AfD’s Alice Weidel to unveil plan to downsize the EU

STRASBOURG — The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) wants to scrap the directly elected European Parliament, shrink the European Commission and let Berlin opt out of common EU policies. That’s according to the party’s policy program, which party leader Alice Weidel will present at the European Parliament on Wednesday.

The AfD’s push comes as far-right parties look to gain ground across Europe. The party’s recent victories in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have given it fresh momentum.

Last week, Marine Le Pen was in Brussels to outline her plan for the EU if she becomes French president. She vowed to halve Paris’ contributions to the budget if she gets to power, and to turn the European Commission into a “secretariat” in the service of its member countries.

“I’m not fooled by what the European Commission wants to do. The European Commission wants to turn itself into a state; we do not. And so we will stand in its way,” Le Pen said.

The AfD policy paper, obtained by Brussels Playbook, says the AfD would not seek to leave the EU or eurozone at first. Instead, it wants to renegotiate the EU treaties and cut the bloc’s powers, institutions and budget. Weidel will present her strategy at an event on Wednesday afternoon entitled “Our new deal for Europe.”

The party wants to replace direct European Parliament elections with delegates appointed by national parliaments, reduce the Commission’s role to purely administrative and transfer decision-making to national capitals. It also wants to replace the EU’s top court with an arbitration tribunal.

The plan calls for slashing and capping the EU budget, freezing staffing numbers and abolishing agencies. The AfD would use its veto power to scrap revenue from VAT and plastics taxes, and threaten to halt Berlin’s contributions to the common budget to force through the reforms it demands.

“If Brussels refuses the path of reform, this veto will be used to block future EU financing legislation and drastically reduce Germany’s contributions,” the AfD plan says.

The AfD also wants to give larger eurozone economies more voting power at the European Central Bank — giving Germany a say in monetary policy — and reject the digital euro.

Berlin should seek exemptions from EU rules on migration, taxation, social policy, defense and common borrowing, the party argues. If the EU’s green policies are not scrapped, and no substantial changes take place to industrial, agriculture, and financial policies, an opt out in these areas would be sought too.

The paper identifies 2029 — when the next European Parliament and German federal elections will take place — as the moment to start implementing the reforms.

“In 2029, something we have scarcely dared to hope for may become reality: a patriotic, right-wing majority in the European Parliament is coming within reach.”

If its reforms fail, the AfD says it would put Germany’s EU membership to a referendum.