EU Parliament initiates review of AfD-linked ESN party over alleged EU-value breaches

The European Parliament voted 414 in favour, 224 against and 18 abstentions to refer the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) party – a pan‑European grouping that includes Germany’s AfD and right‑wing parties from France, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia and others – to the EU authority for European political parties and foundations (APPF). The Parliament asked the APPF to assess whether ESN complies with the EU’s core values as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty, including respect for human dignity, democracy, the rule of law and minority rights.

The review follows a May‑June dossier that cited antisemitic, anti‑LGBTQ and anti‑migration statements, social‑media posts targeting specific groups, a cooperation agreement between the Bulgarian member party and Russia’s United Russia, and a court decision on the AfD’s extremist classification. If the APPF finds “obvious and serious” breaches, ESN could lose its status as a recognised European party and the roughly €2 million in EU funding it receives for 2025‑2026. The party would still exist nationally, but its European funding and registration would be withdrawn.

ESN has responded with a “Berlin declaration” affirming commitment to democracy and rule of law. The APPF will give ESN a month to comment, after which an expert panel will issue a preliminary assessment, followed by a possible three‑month objection period for EU institutions. The procedure marks the first time the new post‑2025 mechanism is used.