Issue from Friday, January 5, 2024
Innsbruck (OTS) – Are you for the EU or against it? Almost 30 years after Austria joined the European Union
It would be high time for normality in dealing with Brussels and its institutions.
Othmar Karas is the “convinced European” par excellence. Keeping an eye on the big picture, striving for balance, oriented towards basic and human rights. Impeccable, one would think. Nevertheless, for some, the long-time EU MEP is a chilling example of a “Eurocrat” who has lost his connection to his homeland and is now only oriented towards his friends in Brussels.
The EU is often seen in black or white. Are you for the EU or against it? We claim the good for ourselves. If we don’t like it, we blame “those in Brussels”. There is no room for a debate in between, especially on European issues than on other issues.
The months leading up to the EU elections on June 9th could offer an opportunity to break this pattern. Almost 30 years after accession, it would be time for this normality.
Austria submitted to the rules of the Union in 1995. Many are met with unqualified approval. The Euro. Freedom of travel – if the nation states don’t raise controls again. Rules that make trade easier – as long as that trade goes out as exports and doesn’t come in as imports
Other questions are more complicated. A few years ago we were concerned with a regulation regarding deep-frying schnitzel and fries. Rage for regulation? Perhaps. But it’s also about avoiding carcinogenic substances. On other issues, we like to accuse the EU of doing too little – for example when it comes to the use of genetically modified foods. Or with nuclear power.
And transit: The EU is good if it helps pay for the Brenner Base Tunnel. She is unreasonable when she rejects higher road tolls or driving bans.
It is time to see the EU for what it is: a level at which Austrian MEPs and the federal government can have a say and have a say – and block, as with the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria.
However, the division into good and evil should have had its day. Only the populists benefit from it.
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