EPC: Uninspired or indifferent? EU policy in the 2021 German election manifestos
03 September 2021
With less than a month to go before the 2021 German federal election, the EPC scrutinised the election manifestos of the six political parties and compared their promises regarding EU policy. Which party has the most ambitious proposals for the EU? What are their perspectives on European integration and the future of Europe? Are there any changes from their promises in 2017?
The analysis
and extensive table below provide an overview of what to expect from
each party. It also reveals potential conflict lines in EU policy
between the different parties – especially if they have to form a
coalition in the next legislative phase.
View the table here (PDF)
Almost
all the German parties promote a pro-European agenda. Only the
Alternative for Germany (AfD) advocates for a Europe of “sovereign
nation-states”, while the Left (Die Linke) criticises the EU’s
“neoliberal” approach. But there are also clear differences in the
orientation and prioritisation of EU policy among the pro-European
parties. Some, such as the Social Democrats (SPD), seem to view it
mostly through a foreign policy lens. The Greens (Die Grünen), on the
contrary, integrates EU policy into almost all other policy fields due
to the close interlinkages between national and EU competences. However,
on EU policies, the differences between the pro-European parties do not
vary too much. This potentially strengthens the polarisation between
pro- and anti-Europeans in the domestic debate.
A lack of vision for the future of the EU
Overall,
there are few strategic ideas for the future of the EU. While all
parties seem to agree on some form of further European integration, the
proposals to improve and reform the EU remain rather vague. Only two
parties propose a clear vision for the future: The Greens want to
achieve a “European federal republic” in the long run, while the
Liberals (FDP) strive towards a “European federal state”.
All parties barring the Left and AfD mention the Conference on the Future of Europe
as an opportunity to reform the EU. Many parties also mention
institutional reforms, often asking for a stronger European Parliament.
Two parties – the Liberals and the Left – even propose a new “European
Constitutional Convention”. While the Conservatives (CDU) and the Greens
refer to Franco–German cooperation,
all other parties do not mention Germany’s main partner in their
manifestos. Generally, the election manifestos do not focus on how
Germany can strengthen bilateral relations with its EU neighbours.
Instead, the focus is on its relationships with Turkey, the UK and
Eastern Partnership countries.
A similar focus on policy issues, but with little concrete proposals
All
parties share a similar focus on policy issues, painting a picture of
Germany’s important topics in terms of EU policy. All the election
manifestos mention the economy and the eurozone, migration and asylum,
and foreign and defence policy. The priorities within those fields vary
depending on the parties’ ideological backgrounds.
For instance,
the CDU’s manifesto does not seem to single out a particular policy
field, covering almost all policy issues instead. But it only provides
few concrete proposals. The SPD and the Left emphasise solidarity in the EU
in socio-economic, migration and climate change terms. The FDP focuses
mostly on the EU economy, trade and digital affairs, while the Greens
primarily mention the EU in the context of climate and the environment.
Some
‘typically German’ topics are also mentioned in relation to the EU,
such as the proposal for an ‘EU army’ in the CDU, SPD and FDP election
manifestos. The manifestos are surprisingly ambitious in terms of EU
foreign and defence policy given the general context in which Germany
remains reluctant to engage in military operations.
Several EU
policy fields in the election manifestos contain few to no concrete
proposals. Clear proposals for protecting the rule of law and
fundamental rights fall short in all six programmes. Questions on how to
overcome the divides in the EU – both in socio-economic terms and on
fundamental values – remain largely unaddressed.
Very few manifestos also mention the European Commission’s main priorities: the digital and climate transitions.
Only the Conservatives and the Greens refer to the European Green Deal
and the SPD only once; never by the FDP, the Left and the AfD. On the
digital transformation, the CDU, the FDP, the Greens and the SPD mention
the Digital Markets Act and/or the Digital Services Act but do not
propose much more.
No major shifts in policy since 2017, except on climate change
Compared
to their 2017 manifestos, there are no major shifts in the positions of
the FDP, the Left and AfD. The Conservatives focus slightly more on
climate change and youth. The SDP also shifted from mainly focusing on
social policies to the “socio-ecological transition”. The Greens kept
most of their 2017 EU policy priorities but also shifted their focus
from the threat of right-wing populism to safeguarding European values.
The 2021 election manifestos showcase differences in economic matters, especially in terms of burden-sharing and the future of the eurozone; migration policy, where views diverge between restrictive policies and human rights approaches; and EU trade policy,
with the Conservatives, FDP and AfD continuing to advocate for free
trade, while the SPD, Greens and especially the Left advocate for limits
due to human rights and ecological considerations. Other potential
conflicts regarding EU policy priorities are not easily detectable from
the election manifestos, simply because many manifestos remain rather
vague in terms of proposals.
Nevertheless, the parties’
different prioritisation could complicate the coalition negotiations.
While the Greens have very concrete objectives and proposals for EU
climate policy, the Conservatives remain vague, which could mean that
they oppose such an ambitious agenda. In addition, certain policy
positions are already known to be at opposing ends without needing to be
mentioned in the manifestos. For instance, energy policy is a point of
contention – even if the debates on Nord Stream 2 are likely to play a
less prominent role now that a deal has been negotiated with the US to
allow its completion.
All in all, the party manifestos for this
historical federal election after 16 years of Merkel are rather
unconvincing in their takes on EU policy. Of course, the political
parties will have to thrash out their policy positions when forming a
coalition before said German coalition government can then negotiate its
position on each policy issue with the 26 other EU member states. And
yet, despite those obvious constraints, the manifestos do not reflect
the importance of the EU for Germany. This is also visible in the
election campaigns, where the EU plays little to no role.
Sophie Pornschlegel is Project Leader of Connecting Europe and Senior Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre.
Alexandra Salomonsová is a former Project Assistant of Connecting Europe at the European Policy Centre.
The European Policy Centre will contribute to the analysis of Germany’s EU policy
at this pivotal moment in German politics, with a series of
Commentaries running from July to December 2021. It will feature views
from various European capitals on post-Merkel expectations.
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