Policy Areas
Europe
The promotion of the European model is crucial if we want European values to have an impact in a rapidly changing world. It is our task to adapt the European Union to the realities and needs of the 21st century by setting the right priorities and by bringing the European Union closer to the citizens.
According to the principle of subsidiarity, the European Union must restrict itself to those tasks which cannot be adequately dealt with at lower levels. A lean European Union is built on self-governance by local and regional authorities and the identity and the role of the nation states.
The EPP calls for gradual progress towards a genuine European Political Union. The institutional setup must be developed further around the EU’s basic principles. It needs democratically representative institutions including a more effective European Commission.
The co-decision procedure between the Council and the European Parliament has to become more transparent and the Council of Ministers should decide publicly on legislation.
The direct election of the President of the European Commission is one of our goals. This would reduce the perceived democratic deficit of the European Union and foster a greater shared identity among EU citizens.
The elections to the European Parliament must develop into genuine European elections in the sense of having more real European issues debated because we take the democratic rights of European voters seriously.
We believe solidarity and social, economic and territorial cohesion are important objectives of European integration.
Enlargement has been one of the most successful European policies in promoting freedom, democracy, peace, stability and economic development as well as human rights and the rule of law across the whole Europe. The EPP aims to form a truly united Europe through membership or strategic partnership. This concept should be developed more concretely in order to represent a real alternative to full membership to European countries which cannot or do not want to become EU members. Conceivable options could be multilateral agreements covering participation in the single market and close cooperation in the field of foreign and security policy.
Economy, competitiveness and finances
Markets must work as freely as possible and unfair practices and protectionist measures against free competition and free trade need to be abolished.
Europe needs a steady, coherent, ambitious, growth-oriented and long-term economic and financial perspective in times of crisis and beyond. The Single Market is one of the main foundations of the Union and its proper functioning is the basis for economic recovery in Europe. Labour mobility is of high importance in this context.
SMEs are the backbone of our Social Market Economy because their job-creating capacity is the biggest contributor to the European labour market.
Economic policies should lead to stable public finances and should consist of demands on surplus, demands on a balanced budget, reducing public debt to less than 60% of GDP according to the Stability and Growth Pact, more free trade and competition within the EU.
The EPP views the euro as one of the most profound expressions of the European integration process and we support those actions by Member States and EU institutions needed to enhance public and market confidence in the stability of the currency. Membership in a Monetary Union implies responsibility and solidarity for the single currency and requires sound policies, fiscal discipline and continuous economic reform.
We also favour the inclusion of non-Eurozone Member States into decision making processes which impact their economic and monetary issues. We are fully committed to the independence of the European Central Bank and welcome any measure taken by the ECB within its limits to enable the stability of the European financial system as a whole.
High levels of public and private debt create macroeconomic and financial vulnerabilities and increase market dependence. Maintaining the confidence of investors can be best realised through prudent fiscal policies and reforms and keeping the no bailout-principle of the Treaty. The institutions and the Member States should stay ready to help any EU Member State in economic difficulty on the grounds of the principles of solidarity and reciprocity and upon strict conditionality. Authorities in recipient countries should respect their commitments and implement structural reform at national level to regain the trust of investors and return to sustainability in their public finances.
We believe in the correlation of wages to productivity levels and in sustaining economic growth through market competition in a fully completed Single Economic Market.
The EPP underlines the necessity of reforming the global banking and financial system and we are determined that it should not pose any additional burdens for the financing of economic activities in Europe.
Justice and security
Increased irregular migration, illicit arms, drug trade and human trafficking, as well as international terrorism are challenges of the globalised world. Europe needs to protect its borders and find a balance between minimising the threat of crimes and maximising ease and convenience for travellers. The EU is an area of freedom, justice and safety, and needs clear structures in support of crime victims and their rights. Strengthening external border security by enhancing Frontex is an urgent necessity together with the creation of a European Coast Guard. The EU must also effectively cooperate with external countries’ border security authorities, especially countries that are identified as a source or transit route of irregular migration.
Access to the justice system must be made less costly and complicated, and more timely but without becoming overloaded. Alternative systems of resolving disputes such as arbitration or mediation need to be promoted as they are faster and give less burdensome solutions without undermining the national public order. The EPP is in favour of creating a common framework for police and judicial cooperation which fully respects the principle of subsidiarity. An evaluation of all law enforcement and judicial systems and exchanges of good practices are vital for strengthening this cooperation and responding efficiently and in a timely manner to transnational crime.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights, incorporated into EU law, provides citizens with additional protection and the expected accession of the EU to the European Convention of Human Rights will further reinforce it.
Immigration and integration
Mobility within the EU and immigration from outside Europe are realities that have enriched Europe for centuries. The European economy is interested in attracting highly qualified employees from all over the world, but immigration should not be promoted as the sole answer to demographic challenges and also a “brain-drain” should be prevented.
It will always be necessary to provide asylum for people who are persecuted. Immigrants and refugees must be treated on the basis of respect for human rights.
It is imperative to address the results of illegal immigration and lack of integration, particularly with the emergence of parallel societies of immigrants in which the core values enshrined in our constitutions are disregarded, such as individual freedoms and the equality of men and women before the law. Human rights, freedom and tolerance must be respected within any cultural or religious community in Europe and there should be no room for sanctuaries for sectarian judiciary systems.
To empower all individual immigrants to enjoy their full rights, they should learn or be in command of the languages of the receiving countries, as well as the history and characteristics of their new environment, abide by the law and respect its cultural heritage and underlying values, and participate in their civic rights and duties. The EPP will fight against all kinds of discrimination against immigrants.
Common asylum policy must be built upon existing rules in the area of EU asylum policy and should show solidarity with Member States which are facing specific and disproportionate pressures on their national asylum systems.
Social and demographic issues
The Social Market Economy is a deeply political concept to safeguard human freedom through the preservation and development of the market. It has found its clearest expression in the policies of Christian democrats in the first decades of post-war Europe and it represents a basic principle of our political family. It constitutes an economic and social order which reconciles personal freedom, private property rights and free market competition with social rights, public interest, and sustainable development. Our political family emphasises the ethics of work and entrepreneurship which allows for everyone to earn their own living. The EPP is in favour of a strong social dialogue and recognises the important role of social partners.
Our demographic challenges require lengthier participation in the labour process and more scope for the care and education of children, also in the form of the provision of day care and other social services and in the form of an arrangement of work organisation, which takes into account the reconciliation between private life and professional life.
The fact that the life expectancy of Europeans is increasing is in itself a positive achievement. But it has consequences for the pension and health insurance systems that need to be addressed. The ratio between the working population and those in retirement is bound to become more precarious. Higher productivity can only partly offset this development and therefore the average total working time within the lifespan of a person needs to be increased.
There is an ever increasing need to promote healthier lifestyles and preventive health care. Keeping people healthy and active for longer will have a positive impact on productivity and competitiveness.
Energy
It is essential that Europe reconstruct its security strategy in order to integrate energy policy in its foreign policy approach to third countries with the aim of building a strategic external policy with key partner countries. It has to enhance and develop an approach to climate and energy policy that will increase the EU’s energy security, including access to natural resources and raw materials.
The EU needs to increase its efforts to reduce the risks of energy dependency, climate change, piracy and the uncontrolled trade of conventional weapons.
The completion of a Trans European Energy Network and development of new sources and routes should be a priority for the EU´s energy security.
We are committed to efficiently managing our natural resources and transforming Europe into a highly energy-efficient, low-carbon economy.
Agriculture
Europe is well known around the world for its high quality agricultural products which are the basis of our gastronomic heritage, and this quality needs to be maintained. Strict standards are required to be set for production of safe and healthy food and to promote organic products even further.
The Common Agricultural Policy will have to be further reformed to foster a sustainable model of farming, taking into account food scarcities as a consequence of population growth and climate change as well as the economic role of the countryside. This reform should take into account the new and sharply increasing global need for agricultural products (food and non-food), a substantial change in nutritional patterns (more meat consumption) and the use of biofuels.
At the same time, we have to take into account the decreasing capacity of agricultural production in some areas outside of Europe because of climate change and the scarcity of water, and therefore the continuous development and adaptation of Europe’s agricultural capacities should be facilitated.
Environment and climate change
A Social Market Economy has to be based on the principle of environmental sustainability; that implies an ever greater attention to renewable energy sources, phasing out unsustainable energy production, energy efficiency, the preservation of biodiversity and the conservation and regeneration of natural resources (water, air and land). It also means that economic growth should support those factors which increase the citizens’ quality of life.
The EU possesses significant negotiating experience and power when speaking with one voice and technological know-how, and it should continue its leading role in combating climate change and global warming, as well as in coping with their effects. Increasing natural disasters around the world, as well as the rise in gas and oil prices, show the need for a rapid and courageous move toward the most modern and efficient technologies.
The transport sector also needs a rapid decrease in the use of fossil fuels and a major cut in the production of greenhouse gases. Concrete and farsighted steps towards renewable and low carbon energy sources will be able to avoid the adverse effects of climate change and at the same time reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels. We should constantly adapt our patterns of production and consumption and shape our international and diplomatic agenda accordingly.
Family and society
The EPP affirms the inalienable dignity of every human being from the beginning and in every phase of its existence. We regard every man and every woman as a unique human being who is irreplaceable, totally irreducible, free by nature and open to transcendence. Because people are free, responsible and interdependent, they are taking part in the construction and improvement of society.
We are in favour of the Social Market Economy because economic development, based on everyone’s contributions, cannot foster wellbeing and peace unless its fruits are shared with the aim of improving the living conditions of each person. It is important to safeguard competition between market forces as well as to promote solidarity and social justice. Subsidiarity expresses itself not only vertically in the political system but also horizontally in society, based on the premise that society can be constructed in freedom. The EPP encourages a vibrant civil society through the activities of NGOs and the creation of associations. The EU should foster direct relations with associations of producers, consumers, trade unions, economic chambers and other socio-economic and societal actors.
Family is irreplaceable as the core institution where love, charity, sympathy and human solidarity are cherished and instilled, thereby uniting different generations. It is the place where parents and children take responsibility and practise solidarity for each other. Strong families are also a precondition for better demographic development.
We emphasise the need to recognise the work of parents as educators within the framework of social policies. We also believe that fiscal policies should support families and solidarity between generations.
The EPP refuses to consider abortion as a method for family planning. We promote supporting programmes and initiatives to help parents and families to welcome every child, in particular when difficulties or unforeseen pregnancies occur. No social pressure should be exerted on parents who decide to accept a child with a handicap. Human life should be protected from its beginning until its natural end.
Artificial creation and the selection of human embryos for reasons of research or commercialisation should be forbidden across the Union.
Foreign affairs
The EU must be involved in shaping the rules and norms of the new international system. A globalised world requires global governance, and strengthening international organisations is imperative, in particular with regard to the UN, IMF and WTO. Flexible institutions such as the G20 will grow in importance, highlighting the increased weight of emerging economies in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Strengthening the Common Foreign and Security Policy as well as the Security and Defence Policy will be crucial for the further development of the European Union. The EU has to remain vigilant and strengthen its efforts in the non-proliferation of weapons of mass-destruction, terrorism, and organised crime as well as regional conflicts.
The EU also has a strong interest in and responsibility for its closest geographical neighbours. In view of the uprisings against authoritarian rule in North Africa and the Middle East, the EU must strengthen its instruments (such as political dialogue, trade, development assistance and support for civil society) to support the transition to democracy and Social Market Economy in order to broaden the area of stability and security around it. The EPP recognises the contribution that the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) can bring to the countries that are experiencing an influx of immigrants from conflict areas in the near-EU neighbourhood. Our support for the freedom movements in the Middle East and North Africa goes hand in hand with a firm commitment to a special partnership between the EU and Israel.
The Eastern Partnership (EaP) of the European Union should not only contribute to the reinforcement of European values in the region but also towards building up functioning democratic structures in EaP countries and bringing their economies to a higher level.
The framework of EU-US relations will remain the cornerstone of our external policy and a creation of a barrier-free transatlantic market would reinforce the transatlantic partnership and create economic growth and jobs.
It is important to develop an open dialogue and close wide-ranging relations with Russia, in order to cooperate on issues of common interest such as stability beyond the EU’s eastern borders, energy security and international affairs, and the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The EU must develop strategic partnerships with emerging powers and continue to foster privileged relations with those countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa that share our values. The EPP is convinced that the application of principles of the Social Market Economy also best serve the development of poorer and emerging economies. The EU must take care that a substantial “democratic and human rights clause” be inserted and effectively implemented when combatting global poverty.
Religion
We reaffirm the link that exists between Christian values based on the Gospel and Christian cultural heritage and the democratic ideals of freedom, fundamental equality between all human beings, social justice and solidarity. At the same time we emphasise the separation between church and state and the need to distinguish between the roles of church and state in society, as well as between religion and politics. However there is need for constant dialogue and interaction between the political and religious spheres and this dialogue should be strengthened.
The EPP welcomes Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and considers it a key tool when dealing with the issue of the persecution of Christians and other religious groups in the world. The freedom of religion, including the right to conversion or to hold no religion, is on an equal level with other basic human rights.
In recognition of the Greco-Roman and Judaeo-Christian roots of our civilisation and the Enlightenment as sources of inspiration we want to position ourselves as essentially a party of values without confessional bindings. This is valid both for those of us who believe in God as the source of truth, justice and good and beauty, and who believe that humankind is called upon to contribute to God’s work of creation and freedom, as well as for those who do not share this faith but who respect the same universal values as arising from other sources.