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The European Parliament kicked-off on Tuesday a verification procedure against the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) party, home of Alternative for Germany (AfD) and various other far-right political forces across Europe.
The vote tasks the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations (APPF) to investigate ESN’s compliance with EU values. At the end of the process, it could be stripped of its right to be a political party and lose its funding.
The decision was approved with 414 votes in favour, 224 against and 18 abstentions.
The vote was held by secret ballot, but according to Parliament’s sources, the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists and far-right Patriots for Europe both opposed the decision, while all the other groups backed it.
“No EU taxpayer money for those who trample on the fundamental values upon which the Union was founded,” Socialist MEP Alessandro Zan said after the vote.
MEPs from the European People’s Party used a press statement to point to behaviour and declarations from ESN members they consider not in line with EU values.
For example, some representatives of Alternative for Germany are accused of expressing Nazi sympathies, while Thierry Baudet from Dutch party Forum for Democracy has argued for the need for mass “remigration” in the name of preserving a “white” Europe.
A dossier of evidence suggesting misalignment with EU values was collected for a previous report by the APPF. Evidence included racist banners installed by Czechia’s SPD party, an action by Bulgaria’s Revival to stop the broadcast of a film featuring scenes of homosexuality, and a German court’s ruling that considers AfD’s policy programme “contrary to human dignity and freedom of religion”.
ESN criticised the outcome of the vote, claiming in a press note that its members “must remain free to speak openly about the concerns of the people they represent, without the threat of administrative procedures or financial sanctions, simply because their views challenge the political consensus”.
The ESN party was founded in August 2024 by eight far-right European parties, led by AfD and including Poland’s Confederation and France’s Reconquête. The last one to join it was the Italian National Future party, led by former General Roberto Vannacci, a previous member of The League.
The party is a separate legal entity from the ESN political group in the European Parliament, which is formed by the same political forces and currently composed of 27 MEPs.
Political groups are factions of the Parliament, while parties are alliances of national parties at EU level, funded through the EU budget. Neither the group in the Parliament nor the lawmakers will face any consequence if ESN loses its status as a European party.
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