{"id":468893,"date":"2026-10-22T07:02:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T05:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/10\/22\/weidel-a-strasburgo-riformare-radicalmente-lue-e-attacca-green-deal-e-schengen\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T10:46:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:46:30","slug":"weidel-in-strasbourg-radically-reform-the-eu-attacks-the-green-deal-and-schengen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/10\/22\/weidel-in-strasbourg-radically-reform-the-eu-attacks-the-green-deal-and-schengen\/","title":{"rendered":"Weidel in Strasbourg: \u201cRadically reform the EU\u201d; attacks the Green Deal and Schengen"},"content":{"rendered":"

from our correspondent in Strasbourg \u2013<\/em> Alice Weidel arrives at the European Parliament<\/a> with a promise: to reshape the European Union, returning powers and decision-making to the national states. The co-chair of Alternative f\u00fcr Deutschland (AfD) brings her vision of the EU to Strasbourg, one built on national sovereignty, tighter border controls, and the dismantling of those EU policies that, in her view, impoverish citizens. \u201cThe EU, in its current form, needs radical reforms<\/strong>\u201d, she argued at a press conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, describing a continent \u201cunder a sort of siege\u201d, amid a loss of purchasing power, inflation and open borders. <\/span><\/p>\n

The German leader\u2019s plan is based on three pillars: \u201cSubsidiarity, responsibility and sovereignty\u201d. \u201cWe must return powers to national parliaments and governments,\u201d<\/strong> Weidel said, challenging the European Commission’s power, which she regards as an unelected body with an excessive concentration of authority. \u201cWe don\u2019t want the state or the Commission meddling in your private life,\u201d she noted, taking aim at European rules which, in her view, restrict the freedom of choice of consumers and businesses. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Green Deal is the main target of criticism. According to Weidel, the European energy transition is artificially driving up energy prices and jeopardising industrial competitiveness<\/strong>, particularly in Germany. The AfD leader slams Berlin\u2019s decision to phase out nuclear power and opposes the ban on combustion engines: \u201cEvery manufacturer should be free to decide what to produce, and every citizen free to decide what to buy.\u201d The solution lies in the free market, accompanied by a drastic reduction in taxes and the redistribution of wealth. Weidel also attacks public debt and the European Central Bank, which she accuses of fuelling inflation and eroding purchasing power. <\/span><\/p>\n

On migration, the proposal is even more unequivocal: if Schengen does not work, we must leave it.<\/strong> \u201cIf the European Union is unable to protect our external borders, it is up to sovereign states to protect their own national borders,\u201d she said. Weidel links the unrest in France<\/a>, Italy<\/a> and Germany to \u201cleft-wing circles and migration-related contexts\u201d and calls for those causing unrest in European countries to be stopped and deported.<\/span><\/p>\n

The AfD leader is also calling for a change of course on Ukraine. Europe, she argues, has lost negotiating clout compared with the United States, Russia and China<\/strong>, while it should have worked towards peace from the very start of the war. \u201cWe must adopt a pragmatic diplomatic approach,\u201d she says, rejecting the accusation that her party wants Kyiv to capitulate. <\/span><\/p>\n

The European message is intertwined with Italian politics through Roberto Vannacci, founder of Futuro Nazionale and a member of the same parliamentary group as the AfD, Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN). When asked about the General\u2019s political future and the possibility of him standing as an independent candidate against the centre-right, Weidel endorsed him without hesitation: \u201c<\/strong>I am firmly convinced that Roberto Vannacci is the best choice for his electorate and that he will make the best decisions for Italy.\u201d The German leader makes it clear that she does not wish to advise an Italian politician on which strategy to adopt: \u201cHe knows what is best for his country.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The stated aim, however, is not to leave the Union, but to radically transform it. \u201cWe want to rebuild and reform the European Union,\u201d<\/strong> concludes Weidel: a Europe of sovereign states, with fewer powers in Brussels and more control in the capitals.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When asked about the political future of Roberto Vannacci, the MEP from her group, and the possibility of him standing as an independent candidate against the centre-right, Weidel endorsed him without hesitation: \u201cI am firmly convinced that Roberto Vannacci is the best choice for his constituents and that he will make the best decisions for Italy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7896,"featured_media":419484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25681],"tags":[26580,26471,28861,36329,36330,25754,27947,29014],"class_list":["post-468893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-alice-weidel-and","tag-alternative-for-germany-en","tag-esn","tag-europe-sovereign-nation","tag-migration-en","tag-destra-en","tag-roberto-vannacci-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7896"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468893"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":468894,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468893\/revisions\/468894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/419484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}