René Aust, head of the AfD delegation in the European Parliament, stated:
“Once again, the European Union is behaving like a state by even awarding an order. In our view, however, it is not entitled to adopt such a state-like posture: it should have neither an anthem nor a flag, nor any orders. As the AfD delegation, we reject all efforts by the EU to develop into a state entity. We stand for a Europe of sovereign nations.”
Petr Bystron, Member of the European Parliament for the AfD delegation, further stated:
“It is absurd to award Angela Merkel of all people an order for democracy. In 2020, she publicly declared that the democratic election of a Minister-President in Thuringia had to be ‘reversed.’ The media campaign unleashed in response led to the resignation of the democratically elected Minister-President. Such an attitude toward the result of a parliamentary election stands in stark contradiction to the principles of democratic decision-making processes.”
