AfD has changed its mind about pulling Germany out of the EU and the eurozone — media
The right-wing radical party Alternative for Germany (AfD) plans to radically revise its key position on the European Union and the single European currency. Instead of Germany's withdrawal from the EU and the eurozone, the party intends to push for their reform, the newspaper Bild writes, citing an internal AfD document in its possession.
According to the publication, should this course fail, the AfD proposes putting the question of Germany's further participation in European and monetary policy institutions to a nationwide referendum. This initiative marks a significant departure from the AfD's original platform, created in 2013 on the basis of a demand to abandon the euro. As recently as the draft election program for 2025, the party insisted on Germany's withdrawal from the European monetary system and the creation of a “new economic community.”
In the new document, the AfD abandons its fundamental rejection of the euro, but demands that the European Central Bank's (ECB) intervention in the economy be minimized and that member states regain full responsibility for sovereign debts. According to the authors of the draft, the reform is intended to place the eurozone on a “foundation of individual financial responsibility.” The program envisages transforming the European Union into a “Union of Sovereign Nations,” whose powers would be limited to the functioning of the single internal market, the protection of external borders, the provision of security, and the implementation of joint technological projects. The initiative presupposes non-interference by the EU leadership in the internal affairs of states and granting Berlin the right to refuse to implement common decisions in the areas of migration, asylum, and social and financial policy.
As a strategic goal, the AfD identifies joining the German government following the 2029 elections and expanding its representation in the European Parliament in order to subsequently influence EU policy. At the same time, the party advocates abolishing direct elections to the European Parliament and switching to a system of delegating deputies from national legislative bodies.
The draft was discussed on September 29 at a closed meeting attended by AfD deputies at all levels — from the Landtags (regional parliaments) to the Bundestag and the European Parliament. The party's co-chairman Tino Chrupalla was also present at the meeting. The head of the AfD faction in the European Parliament, René Aust, confirmed the change of course to Bild, stating that the party seeks cooperation with its neighbors and the preservation of freedom of movement for goods and citizens, provided that the external borders are jointly protected. He also emphasized the need to end the policy under which Germany acts as “Europe's main payer,” and expressed readiness for negotiations on revising the EU's basic treaties with all interested parties.
