The interior ministers of the German federal states abandoned the principle of unanimity when making decisions at a joint conference amid concerns that in the future the interior minister from the opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) party would be able to block any decisions, the DPA news agency reports, citing circles from the Interior Ministry.

"The Conference of Ministers of the Interior of the Federal States of Germany has abandoned the principle of unanimity... In the future, at least 13 out of 16 votes will be enough to make a decision. The question of whether the principle of unanimity should be maintained, taking into account the possible appearance of the Minister of Internal Affairs from the AfD, has been discussed for some time within the framework of the conference," the message says.

The agency clarifies that the Minister of the Interior of Lower Saxony, Daniela Behrens, stated at the autumn 2025 conference that if the Minister of the Interior from the AfD appeared, the conference should introduce a mechanism that would not allow a representative of the opposition party to block important decisions.