Governor Niessl in a Nationalist Dead End

Paneuropa: Freedom of Movement is a Cornerstone of European Integration

Abolition of Fundamental Freedoms Leads to the Abolition of a United Europe

The Paneuropa Movement Austria views the latest considerations by Burgenland’s Governor Hans Niessl regarding the restriction of freedom of movement as a ‘nationalist dead end with an abyss’.

As Rainhard Kloucek, Secretary General of the Paneuropa Movement Austria, clarifies, ‘the four fundamental freedoms are the cornerstones of European integration. This applies especially to the freedom of movement’.

There are already too many restrictions on these fundamental freedoms due to a series of protectionist measures, which are repeatedly demanded today by representatives of almost all political persuasions. These restrictions are not made any better by coming from parties that describe themselves as pro-European.

‘To solve the pressing problems in Europe, we do not need more state intervention, as demanded by the Burgenland Governor with his statements, but rather more market-economy approaches,’ states Stefan Haböck, Head of International Relations for the Paneuropa Movement Austria. Politics must not dismantle the freedoms of EU citizens through nationalist populism. Freedoms once lost are difficult to regain.

What is needed is not a restriction of fundamental freedoms, such as the freedom of movement, but their full implementation within a genuine, complete single market.

Note: The Paneuropa Movement Austria is the Austrian organisation of the non-partisan Paneuropean Union. Founded in 1922 by Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, it is the oldest European unification movement with 24 organisations in 22 European states.

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