Vienna Declaration for a Strong Europe

A European Foreign, Security, and Defense Policy

European foreign policy means not only the coordination of the member states’ foreign policies by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, but an EU Ministry of Foreign Affairs and an EU Ministry of Defense, each headed by a European Foreign Minister and a Defense Minister. To give the Union political clout, these policy areas should be defined as exclusive competencies of the EU. To finance these tasks, new European own resources should be created.

Since the Parliament is directly elected by the citizens of the European Union, the European Foreign Minister and the European Defense Minister should be nominated by the European Parliament and be subject to its direct and exclusive control. This is genuine democratic legitimacy, which confers sovereignty and thus the ability to act and to shape policy.

In terms of content, European foreign and security policy pursues the goals of peace, freedom, the rule of law, democracy, and a market economy.

Partnerships with other world regions and states outside of Europe are part of a strategic foreign and security policy that serves the values mentioned above.

Enlargement as an Instrument of European Foreign and Security Policy

“The further we push the borders of freedom to the east, the safer the center becomes.”
(Otto von Habsburg)

Under the slogan “Paneuropa is all of Europe,” the Paneuropean Union emphasizes the principle that every European country has a right to participate in European unification and thus to join the European Union. This applies to the states of the so-called Western Balkans as much as to Switzerland, Norway, or Iceland, but above all to the states on the border of the current Russian Federation that are clearly shaped by European culture, such as Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Belarus, or Moldova. The goal is to enable the development of freedom, the rule of law, democracy, and a market economy in these regions and thereby consolidate Europe as a geopolitically capable entity.

This requires a clear European strategy for integrating the macro-region of Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, and Moldova into the European community of values and for securing these countries against threats from Moscow. Compliance with the outlined European values, the Copenhagen criteria including the adoption of the Acquis Communautaire, as well as balanced public finances, are the prerequisites for the EU integration of these states.

The Future Relationship with the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China

As early as a 1994 policy statement, Paneuropa held the view that the Russian Federation should be seen as a neighbor of Europe and not as a future member of the European Union. With a strategically oriented foreign and security policy, Europe will ensure effective deterrence against any interference in internal affairs that violates international law. At the same time, Paneuropa commits to the principle of non-interference enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, which, however, does not exclude open support for democratic and liberal forces in the politics of the Russian Federation.

Likewise, Paneuropa commits to the right of peoples to self-determination and therefore actively supports the independence efforts of the individual peoples of the Russian Federation, provided that these aim at the establishment of open societies and pursue their goals with the most peaceful means available to them. In the future, Europe should build political and economic cooperation with the decolonized states yet to be created. European-influenced regions that achieve independence from Moscow fall under the slogan “Paneuropa is all of Europe.” A decolonized and democratic Russia would be a welcome partner and a respected neighbor.

The People’s Republic of China

The Paneuropean Union observes with concern that the People’s Republic of China appears to be seeking a dominant position over Europe with its policies. Paneuropa rejects the autocratic aspirations of the Russia-Iran-China-North Korea axis, any distortion of international law, and a reorganization of world politics in favor of illiberal systems.

A strategically oriented European foreign policy must avoid unilateral dependencies on external partners. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has universal validity, to which Paneuropa explicitly commits itself. The rule of law, democracy, and freedom are considered by us to be equally universal values that should and must allow all people on this earth to live in dignity. Therefore, Paneuropa welcomes all initiatives for the democratization and liberalization of the People’s Republic of China.

We strongly condemn the ongoing human rights violations in the People’s Republic of China and elsewhere, particularly with regard to Articles 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 16 to 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We likewise condemn the alleged violations by the People’s Republic of China of international trade law, particularly with regard to the rules of the World Trade Organization.

At the same time, Paneuropa recognizes China’s great cultural and political heritage, the unspeakable suffering inflicted on the Chinese people by the horrors of Anglo-American and Japanese colonialism, and the country’s remarkable achievements that have enabled it to rise from extreme poverty to a significant economic power within a few decades. Paneuropa also recognizes the key role China plays in addressing anthropogenic climate change and the country’s achievements in the development of sustainable energy and mobility. China’s economic growth has lifted millions of people out of absolute poverty.

For this very reason, Paneuropa urges the People’s Republic of China to abandon its self-categorization as a developing country as quickly as possible and to take its place as a developed country, while also fulfilling the responsibilities associated with this status.

Based on the commitment to the right of peoples to self-determination, Paneuropa recognizes the freedom and independence of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The commitment to the principle of non-interference leads to a clear condemnation and rejection of any policy that is expansionist or violates international law.

To end Russia’s war of annihilation against Ukraine and further threats from Moscow, the Paneuropean Union supports the following measures:

1. Definition of a clear war aim: Restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its 1991 borders
2. The delivery of the necessary military and humanitarian aid to achieve the defined war aim
3. New effective boycott measures (embargo) against the Putin regime
4. Creation of the legal prerequisites to be able to use Russian assets frozen in the West for the reconstruction of Ukraine
5. Reparation payments by Russia for reconstruction and compensation for refugees and displaced persons
6. Support for those forces in Russia that advocate for a liberal, democratic development of the country based on the rule of law
7. Support for the peoples colonized by Moscow in their struggle for freedom and independence.
8. Clear advocacy for regime change in Moscow
9. The definition of a foreign policy strategy toward Moscow, the foundations of which are formulated in the policy paper “Pan-European Geostrategic Doctrine.”

Free Economy instead of Overregulation

One of the first economic policy demands of Paneuropa 100 years ago was to eliminate protectionist barriers between European countries to enable a genuine and free internal market. Individual state bureaucracies continue to be extremely innovative in building protectionist trade restrictions. Added to this is an overregulation—and thus over-bureaucratization—shaped by statist and paternalistic ideas, which harms both the economy and freedom, and thus the ideological foundation of the European way of life.

Paneuropa is committed to a genuine and free internal market, meaning the elimination of all still-existing protectionism and an end to bureaucratization. Only a free internal market can unleash the market forces that enable the innovation and prosperity that form the economic basis for a geopolitically capable Europe.

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