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Vienna (APA) – The Austrian emperor’s grandson, former Member of the European Parliament and honorary president of the Pan-European movement, Karl Habsburg, has called on Europe to take more responsibility. In his “Speech on the Future of Europe” on the occasion of his 65th birthday, the head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine addressed political crisis hotspots, the U.S. security strategy and the “obvious” U.S. support for anti-European forces on Sunday. He called parts of the right-wing EU group “Patriots for Europe” a “fifth column of Moscow.” In Russia, he called for the replacement of the regime of Wladimir Putin.
The group in the EU Parliament is “not made up of patriots, but of partly brutal nationalists,” Habsburg declared in a speech at the Fuchs Villa in Vienna-Penzing. “And they are certainly not for Europe. The concept of these parties is based de facto on rolling back European unification to mere cooperation between governments, without common institutions.” Many of the parties united in the group are also “connected to Putin in one way or another.” “They are the new fifth column of Moscow (the old one from communist times still exists as well) and are thus committing double high treason: against their own country and against Europe.” The right-wing “Patriots” group was co-founded by the Austrian FPÖ; among its members are, among others, the French Rassemblement National and the Hungarian Fidesz.
Criticism of EU leadership
“The greatest threat to Europe for years now has been Moscow’s war of annihilation against Ukraine,” Habsburg emphasized. “A war that aims at the destruction of a state and a people, and at the same time works toward the division of Europe in order to be able to dominate it more easily.” The honorary president of the Pan-European movement therefore called for the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, reparations by Russia and a regime change in Moscow. The case of Putin must be dealt with before an international war crimes tribunal.
At the same time, Habsburg did not spare criticism of the EU leadership, pointing out mistakes in EU policy such as bureaucratization, which weakens Europe. “When the same politicians who once pushed through the Green Deal and the Supply Chain Act with great vehemence now row back because they are being overtaken by reality, then it is obvious that we have a personnel problem in politics,” he explained. “Where is the responsibility of politicians? According to what criteria are laws passed as if there were no alternative, only to have to repair them again even before they come into force?”
Austria in U.S. security strategy
Habsburg also addressed reports that Austria appears in an unpublished long version of the U.S. security strategy. According to these, Austria was mentioned in connection with several countries that the U.S. allegedly wants to detach from the European Union in order to bring down the EU. “The modern idea of European unification is in fact an Austrian idea,” Habsburg explained. “It was developed in Vienna by Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, who in 1922 published his article ‘Paneuropa. A Proposal’ and then in 1926, that is 100 years ago, organized the first major Pan-Europe Congress in Vienna,” recalled the honorary president of the movement.
In view of the Russian war against Ukraine and Europe, the activities against the Western value system, the threats by U.S. President Donald Trump against Denmark over Greenland, but also developments in Venezuela and Iran as well as China’s “aggressive foreign policy” combined with an “economic policy aimed at dependence,” Habsburg appealed to the audience with a Bible quote: “Do not be afraid.” He stressed: “Let us not refuse, but as Europeans let us face the challenges responsibly.”
Praise for Meinl-Reisinger’s courage
Habsburg expressed praise for Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS), who had previously given the introductory remarks for Habsburg’s speech. “We own the same shirt,” he said, thanking the NEOS leader for wearing, like him, the traditional Ukrainian shirt vyshyvanka, even though she had been “beaten up by the media” for it. It is “extremely important to show symbolically what you stand for.”
Meinl-Reisinger, for her part, emphasized that Europe is “a matter close to her heart.” “Our prosperity, our freedom and our democracy are not irreversible. There are actors who have an interest in us losing all three of these things.” She too stressed the need for courage and decisive action. “For me it is not about a large European unitary state, but rather about a Europe of champions.”
Dynasty ruled for 640 years
The grandson of the last Austrian emperor, Karl I. , was born on January 11, 1961 in Starnberg in Upper Bavaria. Karl Habsburg was politically active as a Member of the European Parliament for the ÖVP. He was elected to the EU Parliament in the first European election in 1996, where he served for three years. Karl took over the chairmanship of the Pan-European movement from his father Otto Habsburg. Since 2024 he has been honorary president of the oldest European unification movement, founded in Vienna in 1922. He is also active as a media entrepreneur in the Netherlands, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Austria.
The Habsburgs have shaped the history of Europe over centuries, providing kings and emperors. The victory of Rudolf von Habsburg over the Bohemian king Ottokar II. in the Battle on the Marchfeld in 1278 marked the beginning of 640 years of rule by the House of Habsburg or Habsburg-Lorraine over Austria. As a result of the founding of the republic on November 12, 1918, the ruling imperial house was expropriated and lost all privileges. (11.1.2026)