EU Parliament launches review of AfD's European party family over values compliance
The European Parliament voted on Tuesday to initiate a formal review of the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) party, which includes Germany's AfD, over possible breaches of EU fundamental values. The procedure could strip the party of millions in EU funding.
The vote
On Tuesday in Strasbourg, the European Parliament voted by a clear majority to task the Authority for European Political Parties and Foundations (APPF) with a formal review of the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) party. The vote was held by secret ballot at the request of right-wing groups, with 414 in favour, 224 against, and 18 abstentions. The ESN is a European political party founded in 2024 that includes Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) and parties from several other member states.
What the review entails
The APPF will examine whether the ESN complies with the EU's fundamental values as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. If the authority finds a serious and persistent breach, it can remove the ESN from the register of European parties. That would cut off the party's access to EU funding, which for 2025 and 2026 amounts to three million euros. The procedure does not affect the separate ESN parliamentary group, nor does it ban member parties from contesting European elections.
- ESN founded and registered as a European political party
- Supervisory authority submits 300-page dossier to EU institutions
- European Parliament votes 414-224 to initiate formal review
Specific allegations
The review follows a nearly 300-page dossier that the supervisory authority sent to EU institutions in May. The dossier raises concerns that the ESN failed to enforce EU values among its national member parties, an obligation introduced at the end of 2025. Among the incidents cited is a cooperation agreement signed last year between the Bulgarian Revival party and Russia's United Russia, which is under EU sanctions over the war in Ukraine. The dossier also points to a February 2025 demonstration in Sofia where party supporters attacked the offices of the European Commission and Parliament, and to the criminal conviction of Revival chairman Kostadin Kostadinov for discriminating against a fellow parliamentarian. Further suspicions concern member parties from France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, and Slovakia.
Reactions
The ESN rejects the allegations and argues that the review is an effort to sideline a eurosceptic alliance. The party advocates for a Europe of sovereign nation states and opposes further transfers of power to Brussels. The APPF's investigation is the first formal review procedure in the authority's history.This is a politically motivated attempt to exclude an opposition party family.
