Germany’s AfD plans to seek a sharply weaker European Union

Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany, is expected to unveil her party’s policy for the European Union at the European Parliament on Wednesday. According to a policy paper reported by Politico and cited by DW, the AfD would initially seek to reshape the bloc rather than immediately remove Germany from it. The proposed approach would reduce the EU’s powers and budget.

It would also replace direct elections to the European Parliament with delegates appointed by national parliaments, a change that would substantially alter the way European representatives are chosen. Under the reported plan, the European Commission would be limited to purely administrative duties. The European Court of Justice would be replaced by an arbitration tribunal.

The AfD would also threaten to reduce Germany’s contributions to the EU budget if its demands were not accepted. A Germany governed by the AfD would seek exemptions from EU rules in areas including migration and social policy. The party may also pursue opt-outs relating to agriculture and financial policy, although the report does not establish whether all of those exemptions would be included in the final document Weidel presents.

If the EU rejected the proposed reforms, the AfD would then seek a referendum on German membership, according to the reported paper. DW noted that such a vote would be difficult to organise because it would require an amendment to Germany’s Basic Law, needing a two-thirds majority in both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. The AfD hopes to implement its EU programme in 2029, when Germany’s next federal election is scheduled alongside European elections.

Recent German federal election surveys cited by DW have placed the party first, but it would still need another party to form a governing majority. That prospect remains uncertain. Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union has refused to cooperate with the AfD under its so-called firewall policy.

The reports therefore describe an ambitious programme whose practical prospects depend not only on electoral support but also on coalition negotiations and the constitutional hurdles surrounding a referendum. The policy paper, as reported, does not initially call for leaving either the EU or the eurozone.