For a strong Europe

Position paper of the Paneuropean Movement Austria for the 2019 European elections, adopted by the Presidium of the Paneuropean Movement Austria on 4 February 2019.

Global political and economic conditions and challenges demand clear European answers. Only a Europe acting in unison, a strong European Union, can prevent Europe from permanently departing the stage of world politics. In many respects, Europe still faces the same challenges it did when the Paneuropean Union was founded almost 100 years ago. Global actors such as the USA, China, and Russia require a strong European Union as a response. The resurgent yearning for the nation state would benefit neither Europe nor these nation states, but rather extra-European powers. Europe would then find itself not in the state of the 1960s, but rather in the state of Germany before the Napoleonic conquests.

However, strength does not lie in regulation and bureaucratisation; strength lies in a living principle of subsidiarity, where competences are located at the level where sovereignty can also be developed. Its natural limit lies in the freedom of citizens.

In view of the upcoming European elections in May 2019, the Paneuropean Movement Austria therefore advocates for

• A European foreign and security policy that allows Europe to appear on the world stage as an equal partner
• Peace, security, and the rule of law are as much principles of a European foreign policy as the commitment to religious freedom and against the persecution of Christians in many parts of the world
• European border protection and a reopening of internal borders
• A free internal market instead of new national protectionisms
• Free trade agreements with countries and regions outside the European Union
• An increased effort to integrate the countries of South-East Europe into the EU
• Immediate visa liberalisation for the citizens of Kosovo
• A clear European perspective for Ukraine (this includes a clear stance against all forces threatening Ukraine’s independence through military aggression)
• An economic policy based on the principles of the market economy and the rule of law
• We reject a banking union, for example – which, by extending joint liability, acts as an incentive for moral hazard rather than due diligence – just as we reject the idea of a separate budget or a separate parliament for the eurozone.

Europe must gain competence where this competence – as, for example, in foreign and security policy – can develop sovereignty. At the same time, however, the sovereignty of citizens, their ability to develop their freedom and responsibility again, must be strengthened. The goal is not the extensive paternalistic welfare state, which regulates and redistributes as many areas of life as possible at the state level, but rather personal freedom and responsibility, family autonomy, freedom of religion, private property, a free economy, etc.

Subsidiarity demands not a primacy of politics, but a primacy of law and freedom.

The position paper serves as the basis for all discussions and events regarding the 2019 European elections.

For a strong Europe

Position paper of the Paneuropean Movement Austria on the 2019 European elections, approved by the Board of the Paneuropean Movement Austria on 4 February 2019.

The current global and economic framework conditions and challenges command clear European answers. Only a Europe that acts as one, a strong European Union, can prevent Europe from vanishing from the stage of world politics for good. In many respects, Europe is still facing the same challenges it did when the Paneuropean Union was founded almost 100 years ago. Global actors such as the US, China, or Russia require a strong European Union as a response. The widespread yearning for nation states would benefit neither Europe nor the nation states themselves, but only non-European powers. Europe would find itself not as it was in the sixties of the last century, but would rather resemble Germany before the Napoleonic conquests.

Strength, however, does not consist of regulations and red tape; strength comes alive through an implemented principle of solidarity, where competences are centred on the same level on which sovereignty can be developed. Its natural limit is the freedom of the citizens.

With respect to the upcoming European elections in May 2019, the Paneuropean Movement Austria therefore advocates

• A European foreign and security policy enabling Europe to act as an equal partner on the stage of world politics
• Peace, security, and the rule of law are as much principles of European foreign policy as the commitment to religious freedom and against the persecution of Christians in many parts of the world.
• European border protection and the reopening of internal borders.
• A free internal market instead of new national protectionism
• Free trade agreements with countries and regions outside the European Union
• An increased effort to integrate the countries of South-East Europe into the EU
• Immediate visa liberalisation for the citizens of Kosovo
• A clear European perspective for Ukraine (including a clear stance towards all powers threatening the autonomy of Ukraine with military aggression)
• An economic policy oriented by the principles of the market economy and the rule of law
• We reject, for example, a banking union – which by extending joint liability creates an incentive for moral hazard instead of due diligence – as well as an autonomous budget for the eurozone or a separate parliament for the eurozone.

Europe must obtain competence where such competence – such as in foreign and security policy – can have sovereignty. At the same time, the sovereignty of citizens to enjoy freedom and responsibility must be strengthened once again. It is not the extensive paternalistic welfare state, regulating all spheres of life at the state level and procuring distribution, that is the objective, but personal freedom and responsibility, the autonomy of the family, religious freedom, private property, a free economy, etc.

Subsidiarity does not demand a primacy of politics, but a primacy of law and freedom.

The position paper serves as the basis for all discussions and events for the 2019 European elections.

© Featured image: European Parliament