As the liberal youth organisation in Germany, we have a holistic approach on politics, covering everything from day-to-day struggles of our generation to long-term visions for the society of tomorrow. During our congresses and seminars, all members can join the debate, form their own opinion and influence our platform. Here are some of our most important goals and political demands:
AN OPEN SOCIETY FOR ALL
As Junge Liberale, we want civil rights to be the consensus of a liberal society. This includes religious freedom and freedom of speech and expression, as well as the right of property, equality of women and men, and democracy and constitutionality as our fundamental state principles. We fight for a society that acknowledges and defends the principles of legal equality without conditions. This enables every individual to thrive and develop to the highest possible extent.
We strive for equality and participation of minorities in Germany. Discrimination against any humans based on their gender, sexuality, religious or cultural background is unacceptable. This is why we press for full equality for same-sex couples, including the right of adoption. In order to create opportunities of integration and inclusion, we fight to abolish the legal prohibition for refugees to work. And we are convinced that the possibility to donate blood and thereby save other people’s lives should not be based on your sexuality. We want an open society for all.
OPPORTUNITIES IN A DIGITALISED WORLD
Our future is digital. Digitalisation is one the leading developments of our generation and we are vivid supporters of a connected and digitalized world. To make Germany a frontrunner in the field, we need to establish fast internet connection not only in some hot spots and big cities, but everywhere. Simultaneously, we want to ensure net neutrality and the digital freedom of speech, without tolerating online hate speech, hacking and manipulation of the discourse.
We see digitalisation as a connection between borders that brings people together from all over the world. The European Union needs to be one of the best connected places in the world, which is why we want to open connection to everyone in Europe. We want to create opportunities in a digitalised world.
CLIMATE PROTECTION THROUGH INNOVATION AND COMPETITION
The fight against climate change has become one of the key issues concerning our generation. We are strongly in favour of the Paris Agreement from 2015 and we see the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as one of the greatest challenges of our time. At the same time, we don’t see forced changes in the lives of individual citizens as the solution. Instead, we need competition.
We want to reform and expand the European emission trading system. More economic sectors and more countries, also outside of the European Union, have to be included. Climate change can only be successfully fought together with companies, research facilities and start-ups which are creating the innovation we need. Finally, we act ourselves by planting several thousand trees in cooperation with Plant for the Planet. We stand for climate protection through innovation and competition.
MODERN EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE
Education is crucial to us. We want a society that enables every individual to take part in excellent education, regardless of their background. A society should empower everyone to advance socially by the individual’s own strengths and performances. Unfortunately, the state invests way too little money into their most valuable resource of our country: Its children.
We need the best educational opportunities from the very beginning. This means in early childhood education, as well as in school or university, we demand a great diversity in educational institutions. When different concepts are competing, every student has the opportunity to choose the best for their individual needs. At the same time, degrees have to be comparable in Germany. Education should not be limited to school, vocational training or university. We argue in favour of lifelong learning and therefore promote opportunities of advanced training and further education opportunities. All of this requires a massive increase in spending in the education sector to implement the much needed investments into the future of our generation. We strive for modern education for the future.
A RENEWED EUROPE
The European Union is the incomparable project of the millennium and we feel deeply connected to the idea of a common and federal European Union. Trade, wealth and freedom are liberal outcomes of the European Union and we want the European Union to be a place of the protection of freedom and fundamental rights. That is why we want to make the European Union’s values even stronger.
We want to strengthen the rights of the European Parliament and turn the European Commission into a real executive government. The legal competences of the European Union have to be clearly defined to avoid confusion. We need a common European army and a common immigration policy. At the same time, we don’t want the European Union to establish an European welfare system and to keep interventions in the European economy to a minimum. And finally, to fully modernise the European Union, we need to hold a convention for a new European constitution. We stand for a renewed Europe.
PROGRESS THROUGH CREATIVITY AND ENTREPRENEURIALISM
We have an optimistic view on the future. This is why we are open to new ideas and try to see the opportunities rather than only focusing on potential risks. Progress is only made through the unique inventiveness of the human mind and its courage to question the status quo to dare trying something new.
Therefore, we want to create a social and political climate allowing everyone to explore new horizons. We want politics to shape progress, not preventing it. To achieve this, we want to foster entrepreneurial thinking in education and establish a culture where everyone can fail and get a second chance. Bureaucratic hurdles – something Germany is known for in particular – have to be diminished, and the creation of start-ups should see easier conditions for investments. We strive for progress through creativity and entrepreneurialism.
INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE
As Junge Liberale, we see the protection of rights and opportunities of the upcoming generation – our generation – as a central obligation for the whole society. Our goal is for intergenerational justice to become an essential factor in all political fields. This can be achieved by fair pension plans, by avoiding a fiscal policy on credit, and by a sustainable climate policy.
Due to demographic change, the current pension system in Germany which is based on pay-as-you-go-financing is doomed to fail. Instead of paying for expensive electoral promises at the expense of the young generation, we call for a reform of the pension system. This includes a basic provision through a liberal “citizen’s income” as well as a flexible entry age for pensioners. We fight for intergenerational justice.
FAIR TRADE THROUGH FREE TRADE
Free trade is one of the most essential elements of liberalism. It encourages people all over the world to bring forward new ideas, become entrepreneurs and create jobs. Free trade promotes networking and results in peaceful collaboration between people in different countries.
Unfortunately, the EU promotes protectionism in their agriculture policy. In our eyes, the EU has to prevent the use of non-qualitative standards and pseudo-protectionism. We condemn the use of punitive tariff duties during the negotiations of free trade agreements with developing countries to enforce the signature for European Partnership Agreements. An unconditional access to the European Market also for middle low income countries and not only for low income countries is an important step to strengthen the economic power of those countries.
Free trade agreements can serve only as a time-limited solution to the problem. We want to reestablish the World Trade Organisation as the most important institution to foster free trade and multilateral negotiations on free trade. Only multilateral agreements can ensure a worldwide fair trade. The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations have to be the basis for all decisions of the WTO. We fight for fair trade through free trade.
PROTECTION OF ANIMAL RIGHTS
The protection of animals derives from our understanding of humanistic liberalism. The ecological diversity of our planet cannot be destroyed by human recklessness. This is why we want to fight against pollution and overfishing in the oceans, excessive deforestation and the extinction of animal species.
A species-appropriate husbandry has to be ensured, whenever possible, and unnecessary animal suffering needs to be prevented. The responsibility for non-suffering animal husbandry does not end at the borders of the EU’s Member States. We advocate for a medium-term implementation of unified European standards for animal husbandry as practiced in the Scandinavian countries. In addition to that, we want to clamp down on overfishing and demand to adapt the permitted quantities to the scientific guidelines for at least 15 years. We stand for the protection of animal rights.