Germany's AfD weighs shift from anti-EU roots, strategy paper shows

The strategy paper, first reported by Bild newspaper, suggests an overhaul of the bloc and currency instead of an immediate withdrawal. If these reform efforts were unsuccessful, the paper states that the party should then call for a referendum on Germany's membership.

Furthermore, the paper envisions transforming the EU into a looser "union of sovereign nations," reducing Brussels' influence on domestic policymaking and allowing for national opt-outs in areas such as migration, EU finances, and social policy.

The document was created by AfD lawmakers from the European Parliament, Germany's lower house, and state parliaments, and was discussed at a meeting last month. Any alteration to the party's decade-old policy platform would require approval at a party convention next year.

Peter Boehringer, the AfD's parliamentary spokesman on European affairs and a critic of the euro, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The AfD has seen its support grow by campaigning against migration, a strategy that has led to election successes.

The AfD aims to enter the federal government by 2029. Germany's mainstream political parties have refused to cooperate with the AfD, which the domestic intelligence agency has labeled as "right-wing extremist," a characterization the party rejects. In August, party co-leader Alice Weidel referred to the euro as a "soft currency" in an interview, though she did not explicitly call for Germany to leave the currency.