Brussels' Case Against the AfD

On July 7, the European Parliament voted 414-224 to open a formal review of whether a small pan-European political alliance called Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) still qualifies for EU registration and EU funding. Brussels insists this is a routine compliance matter. It is not. It is the first time in the history of the EU’s party-financing regime that this mechanism has been aimed at a party of the populist right, and everyone involved knows exactly which national party it is really about: Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD).