A button reads "Arguments instead of bans. NPD." in support of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany | Simon Hofmann/Getty Images Germany plans to scrap state funding for extreme-right party ‘It’s difficult to bear’ that the NPD is funded by the state, interior minister says.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said he plans to change the law to prevent the extreme-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) from receiving any public funds, local media reported Friday.

His plan for legal amendments to cut off financing to parties that undermine democracy in Germany has been sent to party leaders in parliament. A two-thirds majority in both the upper and lower houses of parliament are needed to push through the changes.

De Maizière said "it’s difficult to bear" that the NPD is funded by the state.

A court ruled in January that the NPD could not be banned, but judges said there was a loophole under which the party could be excluded from state funding. Several states said they wanted to stop financial aid to the party.

Under German law, all political parties that receive at least 0.5 percent of the vote in national and EU elections receive public money. In 2015, the NPD received €1.3 million, according to local media. The NPD has no seats in parliament, but has representatives at local level as well as a member of the European Parliament.