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Paneuropean Union

Oldest European unification movement

Field	Value
name	International Paneuropean Union
image	International Paneuropean Union flag.svg
size	200px
caption	The stars from the flag of Europe have been added to the Paneuropean flag in 1955.
map	Former Flag of the International Paneuropean Union.svg
msize	200px
mcaption	Original flag (1922)
abbreviation	PEU
formation
founder	Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi
type	International non-governmental organization
status	NGO
purpose	European unification movement
headquarters	Strasbourg
location	France
region_served	Europe
leader_title	President
leader_name	Pavo Barišić
main_organ	General Assembly
website

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. The current vice president is Walburga Habsburg Douglas, a former member of the Swedish Parliament.

History

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.

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.

The organisation was prohibited by Nazi Germany in 1933, and was founded again after the Second World War. Winston Churchill lauded the movement's work for a unified Europe prior to the war in his famous Zurich speech in 1946. 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.

Ideology

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.

Member organisations

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

Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Italy
Kosovo
Latvia
Luxembourg
Montenegro
Netherlands
North Macedonia
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine

Presidents

No.	Image	Name
[[File:Graf Richard Nikolaus von Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894–1972) ~1930.jpg	100px]]	Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi
Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi
(1894–1972)	1923–1972	Elected the first international president in 1926
[[File:Otto von Habsburg, MEP (1912–2011).jpg	100px]]	Otto von Habsburg
MEP for Germany
(1912–2011)	1973–2004	Former Crown Prince Otto of Austria-Hungary
[[File:Alain-Terrenoire.jpg	100px]]	Alain Terrenoire
MEP for France
(born 1941)	2004–2025	Former Member of Parliament and MEP, France
[[File:Barisicpavo.jpg	100px]]	Pavo Barišić
(born 1959)	2025–present	Former Minister of Science and Education, Croatia

Individual members

The Paneuropean Union lists the following as historical members:

Konrad Adenauer
Raymond Barre
Léon Blum
Aristide Briand
Paul Claudel
Benedetto Croce
Albert Einstein
Sigmund Freud
Charles de Gaulle
Alfons Goppel
Otto von Habsburg
Gerhart Hauptmann
Bronisław Huberman
Bruno Kreisky
Paul Löbe
Salvador de Madariaga
Heinrich Mann
Thomas Mann
Johan Ludwig Mowinckel
Fridtjof Nansen
José Ortega y Gasset
Georges Pompidou
Rainer Maria Rilke
Arthur Schnitzler
Kurt Schuschnigg
Franz Josef Strauß
Richard Strauss
Gustav Stresemann
Paul Valéry
Franz Werfel
Stefan Zweig

References

This flag variant was displayed at the [[Death and funeral of Otto von Habsburg. funeral procession for Otto of Habsburg]] in 2011.
[https://pavobarisic.eu/index.php/en/news-1/258-fourth-president-of-the-pan-european-union Fourth President of the Pan-European Union]
"Walburga Habsburg Douglas (M) - Riksdagen".
Schulz, Matthias. (December 3, 2010). "Der Briand-Plan und der Völkerbund als Verhandlungsarena für die europäische Einigung zwischen den Kriegen". IEG(http://www.ieg-mainz.de).
Nelsson, Richard. (September 5, 2019). "Aristide Briand's plan for a United States of Europe".
(1979). "Coudenhove-Kalergi's Pan-Europe Movement on the Questions of International Politics during the 1920s". Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae.
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.
Trevor C. Salmon; William Nicoll: ''Building European Union: a documentary history and analysis.'' Manchester University Press, 1997, {{ISBN. 0719044464, Seite 26.
"Paneurope".
"Grundsätze".
"Member Organisations". Paneurope.
Richard Vaughan, ''Twentieth-Century Europe: Paths to Unity'', [[Taylor & Francis]], 1979, {{ISBN. 0064971724
"Pan-Europa – The parent idea of a united Europe". Paneurope.

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anti-communist-organizations anti-nationalism-in-europe christianity-and-political-ideologies cross-european-advocacy-groups democracy-movements eurofederalism european-integration organizations-established-in-1923 organisations-based-in-munich pan-europeanism politics-of-europe pro-europeanism richard-von-coudenhove-kalergi 1923-establishments-in-europe

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