Paneuropean Union

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Not to be confused with European Union or Pan-European identity.
"Pan-Europe" redirects here; not to be confused with Pan-European.
International Paneuropean Union
PurposeEuropean unification movement
HeadquartersStrasbourg
Location
Region served
Europe
President
Pavo Barišić
Main organ
General Assembly
Websitewww.international-paneuropean-union.eu

The International Paneuropean Union, also referred to as the Pan-European Movement and the Pan-Europa Movement, is an international organisation and the oldest European unification movement. It began with the publishing of Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi's manifesto Paneuropa (1923), which presented the idea of a unified European State. The Union's General Secretariat is located in Munich, but maintains branches across Europe.

Since February 2025, the President of the Union is

Swedish Parliament.[3]

History

The Austrian-Hungarian border crossing where the Pan-European Picnic took place in 1989

Coudenhove-Kalergi, a member of the Bohemian

Coudenhove-Kalergi family and the son of an Austro-Hungarian diplomat and a Japanese mother, was the organisation's central figure and President until his death in 1972.[citation needed
]

As

Franco-German enmity.[4][5]

The organisation was prohibited by

Habsburg dynasty and former Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary
, became involved with the Paneuropean Union in the 1930s, was elected its Vice President in 1957 and became its International President in 1973, after Coudenhove's death.

The organisation was much reviled by the communist regimes of the Eastern Bloc. The organisation became renowned for its role in organising the Pan-European Picnic, an important event during the Revolutions of 1989.

As of 2023, the Paneuropean Union Parliamentary Group in the European Parliament consists of over 120 members from nearly all of the EU Member States and meets regularly during the sessions of the Parliament in Strasbourg.[9]

Ideology

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The organisation believes in a strong, politically and militarily, united Europe while supporting

EU membership. The EPU advocates the EU to become an independent, self-sufficient, and peaceful superpower. The EPU also believes in maintaining a European Common Security and Defence Policy, and establishing a European army alongside strong cooperation with NATO.[9][10]

Member organisations

As of July 2023, the Paneuropean Union consists of member organizations in 32 countries across Europe:[11]

Presidents

No. Image Name Term Notes
1 Count
Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi 		1923–1972 Elected the first International President in 1926
2 Otto von Habsburg, MEP 1973–2004 Former Crown Prince Otto of Austria-Hungary
3 Alain Terrenoire 2004–2025 Former Member of Parliament and MEP, France
4 Pavo Barišić 2025–present Former Minister of Science and Education, Croatia

Individual members

The Paneuropean Union lists the following as historical members:[12][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ This flag variant was displayed at the funeral procession for Otto of Habsburg in 2011.
  2. ^ Fourth President of the Pan-European Union
  3. ^ "Walburga Habsburg Douglas (M) - Riksdagen".
  4. ^ Schulz, Matthias (December 3, 2010). "Der Briand-Plan und der Völkerbund als Verhandlungsarena für die europäische Einigung zwischen den Kriegen" (in German). IEG(http://www.ieg-mainz.de). Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  5. ^ Nelsson, Richard (September 5, 2019). "Aristide Briand's plan for a United States of Europe". the Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  6. JSTOR 42555262
    .
  7. ISBN 3205993608
    , Seiten 595.
  8. ISBN 0719044464
    , Seite 26.
  9. ^ a b "Paneurope". www.international-paneuropean-union.eu.
  10. ^ "Grundsätze".
  11. ^ "Member Organisations". Paneurope.
  12. ISBN 0064971724
  13. ^ "Pan-Europa – The parent idea of a united Europe". Paneurope.
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