AfD shifts from euro exit towards rewriting EU rules as it eyes power
Germany’s AfD is debating whether to replace its founding call to quit the euro with a strategy to renegotiate EU treaties and create a looser union. A paper presented by co-leader Alice Weidel proposes national opt-outs and stricter budget enforcement, while leaving euro membership open and a referendum as a fallback if reform fails, according to Reuters.
Bottom line — The AfD’s euro stance remains contested: a youth-wing resolution backing a European idea was withdrawn after failing to win enough support.
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Reuters reports that the AfD was founded in 2013 in opposition to euro-zone bailouts and initially advocated leaving the common currency.
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The paper, presented by Weidel in Strasbourg alongside the Europe of Sovereign Nations grouping, proposes opt-outs on policies including defence and immigration, Reuters reports.
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AfD lawmaker Peter Boehringer told Reuters the paper implements existing policy rather than marking a reversal.
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Younger members argue that hard-line positions on Europe could complicate eventual cooperation with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU, which currently rules out an alliance, Reuters reports.
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Wolfgang Schroeder of Kassel University told Reuters that Austria’s Freedom Party offers a blueprint for the AfD’s retreat from anti-European positions.
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Reuters says France’s National Rally and Italy’s Brothers of Italy have also moderated eurosceptic positions as they sought or entered government.