European Election Program
Program of the Alternative für Deutschland
for Election
of
the 9th European Parliament 2019
Finance and Economy
4.3.1 Reduction of EU Expenditures
The AfD demands a diminution of the budget by
at least that of Great Britain’s omitted net income. Further costs originating
from new EU propositions will only be permitted to be taken up when these costs
are financed by savings in other areas of the EU budget. Expenditure reduction
also includes shrinking the EU administration as well as an immediate end to
the tourism, costly in terms of time and money, between the three workplaces of Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg.
4.3.2 National Reforms instead of Redistribution
For decades the EU mainly sought to construct
equivalent economic conditions in the member states by means of the
redistribution of billions in cohesion funds. This goal proved to be
unattainable. Over 70% of the yearly EU budget of 144.7 billion euros (2018)
will be used for cohesion and agriculture. That has nothing to do with with the
future security or further development of the EU.
The AfD therefore demands the cessation of
the cohesion funds and the decrease of the EU budget by an equivalent measure. Structural
improvements and reforms must be carried out under the national authority of
the member states. The AfD further demands that a cost-benefit analysis be
carried out in rotation for all expenditures and subventions. It shall thus be
ascertained whether the expected goal was attained and whether it is sensible
to continue.
4.4 Competition instead of Bureaucracy
The AfD sees the purpose of the European
Union to be primarily in the areas of forming common European economies and the
provision of fair competition conditions. Competition is a basic prerequisite for
technical progress and for favorable consumer prices. The investor has to bear
the economic risks, not the state and thereby ultimately the taxpayer. Conditions
of market entry are to be assimilated so that a selling-off of our economy, for
example to China, will be hindered. Intervention equivalent to expropriation,
we reject. Similarly, we reject a parallel judiciary and special courts. For
the economic miracle of the post-war years, Germany is indebted to its
inventors and engineers and to the investors in know-how and production sites.
Today, we are intimidated by, among other things, the bureaucratic layers. The
AfD demands the reduction of bureaucratic expenses and a corresponding
examination of EU donor guidelines, of EU service guidelines, of credit
extension guidelines and the straight-forward documentation duties of the small
businessman.
[Translated by Todd Martin]
