VIENNA (AP) 鈥 The far-right Alternative for Germany declared the European Union a 鈥渇ailed project鈥 in its current form as it adopted its program for next June鈥檚 European Parliament election at its party convention in the eastern city of Magdeburg on Sunday, the German news agency dpa reported.
The text states that the EU has 鈥渃ompletely failed鈥 in all important areas, including its migration and climate policy, and it rejects the Euro as a currency.
However, the party stopped short of demanding Germany's exit from the EU. Instead, the AfD is calling for the EU to be re-founded as a 鈥渇ederation of European nations,鈥 dpa reported.
According to the election program, the main tasks of the new federation should be the protection of external borders against migration, strategic autonomy in security policy, and the preservation of 鈥渄ifferent identities鈥 in Europe.
put support for the AfD at 19-22%, behind only the main conservative opposition bloc. AfD candidates recently won elections in eastern Germany to for the first time since the 1930s and now holds the mayoralty in a town with a population of 56,000.
The program adopted in Magdeburg Sunday takes a softer line towards the EU than the draft program from June, in which the AfD said it would seek the 鈥渙rderly dissolution of the EU.鈥
Several AfD officials had previously voiced their desire for Germany to exit the EU altogether, in what is called 鈥淒exit.鈥 However, the new program says the AfD supports the idea of a 鈥淓urope of fatherlands, a European community of sovereign, democratic states.鈥
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said that the new compromise had been reached during negotiations late Sunday night, dpa reported.
The convention also finalized the AfD's list of 35 candidates for the European Parliament election next year.
Maximilian Krah was selected last weekend as the AfD's lead candidate with 65.7 percent of the votes. Krah has been a member of the European Parliament since 2019.
Leading members of the AfD spoke out on Sunday against cooperating with the country鈥檚 main opposition conservative bloc, the Christian Democratic Union of former chancellor Angela Merkel.
Their statements stand in contrast to previous calls by AfD leader Tino Chrupalla, who had the CDU to dismantle the 鈥渇irewall鈥 against his party.
Opening the convention last week, Chrupalla pointed to his party鈥檚 prospects of winning three state elections in eastern regions next year, telling delegates that 鈥渨e could take on government responsibility.鈥
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel had made similar statements about the party's aspirations to government before.
But deputy chairman of the AfD Stephan Brandner told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Sunday edition that he did 鈥渘ot see a reason to approach鈥 the Christian Democratic Union, adding that the conservative party had had their chance for 鈥渕uch too long.鈥
Brandner has been a member of the German Parliament since 2017 and was the AfD front runner candidate in the state of Th眉ringen for the 2017 German federal elections.
The CDU鈥檚 main leader, Friedrich Merz, insisted that there would be no cooperation even at the local level between his Christian Democratic Union and AfD, after his apparent suggestion that they might work together from fellow conservatives.
