Democracy, freedom and the rule of law: these values are central to ensuring effective social coexistence in Germany. The Federal Government strongly believes that a broad political approach is required to prevent attacks on these values and to strengthen the defence of democracy. This approach not only requires a thorough and consistent response on the part of the security agencies, but also effective preventative measures, as democracy is shaped at the level of municipalities, federal states and the nation as a whole. Every day.

The Federal Government funds many of the numerous projects and initiatives that exist in society at large and work to promote sound and peaceful coexistence as well as fighting hate and extremism of all kinds. The “Live Democracy!” and “Cohesion through Participation” programmes currently support these goals. A report approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday evaluates the effectiveness of these two programmes.

Programmes as key pillars of Federal Government strategy

The budget for extremism prevention amounts to 162.5 million euros in 2021. The largest federal programme by a long way is “Live Democray!”. It has a budget of 150.5 million euros and supports the societal efforts of organisations, initiatives, associations and citizens who are committed to supporting democracy and to combating hate in all its forms.

There is also the federal “Cohesion through Participation“ programme, which provides 12 million euros of targeted support annually to programmes and initiatives established at a regional level. This programme helps to reach rural or structurally weak areas in particular.

The report approved by Cabinet shows how the programmes under review have developed and which approaches are particularly suitable. One example of this is how the programmes have adapted to deal with current developments in far-right extremism and violent Islamism. The report shows that both programmes are long-term, robust tools whose financial resources make them central pillars of Federal Government strategy around preventing extremism and promoting democracy.

Achievements of this legislative period

The report also lists improvements and achievements delivered in the current legislative period. These include:

• A significant increase in financial support for “Live Democracy”. Where 50.5 million euros were available in 2016, 150.5 million euros flowed into the programme this year.
• Improvements were made to cooperation within the Federal Government on work to prevent extremism. As a result, the two programmes work more closely together and are well integrated with each other.
• The National Programme to Prevent Islamic Extremism (NPP) which was approved in 2017, is being implemented. For this, 100 million euros will flow annually into efforts such as preventative measures within the penal system and probation services, as well as expanding research into preventing radicalisation.
• The Package of measures to fight far-right extremism and racism from 2019 is also being implemented. This includes measures such as a reporting requirement and making online hate crimes punishable by law, as well as tightening firearms laws.
• The Package of measures by the Cabinet committee on fighting far-right extremism and racism was approved and is being implemented. The 89-point package provides for a strengthening of security agencies, the justice system and civil society, as well as more effective victim protection, for example.

For the Federal Government, protecting democracy and fighting extremism are one of the most fundamental duties of state and society. More money is expected to be made available for this in the next few years. The Federal “Live Democracy!” programme alone is to receive 200 million euros annually from 2023.