AfD’s Alice Weidel to present plan to cut EU powers and institutions
The German party’s proposals would replace direct European Parliament elections, reduce the Commission’s role and seek a referendum on EU membership if reforms fail.
Alice Weidel is due to present an Alternative for Germany (AfD) plan at the European Parliament on Wednesday to cut the EU’s powers, institutions and budget, Politico reported. The proposals would change how Europeans are represented and how decisions are made across the bloc, but remain a party plan rather than agreed EU policy.
Politico said it had obtained the policy paper ahead of Weidel’s presentation at an event called ‘Our new deal for Europe’. The AfD would initially seek to renegotiate EU treaties instead of taking Germany out of the EU or eurozone, according to the report.
How the AfD would change EU institutions
The paper proposes replacing direct elections to the European Parliament with delegates appointed by national parliaments. It would reduce the European Commission to an administrative role, move decision-making to national capitals and replace the EU’s top court with an arbitration tribunal, Politico reported.
On funding, the plan calls for a smaller, capped EU budget, a staffing freeze and the abolition of agencies. Politico said the AfD would use Germany’s veto to seek the removal of EU revenue from VAT and plastics taxes. The paper also threatens to halt German contributions to the common budget to press for its demands.
The AfD also wants larger eurozone economies to have more voting power at the European Central Bank and rejects the digital euro. According to Politico, it would seek German exemptions from common rules on migration, taxation, social policy, defence and borrowing. It would seek further exemptions in areas including climate and agriculture if broader changes were not made.
The proposed timetable and referendum
The paper identifies 2029, when European Parliament and German federal elections are due, as the point to begin implementing the reforms. If its proposed changes fail, the AfD says it would put Germany’s EU membership to a referendum, Politico reported.
The proposals build on the AfD’s previously stated vision of a ‘federation of European nations’. On its website, the party describes that vision as allowing as much national autonomy as possible and as much cooperation as necessary. That statement was published in 2024; the detailed proposals due to be presented by Weidel are described in Politico’s account of the new paper.
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Sources and context
- AfD’s Alice Weidel to unveil plan to downsize the EUPolitico Europe
- Europa neu denkenAlternative für Deutschland
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.