The AfD is advancing the establishment of a European foundation. According to a report by “Der Spiegel”, the “Sovereignty Foundation” is slated to receive a total of 1.1 million euros in grants from the EU Parliament for the year 2026, with €275,000 already disbursed.
This sovereignty-focused foundation, which was registered last September, is connected to the EU party Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN). In 2024, the AfD allied with the Polish party Nowa Nadzieja and the French Reconquete within this framework. Alexander Sell, an AfD politician, serves as the foundation’s president.
Sell stated to “Der Spiegel” that the current EU funding is being used to develop the foundation’s organizational structure. He added, “We aim to promote academic and cultural exchange with experts from across Europe through conferences, fellowships, and publications”. Furthermore, a planned student essay contest focusing on European issues is designed to foster scientific talent.
Meanwhile, the AfD in Germany has so far struggled unsuccessfully to secure funding for its own Desiderius-Erasmus Foundation. Under the foundation funding law passed in 2023, which was agreed upon by the CDU, SPD, Greens, and FDP, no money can be granted to a party-affiliated foundation if there is an alleged “unconstitutional bias within the political main current”. The Federal Ministry of the Interior has been conducting an assessment regarding this matter for several months.