The party Free Democrats is a neoliberal party in Germany. It takes a liberal view based on economic competition and market self-regulation. The Free Democrats are against further subsidies for renewable energies in Germany.
The German Free Democrats and the Energiewende
According to the party, market rules such as opportunities and risks should also regulate the place of renewable energy sources within the economy in the future. In its energy targets, the party refers to the necessary end of the “permanent support system of the EEG with feed-in priority and remuneration” for renewable energies. Furthermore, the party holds the opinion that fossil fuels will be indispensable in near future. Fossil fuels still benefit from subsidies within Germany.
The makeup of the German Parliament after the 2017 elections. Parties include the Left (purple, 69 seats), the SPD (Red, 153 seats), the Greens (green, 67 seats), the FDP (yellow, 80 seats), the CDU/CSU (black, 246 seats) and the AfD (blue, 94 seats) (Public Domain)
During the 2017 federal elections, the FDP won 11% of the vote.
FDP party members are among the industrial members of the German Coal Commission.
Within the European election campaign 2019, the Free Democrats want to shape the energy transition as a pan-European project. In order to achieve this goal, the FDP believes that the liberalization of the internal energy market must be completed and the trans-European network expansion strengthened. Despite that, the FDP respects the decision of other European countries to continue to rely on nuclear power. In addition, they support a common EU energy policy, which should recognise the importance of energy diversification and guarantee energy security. FDP members are represented within the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, which stands for liberal democratic values in the European Union.