The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is set to make the controlled break-up of the EU one of its main goals in the upcoming European elections, with its leader Tino Hroupala calling Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán one of his main allies.

In its proposal for the pre-election program of the European elections, which is expected to be ratified during the party’s congress on July 29, the AfD calls for the “controlled dissolution” of the “authoritarian EU”.

“We need a reboot for Europe so that we can use the capabilities of nation states and rebuild the bridge to the east,” AfD co-leader Hrupala told EURACTIV.

The EU is “an economic space only, and it must remain so,” he added.

The European Union “seizes national competences without being able to replace the nation-state”, while being insufficiently democratic as the Commission lacks legitimacy, he argued.

Hrupala also cited EU sanctions against Russia as a prime example of EU illegality, saying they were “not in the interests of citizens” and led to rising inflation and recession.

Instead, the AfD proposes replacing the EU with “a new European economic community and community of interests, a league of European nations.”

The “allies” in Hungary and Austria

The AfD’s proposal, which would essentially lead to Germany’s exit from the EU, is a permanent position of the party that initially had as its position the dissolution of the monetary union.

Already in the last Bundestag elections, the AfD campaigned for the complete dissolution of the EU.

Since then, however, the positions of many of its far-right sister parties in the EU political group Identity and Democracy (ID) have softened significantly.

Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National party in France, for example, has abandoned the idea of ​​breaking up the EU and is instead pushing for a fundamental reform of the bloc – something the AfD says is impossible.

Similarly, Matteo Salvini’s far-right Lega party in Italy is now trying to become more decent while forming a broad alliance with center-right forces for the upcoming elections, slowly abandoning its Eurosceptic ideas.

However, Hrupala is optimistic that the break-up of the EU could take shape and is betting on right-wing parties in Austria and Hungary.

“The prospects [για την υλοποίηση της πρότασης] they are good as the global trend is in our favour,” he said.

The Austro-Hungarian axis

Both Austria and Hungary would be ideal partners and natural allies for the AfD.

“Central European cooperation with Hungary and Austria is of central importance for Germany,” Hrupala said, adding that Orbán “already shows how interest politics can be implemented in Europe.”

On Austria’s side, the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) is leading the polls today, despite frequent allegations of corruption. Similarly, Orban’s Fidesz in Hungary is estimated to win around half the vote, with its nearest rival nearly 30% behind.

The AfD itself has also recently made a comeback, now in second place with around 20%, even ahead of Chancellor Olaf Solz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Meanwhile, the FPÖ has already expressed its support for the AfD.

“We see the development that the European Union has taken in recent years quite critically and with great concern,” Harald Wilimski, head of the FPÖ delegation in the European Parliament, told EURACTIV.

“Of course, European citizens should have a choice if they still agree with the development [της ΕΕ] or whether they would prefer to follow a direction closer to the core ideas of integration, namely peace, freedom and wealth,” he added.

However, while Orbán’s Fidesz is ideologically close to the AfD, it is not aligned with any group in the European Parliament since it split from the centre-right EPP.