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Paneuropean Union

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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
AbbreviationPEU
Formation1923 (1923)
FounderRichard von Coudenhove-Kalergi
TypeInternational non-governmental organization
Legal statusNGO
PurposeEuropean unification movement
HeadquartersStrasbourg
Location
  • France
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 Pavo Barišić, while Alain Terrenoire serves as the Honorary President.[2] The current vice president is Walburga Habsburg Douglas, a former member of the Swedish Parliament.[3]

History

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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 French prime minister and follower of the Paneuropean Union Aristide Briand delivered a widely recognized speech at the League of Nations in Geneva on 5 September 1929 for a federal Europe to secure Europe and settle the historic Franco-German enmity.[4][5]

The organisation was prohibited by Nazi Germany in 1933, and was founded again after the Second World War.[6] Winston Churchill lauded the movement's work for a unified Europe prior to the war in his famous Zurich speech in 1946.[7][8] The French branch was founded by Georges Pompidou and Louis Terrenoire, subsequently French President and Minister for Information respectively, with the support of Charles de Gaulle. Otto von Habsburg, the head of the 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 humanist and Christian values. The EPU is committed to uniting the diverse peoples of Europe, promoting peace, liberty, and rule of law, and for developing stronger democracy and human rights across Europe. The organisation supports the enlargement of the European Union and encourages all European countries to gain full 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]

Kalergi Plan

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Main article: Kalergi Plan

The Kalergi Plan is a far-right, antisemitic conspiracy theory that claims that Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, creator of the Paneuropean Union, concocted a plot to mix and replace White Europeans with other races via immigration (mainly Arab Muslims, Black Africans and South Asians).[11][12] The conspiracy theory is most often associated with European groups and parties, but it has also spread to North American politics.[13]

Member organisations

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As of February 2026, the Paneuropean Union consists of member organizations in 32 countries across Europe:[14]

Presidents

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No. Image Name Term Notes
1 Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi
Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi
(1894–1972) 		1923–1972 Elected the first international president in 1926
2 Otto von Habsburg
MEP for Germany
(1912–2011) 		1973–2004 Former Crown Prince Otto of Austria-Hungary
3 Alain Terrenoire
MEP for France
(born 1941) 		2004–2025 Former Member of Parliament and MEP, France
4 Pavo Barišić
(born 1959) 		2025–present Former Minister of Science and Education, Croatia

Individual members

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The Paneuropean Union lists the following as historical members:[15][16]

See also

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References

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  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. ^ Kövics, E.; Boros-Kazai, Mary (1979). "Coudenhove-Kalergi's Pan-Europe Movement on the Questions of International Politics during the 1920s". Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 25 (3/4): 233–266. JSTOR 42555262.
  7. ^ Michael Gehler; Wolfram Kaiser, Helmut Wohnout: Christdemokratie in Europa im 20. Jahrhundert: Christian democracy in 20th century Europe. Böhlau Verlag Wien, 2001, ISBN 3205993608, Seiten 595.
  8. ^ Trevor C. Salmon; William Nicoll: Building European Union: a documentary history and analysis. Manchester University Press, 1997, ISBN 0719044464, Seite 26.
  9. ^ a b "Paneurope". www.international-paneuropean-union.eu.
  10. ^ "Grundsätze".
  11. ^ Gaston, Sophia (November 2018). "Out of the Shadows: Conspiracy Thinking on Immigration" (PDF). Henry Jackson Society.
  12. ^ "Organization Candace Owens Represents Shares, Then Deletes, Photo Promoting White Genocide Conspiracy Days After Her Testimony". Newsweek. 12 April 2019. Believers in the Kalergi plan think that Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, an Austrian politician in the early 1900s, constructed a plan to destroy white people in Europe by encouraging immigration
  13. ^ "Qué es el "plan de Kalergi", la teoría conspirativa que usan los partidos de ultraderecha contra la Unión Europea" [What is the "Kalergi plan", the conspiracy theory used by the extreme right parties against the European Union] (in Spanish). BBC Mundo. October 22, 2018. It is the conspiracy theory known as "Kalergi's plan", which, for just over a decade, has been circulated among the members of several European nationalist and far-right parties
  14. ^ "Member Organisations". Paneurope. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  15. ^ Richard Vaughan, Twentieth-Century Europe: Paths to Unity, Taylor & Francis, 1979, ISBN 0064971724
  16. ^ "Pan-Europa – The parent idea of a united Europe". Paneurope.
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