democracies and the economy in times of skills shortages. It regards “the emblematic Erasmus programme” as a motor, which it also aims to strengthen. Partnerships should be built with like-minded countries for a Global Alliance of Democracies to strengthen the EU’s global influence to promote European values. Research is less explicitly mentioned in its 2024 campaign and confined to EU security and defence mechanisms: “We need to ramp up our defence capabilities, from research to military cooperation, to help Ukraine win the war against the Russian aggressor and to deter threats from authoritarian regime”.
The ALDE Party, of which FDP is part, published its own manifesto (link), The same counts for EDP (link).
The Left in the EP – GUE/NGL is a left-wing political group of the European Parliament, comprising political parties with democratic socialist, communist, and soft Eurosceptic orientation: The Party of the European Left, Nordic Green Left Alliance, European Anti-Capitalist Left, Now the People! and Animal Politics EU. Die Linke (3 MEPs (-2)) and Tierschutzpartei Partei Mensch Umwelt Tierschutz (1 MEP) are part of the group. In its elections manifesto 2024, the Party of the European Left advocates for a democratic, peaceful, social, and ecological Europe. Fighting fascism and rejecting anticommunism are core elements of its programme. The group strives for the right of every worker to a stable, permanent contract and a full-time job and wants to develop a European Basic Income Directive and a Guaranteed Employment Plan in the EU. It also advocates for a renewed Green Deal, with climate neutrality by 2023, and conditions for a just green transition that ensures job creation, fair distribution of wealth, sound and universal public services and public ownership of the commons, for which massive European investment plans are needed. In respect to research, innovation and education, the group calls for social criteria considered when allocating European study and research grants and promoting European exchanges in training courses from secondary to university level. It wants to reserve 7% of EU GDP for education, research, and innovation and “(h)alt the privatisation of education, higher education, and research; only public funding for public institutions”. Abolishing admission tests and tuition fees, including for non-EU and non-European students, are also aims of the party, and it wants to build a European anti-fascist centre for documentation, scientific research, and education. The Left wants to adopt an EU directive against social inequalities and discrimination in education based on class, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, nationality, residence status, and religious belief. The group advocates the transition to a human-centred digitalisation and strives for effective regulation of AI with the human-in control principle incorporated into EU law. It wants Europe to take responsibility for its security autonomously and independently of the USA, based on multilateralism and respect of international law. It calls for a Europe of peace and solidarity, based on diplomatic solutions for international conflicts and peace negotiations in case of wars, such as Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. Moreover, the group wants to welcome migrants on equal terms and working conditions.
The manifesto of the centre-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group, to which currently no MEP from Germany is affiliated, can be found under this link. The “Identity and Democracy Party” (IDP) (French: “Identité et Démocratie Parti” (ID), comprising EU-sceptical, right-wing populist and nationalist parties, do not have any MEPs from Germany after AfD has been expelled from the group (link). ID did not present a manifesto.