
Europe of Sovereign Nations
AfD-led hard-right European Parliament group, one of three that forced the digital-euro floor vote
Last refreshed: 16 July 2026
Why did the group AfD had to build from scratch end up shaping a digital-euro vote?
Timeline for Europe of Sovereign Nations
Forced the floor vote by challenging ECON's procedural decision
European Tech Sovereignty: Right forces digital euro to the floorWho leads Europe of Sovereign Nations?
Why was AfD expelled from Identity and Democracy?
What did Europe of Sovereign Nations do on the digital euro?
Background
Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) was one of three right-wing groups, alongside the European Conservatives and Reformists and Patriots for Europe, that forced the 9 July digital-euro floor vote by challenging ECON's decision to skip it, a vote the mandate still cleared 416-169 .
The group was formed in September 2024, led by Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) after AfD was expelled from the Identity and Democracy group in May 2024 following controversial remarks by MEP Maximilian Krah. ESN gathered AfD together with several smaller national-conservative and hard-right parties from other member states that lacked a parliamentary home after the 2024 elections, positioning it as the furthest-right of the European Parliament's formally recognised groups.
The digital-euro procedural challenge shows ESN, despite its comparatively small size, able to combine with ECR and Patriots for Europe to force a floor vote on EU monetary sovereignty, part of a wider pattern of the hard right contesting EU tech and financial sovereignty measures.