AfD Revises Euro and EU Stance in Internal Strategy Paper

An internal AfD strategy paper obtained by the publication "Freitag" indicates the party is softening its long-held opposition to the euro and the European Union. The shift was agreed by AfD members of parliament at the end of September. Until recently, the party's rhetoric described the EU as a failed project and called for Germany to leave the euro. The change matters because the AfD's European policy position had been one of the central arguments used against it by the conservative establishment. Friedrich Merz repeatedly cited that stance to justify refusing cooperation with the AfD, including during the 2025 federal election campaign. Speaking at the CDU party conference in Berlin in early February 2025, Merz said the party opposed Western alignment, the euro and NATO. The AfD's European position has also been a decisive argument against the party in the business community. The reported revision raises the question of whether Merz stands to lose his strongest argument against the party, a development the article frames as a possible "Melonization" of the AfD along the lines of Giorgia Meloni's approach in Italy.