The AfD is demanding that the German government bring all German gold reserves overseas back to Germany. The AfD parliamentary group plans to submit a motion entitled “Bring German State Gold Fully Back to Germany” to the Bundestag on Wednesday, according to “Tagesspiegel”.
The motion argues that gold serves both a psychological and material stabilising function and must be stored “unconditionally completely in German domestic vaults”. It claims that the step is necessary and overdue to secure ownership, availability and operational capability. The AfD warns that in times of crisis or tension, physical access to gold stored abroad could be blocked by sanctions. They also assert that neither the EU nor the United States can be reliably trusted, as both have recently discussed or begun to seize foreign state assets.
To back its claims, the AfD cites EU proposals to freeze and confiscate Russian wealth, President Trump’s plans to monitor Venezuelan oil proceeds, and links the security of gold reserves to Russia’s war against Ukraine. The motion warns that if Germany were ever late in paying the United States for weapons delivered to Ukraine, the U.S. could demand a “settlement” in German gold and enforce it, retaining the payment in the form of gold value.
The SPD has accused the AfD of alarm‑mongering. “Politically, the AfD is once again attempting to weaponise uncertainty and profit from legitimate concerns” said Frauke Heiligenstadt, the SPD Bundestag finance spokesman. She added that Germany’s gold reserves are well diversified.
The finance spokesman of the Union faction, Fritz Güntzler, pointed out that in an absolute emergency the gold reserves also secure supplies of critical imports. “It is therefore sensible to keep part of the reserves abroad, particularly in the United States, given the status of the U.S. dollar” he told “Tagesspiegel”. He called the public speculation over a withdrawal of gold reserves unhelpful.