German far-right party AfD officially leaves its group in the European Parliament

ESSEN (GERMANY), July 1 (DPA/EP) –

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party officially left its group in the European Parliament, Identity and Democracy (ID), on Sunday, after the latter decided to expel the German party following statements by its head of the list for the European elections, Maximilian Krah, who said that not everyone in the SS of Nazi Germany could be considered “automatically” criminals.

This was confirmed by the vice president of the party, Peter Boehringer, within the framework of the party’s conference held this weekend in the city of Essen, which took place amid strict security measures and in which they have been re-elected as co-leaders. Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel.

This decision was made despite the fact that the AfD itself had removed Krah from the campaign and from its parliamentary seat in the European Parliament, measures which have not achieved a reconciliation with ID.

As on Saturday, Essen has also been the scene of protests against the conference, although to a lesser extent than the previous day, when between 20,000 and 50,000 demonstrators showed up, according to figures from the police and the organisers, respectively.

Sunday passed in a calmer manner, with around 150 people participating in a vigil around the Grugahalle conference hall, and with hardly any violent episodes.