Could EU Funding Be Withheld from German States Following Far-Right Election Gains?

Several social media posts claiming that Brussels plans to freeze EU funds to Saxony-Anhalt have amassed thousands of views and shares, often accompanied by a photo of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured a landslide victory in Saxony-Anhalt’s state election on 6 September, winning 39 seats — more than double any other party — though still short of a majority. The party has since struggled to form a coalition, as other parties refuse to collaborate with it.

Von der Leyen has repeatedly criticised the AfD, and her own centre-right CDU suffered a crushing defeat, securing just 17.2% of the vote and 15 seats. This may have fuelled online suggestions that she is orchestrating the fund freeze.

However, no evidence supports the claim. The narrative appears to originate from a statement by German Green MEP Daniel Freund, who said he would push to freeze EU money to an AfD-led government if it violated European values or misused funds.

Saxony-Anhalt is set to receive €2.95 billion in EU funding under the 2021–2027 budget: €1.3 billion from the European Regional Development Fund, €571 million from the European Social Fund, and €594 million from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Per capita, the state benefits more from EU funding than any other German region, averaging over €650 per citizen over the full budget cycle, according to Freund.

The EU has previously frozen funds from Poland and Hungary over rule-of-law concerns. In Poland, €137 billion in cohesion and post-pandemic funds were unlocked in 2024 after Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government introduced judicial-independence guarantees. For Hungary, a first tranche of €4.2 billion in cohesion funds has been proposed for release following reforms under Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s administration.

For now, however, the prospect of freezing Saxony-Anhalt’s funds appears to reflect the opinion of individual MEPs rather than a concerted Brussels effort. Under the EU’s rule-of-law conditionality mechanism, funding cannot be suspended simply because a particular party takes office. Measures can only be proposed where breaches of the rule of law directly affect or seriously risk affecting the sound management of the EU budget. Any such measure would require a proposal from the European Commission and a decision by the Council of the European Union.

A spokesperson for the Saxony-Anhalt government stated that no plans to freeze EU funds were known. “In the current situation, there would be no legal basis for such a course of action,” the spokesperson added, noting that a new state government has not yet been formed following the 6 September election.

The AfD also performed strongly in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania a couple of weeks later, while The Left won the Berlin state election. The European Commission did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.

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