For us PIRATES the protection of human dignity is a central task of the European Union. Therefore we will strive to guarantee every resident the minimum income needed to exist and to be an integral part of society. Persons can only live in dignity, if their basic needs are taken care of and they are integrated into society. Thus, as we are living in a monetary economy, everyone will need an income. We PIRATES believe that the vast majority of people will use a secure livelihood as the basis for developping their economic and social potentials. A secure existence empowers people to educate themselves and do research free of economic necessities and facilitates economic innovation. It will make it possible, and easier, for people to work as a volunteer, to look after children and relatives in need, to offer independent news services, to be politically active and to create art and free software. Hence, the whole of society will benefit from it.
Therefore we PIRATES campaign for an unconditional basic income in all of Europe. Everyone shall be legally entitled to it, independant of a poverty test, without consideration, application or any other bureaucratic effort. Referendums shall decide upon the amount of the basic income and other framework conditions.
But there is more to this than that: To provide for the future of the welfare systems of the European countries there needs to be a change in their basic strategy. Current pillars like economic growth and (full) employment will not be able to sustain the welfare state in the future.
Until there is an unconditional basic income we will fight for (a) minimum wage(s) in all of Europe. This will limit competition on wages and will improve the inhuman working and living conditions of millions of people in Europe. Furthermore, it will increase domestic demand in Europe.
As a first step that can be realized in the short term towards a European basic income, we call for the introduction of a European unconditional base income. The base income is paid in addition to existing benefits and not offset against them. A base income would already be a benefit for low-income regions in Europe. It would stimulate consumption and thus boost the European single market. We PIRATES have also developed operational funding models that are not an additional burden on state budgets.
We PIRATES stipulate that in all negotiations of the European Union on trade agreements the following conditions which are consistent with our principles and convictions will be met:
(…)
Trade agreements shall fix mandatory social and ecological standards. If breached, every party to the agreement shall have the right to adopt punitive tariffs and other appropriate anti-dumping measures. We PIRATES will advocate for the inclusion of such standards in trade agreements, especially those of the WTO. Violations of such standards shall be tried by the WTO Panel.
PROPOSAL 15: Preserve the Welfare State [PP-DE: Economic and Financial Policy]
The Welfare State is one of the key contributions of the EU to our world. It is founded on an implicit social contract which expects that the well-off are willing to contribute to the overall social expenditure with a larger proportion of their income than those with low incomes. This social contract is being abandoned by the most affluent, with the support of governments, which back their efforts to avoid making a fair contribution to the public budget (SICAVs, tax havens, regressive taxes, etc). We PIRATES want this trend to be reversed.
1.11, 1.12 & 1.13 agricultural policy, social policy and economic and financial policy Remove everything on agricultural policy, social policy and economic and financial policy.
1.14.1.5 Social and Ecological Standards remove paragraph