PANEL DISCUSSION 2024

Axel KASSEGGER:
THE EU IS ON THE WAY TO A DEBT UNION AND DEINDUSTRIALIZATION

Thank you very much for the invitation. It is a great pleasure and a great honour for me to hold this speech here in Prague.

Austria is a country that is deeply influenced by its location in Central Europe. Thanks to its geographically advantageous position, Austria acts as a hub for trade between the major economies of Western Europe, especially Germany and Italy, and the growing economies of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The proximity to these various regions, combined with Austria's excellent transport infrastructure, has contributed significantly to the country's economic success in the recent decades.

Austria's Central European position is not only limited to the geographical aspect, but also extends to the country's geopolitical role. Its history links Austria both with the nations of Western Europe, especially Germany, with which it has a close relationship due to its shared language and culture and with the various states of the former Habsburg monarchy in the East. After the Second World War, Austria's role as a diplomatic link between East and West was consolidated due to its constitutionally guaranteed neutrality. This made it an attractive location for international organizations such as the UN and the OSCE, as well as for various major international corporations.

Austria's accession to the European Union in 1995 should also be mentioned as an important factor in this context. Today, advocates of the EU point out that this has had a positive effect on the economic development of Austria and Central Europe as a whole. While this is certainly true, it should not obscure the current undesirable developments within the European Union. Contrary to that what is often said, we as the Austrian Freedom Party are not currently seeking to leave the EU but are rather the only relevant political force in Austria that is trying to save it from its impending self-inflicted destruction.

An excellent example of the misguided path the European Union is currently on was recently provided by the former head of the ECB and former Prime Minister of Italy, Mario Draghi. In his role as advisor to the EU Commission, he published a report on Europe's decline in competitiveness. His solution is a new Marshall Plan for Europe worth up to 800 billion euros a year, financed through collective EU debt issuance. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has in the past already expressed her openness to such plans. This would be the next big step towards a debt union and, subsequently, a centralized European state. The first step in this direction was already taken in 2021 in the wake of the covid-19 crisis. This package for the first joint borrowing on the EU level amounted to 750 billion euros. As is so often the case, an exceptional situation was exploited to break a taboo and justify that with the uniqueness of the circumstances. Ultimately, however, such a breach of taboo always serves to normalize a certain idea and sets a dangerous precedent for the future. It will be therefore necessary for all patriotic and conservative forces in Europe to take decisive and uncompromising action against any further push towards a common European debt. This is the only way to protect the sovereignty over the national budget and ultimately the sovereignty of the nation states against the European Union.

We must be equally resolute in defending ourselves against other encroachments by the European Union on its members. The Green Deal – mentioned very often today – is at the moment the most egregious example of that. This program was created with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions to zero by 2050. Achieving this goal will undoubtedly only be possible through draconian measures, issued by the EU Institutions. These measures will permanently destroy Europe as an attractive location for business and result in far-reaching deindustrialization. Those major companies that currently secure our prosperity will flee from the excessive EU regulations and relocate their production facilities to countries like China or India. The consequence would be the loss of countless European jobs and billions in tax revenue for the European states. All this without having any significant effect on global CO2 emissions. Driven by a climate fanaticism that is captivating more and more EU bureaucrats, the European Union is in danger of committing economic suicide over the next few decades.

That is why need strong nation states that confidently defend themselves against these developments. The Central European states can play a pioneering role in this regard, as they have already proven in the past that they are capable of defending their own interests against Brussels whenever it is necessary. A realignment of the EU is necessary toward a Europe of sovereign nations that are free to determine their own fate. The bloated bureaucratic institutions of the EU must be dismantled and replaced by a lean Union that refocuses itself on its original purpose.

Despite all the criticisms of the European Union, we must not forget that the economic misery we find ourselves is largely caused by the member states themselves. We can see, for example, how the left-wing government in Germany is driving the decline of this once great economic nation with its misguided policies. Unfortunately, things haven't been much better for us in Austria. Over the past five years, the country has been led by a coalition of the supposedly conservative People's Party (Österreichische Volkspartei, ÖVP) and the Green Party. The result is a per capita GDP loss of 1.7 percent over this period. This puts Austria in the last place compared to all other EU countries. This catastrophic record was caused by excessive corona measures, the mismanagement of the energy crisis as a result of the war in Ukraine as well as the general inability to react to the country's economic problems.

The economic challenges caused misguided policies on the national and European level are further compounded by a critical issue that threatens the long-term stability of the continent: the demographic problems facing Europe. Birth rates far below replacement level combined with mass migrations from regions that are largely incompatible with our culture have the potential to lead large parts of Europe into the chaos. In the Western European countries in particular, a catastrophy is looming that will fundamentally change Europe. This can only be averted by a policy of remigration, which is unlikely to be implemented by the current governments of these nations. Most countries in Central and Eastern Europe however have far acted with more foresight, as they have avoided burdening themselves with the problems of mass immigration in addition to an ageing population. In Hungary, the Czech Republic or Poland, no concerts are cancelled due to Islamist attack plans and there are no cities in which the majority of children are of foreign origin. Therefore, they have considerably more time to find a solution to the low birth rates and to find a way to ensure a stable demographic development.

In summary, the outlook for Western countries is relatively bleak. Everything points to a phase of economic and, consequently, geopolitical decline. Only an extraordinary cultural shift could avert this fate. For Central Europe, the prognosis is rather mixed. The weakening of major economic powers, such as Germany and France, will also cause economic upheaval in the rest of Europe. On the other hand, this provides those states that do not buy into the self-destructive ideology of the progressive West an opportunity to improve their economic and geopolitical standing within Europe. The key factor for the Central European states will be their ability to achieve self-sufficiency and independence from the European Union. Maintaining national sovereignty against the European Union will be essential.

Let me summarise the four biggest threats, which are at the same time challenges, which are at the same time opportunities. These four areas should be our common ground. Firstly: migration. Secondly: so, the fight against too much migration which Austria is… per capita… has the second largest migration after Cyprus in Europe. So it's really a huge problem in our schools, in our primary schools, the quantity of children not speaking German, which is our mother language, is up to in some areas 90 per cent, 95 per cent, so in average, in my own city, Gratz, which has about 300,000 inhabitants, in average, in the primary school, 54 per cent are not speaking German. So, this is by far too much. Second, the loss of state sovereignty. So, the swift of power to supranational organisations like the European Union where bureaucrats take decisions far away from the so-called ordinary people. So, my party wants a strong state with the people, with a strong government. We want the decisions made in Vienna and not in Brussels. So that important decisions for our people. And we want a strong state which is control of its territory, which doesn't take place during the migration phases especially in 2015 in our country. Third one. So, first migration, second strengthen the state sovereignty. Third one: wokeism and cancel culture. To stop destroying our families as a fundament of every healthy society. For the last one: the Green Deal, which is, from my point of view, the way to destroy the European economy and therefore our prosperity. So, my party, the Freedom Party, is fighting in all those areas. I'm proud to be member of this party and I am also proud that there have been some very fruitful cooperations, Central European cooperations, in the past on the European level. I mentioned the foundation of the Patriots for Europe with our friends from Hungary from Fidesz and our friends from Ano. So, every partner here in this fight from Central European countries is very much welcome. Thank you very much.