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Germany news: AfD's Weidel calls for major EU reforms
Alice Weidel demands EU overhaul with sovereignty, subsidiarity and responsibility.
In brief
Alice Weidel demands EU overhaul with sovereignty, subsidiarity and responsibility. Alice Weidel, AfD co-leader, calls for EU reform centered on sovereignty, subsidiarity and responsibility to protect national borders. Originally reported by Dw.
Weidel pitches EU reform pillars
Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, presented her party's proposals for a European Union that she said was 'in severe need of reform' during a visit to the European Parliament in…
“We would like to rebuild and reform the European Union”
Three pillars of reform
Weidel outlined three core pillars: subsidiarity, responsibility and sovereignty, arguing the EU should be founded on these principles rather than sovereign states.
“the first one is subsidiarity the second one is responsibility and the third one is sovereignty”
Subsidiarity principle
On subsidiarity, Weidel said power should reside as close to the grassroots level as possible, stating the European Commission should not intrude on private decision-making.
“we don't want the state or the european commission that is not elected to intrude and disturb your private life in decision-making”
Sovereign states in EU
Weidel claimed the EU is no longer a group of sovereign states, with national parliaments making decisions rather than the European Parliament.
“i'm an economist and for me the european union is not a group of sovereign states any more”
Fiscal policy exceptions
Weidel noted fiscal policy and the primacy of EU law are exceptions where sovereign member states must agree to them.
“the notable exceptions weidel objects to are fiscal policy and the primacy of eu law”
Commission's legislative power
Weidel criticized the European Commission for having a 'legislative right of initiative' without being elected, calling it a 'huge disturbance of checks and balances'.
“we would like to found the european union on three major principles the first one is subsidiarity the second one is responsibility and the third one is sovereignty”
EU responsibility failures
Weidel accused the EU of failing to follow its own rules on sovereign debt and whether the European Central Bank should guarantee it.
“weidel accused the eu of failing to follow its own rules for instance on sovereign debt and whether the european central bank should or can guarantee it”
Border protection demands
Weidel reiterated her desire for 'sovereign states to protect their borders,' stating if the EU fails to protect external borders, they should have a veto right to opt out.
“if the european union is not capable of protecting our borders the outer borders then it is a decision of the sovereign states to protect our national borders”
Schengen zone concerns
Weidel warned that if Schengen is over, they need to get out of Schengen and protect their borders, citing the open-border zone within much of the EU.
“if schengen is over if schengen doesn't work then we need to get out of schengen and protect our borders”
Border protection mechanism
Weidel stated that if the EU fails to protect the bloc's external borders, 'we should have a veto right to opt out of this chaos.'
“if the european union is not capable of protecting our borders the outer borders then it is a decision of the sovereign states to protect our national borders”
EU border management
The EU maintains a border management agency, Frontex, but national authorities are responsible for external borders of the Schengen zone.
“the eu maintains a border management agency frontex national authorities are responsible for the external borders of the schengen zone”
Merz on China trade
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized China for 'unfair practices' in trade, saying he wants EU member states to balance out their trade deficits.
“you sound very much like donald trump”
Merz's trade stance
Merz said the EU does not want a trade war with China, but the imbalance does not mean 'the beginning of a war' and they are looking for peaceful solutions.
“we are looking for peaceful solutions but the level for that is fair trade”
Nvidia AI pitch
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang presented his vision of the upcoming AI revolution and products for the 'second wave' of AI at a Berlin conference.
“you have to transfer ai into the real world of production”
Nvidia's modular data centers
Nvidia introduced a 'Giga-Factory' design that can be set up in days or weeks anywhere with a suitable power grid.
“a new addition to the nvidia universe is a giga factory which is housed in modular shipping containers and can be set up in just a few days or weeks anywhere with a suitable power grid”
AI consumer products
Nvidia demonstrated a high-performance laptop with an AI agent that acts as a 'friend and helper' and robot ducks trained by AI.
“a high-performance laptop with a built-in ai agent that acts as a friend and helper capable of taking over tasks and programming new agents”
What matters most
Alice Weidel, AfD co-leader, calls for EU reform centered on sovereignty, subsidiarity and responsibility to protect national borders.
