AfD shifts strategy toward EU reform instead of euro exit

Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany is recalibrating its vision for Europe as it and its right-wing allies abroad gain influence. The party, founded more than a decade ago in opposition to the EU’s handling of the euro crisis, now appears closer than ever to entering national government before the end of the decade.

The prospect is prompting debate over how to balance an anti-establishment identity with the need to appear as a credible partner to potential allies at home and abroad. AfD rejects allegations of extremism, but critics and Germany’s domestic intelligence agency say some positions come dangerously close to supremacism and xenophobia linked to the country’s recent past.

“Never since the end of the Second World War have the prospects for reforming the EU in line with our vision been better.”

Founded in 2013 amid anger over bailouts for heavily indebted euro-zone members, AfD began as a movement opposed to the common currency. Its criticism later expanded to the European Union itself, while opposition to immigration became one of its main themes.

Many members now argue that increasing acceptance of radical right-wing views and the growing sway of like-minded parties elsewhere in Europe make reforming the bloc from within more productive than abandoning it altogether. Younger members warn that hardline positions on Europe could complicate cooperation with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democrats, who currently rule out any alliance.

Last month, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel presented a strategy paper at the European Parliament in Strasbourg alongside allies from the Europe of Sovereign Nations group. The document proposes renegotiating European treaties and transforming the union into a more flexible structure in which member states benefit from greater flexibility.