Germany's AfD party faces a ban and the potential loss of funding from the European Union's regulatory body over its "failure to comply with EU values".
Pascal Schonard, director of the Authority for European Political Parties and Foundations, sent a 300-page letter to the Council of the EU outlining evidence that "casts doubt on the compliance" with fundamental EU values.
The process, launched last Friday, could ultimately result in the party losing its official status and access to European Parliament subsidies.
The Europe of Sovereign Nations, which serves as the political home for Alternative for Germany, is set to receive more than €2million in EU funding this year.
The ESN party operates as a distinct legal entity from the political group within the European Parliament, which currently comprises 27 MEPs.
Political groups function as parliamentary factions, whereas parties represent broader coalitions of national movements that receive direct funding from the EU budget.
Alternative for Germany established both the party and parliamentary group following the 2024 European elections.
The alliance brings together several nationalist movements.
These include Bulgaria's Revival, Éric Zemmour's Reconquest in France, Poland's Confederation, the Czech SPD, Hungary's Our Homeland Movement, the Netherlands' Forum for Democracy, and Slovakia's Republic Movement.
Should the ESN lose its party status, AfD representatives would retain their parliamentary seats but lack organisational support for future EU electoral campaigns and cross-border policy coordination.
Mr Schonard's letter presents court rulings alongside screenshots and social media posts from MEPs and party lawmakers as proof of violations documenting anti-immigration, antisemitic and anti-LGBT rhetoric.
These include calls for remigration and the characterisation of homosexuality as paedophilia.
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Among the evidence cited is a post from Tomasz Michał Grabarczyk, a Polish politician representing the Confederation/New Hope party.
He wrote this month: "Israel is not just a criminal state. Israelis are a nation of criminals."
The New Hope party subsequently retweeted the message.
The letter places particular emphasis on Bulgaria's Revival party.
It alleges open cooperation with Vladimir Putin's United Russia and accuses it of orchestrating violent demonstrations in Sofia and attacks on the European Commission delegation in February 2025.
The letter highlights a May 2025 decision by German intelligence services to classify Alternative for Germany as a right-wing extremist organisation, as well as a Cologne administrative court ruling that blocked that classification but nonetheless determined the party programme was "contrary to human dignity and freedom of religion."
ESN party President Stanislav Stoyanov told the APPF on May 4: "ESN has no mandate to intervene directly in the affairs of its member parties. However, we remain committed to upholding the core values of the EU through constant dialogue with the related parties."
The European Parliament, Commission, or Council may now request formal verification proceedings, after which a committee of eminent independent persons would issue recommendations before any final deregistration decision is taken.
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