The European Union’s watchdog overseeing European political parties has formally launched a process that could ultimately deregister the right-wing anti-immigration Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) party alliance, which includes Germany’s leading opposition Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and Hungary’s Our Homeland (Mi Hazánk).
The procedure reportedly began on 22 May after Pascal Schonard, Director of the Authority for European Political Parties and Foundations (APPF), circulated a roughly 300-page dossier to EU institutions outlining alleged breaches of so-called European values by the party alliance. By the end of the procedure, the ESN party itself—not the ESN group in the European Parliament—could lose its official party status and more than €2 million in annual EU subsidies.
The ‘evidence’ cited in the 300-page document reportedly includes anti-immigration and remigration rhetoric, anti-LGBT statements, and antisemitic social media posts linked to member parties of ESN. Additionally, the APPF reportedly refers to German intelligence assessments classifying AfD as extremist, as well as Bulgaria’s Revival party and its alleged links to Vladimir Putin’s United Russia.
According to reports, the APPF argues that there is sufficient evidence casting doubt on ‘whether ESN complies with core EU principles such as democracy, rule of law, human dignity and minority rights under Article 2 TEU’.
Addressing the accusations, ESN President Stanislav Stoyanov responded that the European party alliance does not directly control the actions of its member parties and stated that ESN remains committed to dialogue and EU values.
Supporters of ESN and the broader sovereigntist movement argued that the procedure forms part of wider mainstream efforts to suppress anti-immigration political forces. The case is particularly controversial because AfD faces similar pressure despite its growing popularity in Germany. Many commentators pointed to the contrast that, while German authorities are still debating whether to ban the party domestically, the European Union appears to be moving at a significantly faster pace.
The process, however, remains at an early stage. The European Parliament, European Commission, or Council must first formally request further verification before deregistration proceedings can continue. Even if that occurs, ESN would still be allowed to respond, an independent expert committee would issue recommendations, and the APPF would then make a final decision, while the Parliament and Council would still retain a three-month period to object.
If successful, the case would be precedent-setting, as the EU’s strengthened framework regulating European political parties only fully entered into force recently, at the end of 2025. That could also allow the APPF to launch similar procedures against other right-wing European party alliances with anti-immigration positions, including the Patriots for Europe (PfE), co-founded by former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán in 2024. Critics, therefore, view the move as a newly developed institutional tool against anti-establishment forces at the EU level, particularly as the traditional cordon sanitaire around the European right has increasingly weakened.
Dóra Dúró, deputy leader of Hungary’s Our Homeland movement, reacted to the probe in a Facebook post, describing the move as ‘an attack against sovereigntists’. Dúró argued that the accusations against ESN reflected the ‘well-known labels’ increasingly used against nationalist political forces across Europe.
She added that ‘the attacks against national sovereignty are shifting into a higher gear’, while affirming that Our Homeland would continue to stand by its European party family and ‘the representation of normality’.
Related articles:
At a time when public debate is increasingly polarized and superficial, Hungarian Conservative remains committed to depth, intellectual honesty, and independent conservative thought.
Producing high-quality journalism requires resources. Your contribution helps us expand our coverage, reach new audiences, and keep our content accessible.
Please consider supporting our mission.
