“Interesting times” in the EU












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            * “Interesting times” in the EU - Georg Habsburg-Lothringen at Charles University
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            Georg Habsburg-Lothringen, the grandson of Karl I, the last Austrian emperor, was an honou

            at Charles University this week. On the occasion of his visit, he gave a lecture about Eur
            Europe and the European Union. Also central were EU perspectives post-Brexit and the impac
            elections to the European Parliament.

            At Charles University on May 29, 2019, Georg Habsburg-Lothringen, an outspoken supporter o
            first presented with a commemorative medal from Vice-Rector Jan Royt, as well as a documen
            family tree of the House of Habsburg as the heirs to the Luxembourg dynasty (including the

            Charles University, the King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV himself).
            Speaking to esteemed guests at the Carolinum, Georg Habsburg-Lothringen first explained th

            the university had fallen to him after his brother Karl had fallen ill. He discussed the i
            university for his family, explaining that his grandfather Karl I – the last Austrian Empe
            of Bohemia – had studied there.

            In his lecture, Georg Habsburg-Lothringen offered a professional glimpse into the workings
            outlined the union’s importance for future European development. He noted that the EU and 
            was experiencing what at the very least could be described as “interesting times”: Brexit,

            in Austria, separatist zeal in Catalonia, or the recently-ordered full alert of Serbian co
            following a rise in tensions in Kosovo.
            With such threats, critics of the EU he suggested would be better off remembering the foun

            the EU was founded “not long after WWII, when Europe opted for peace and stability” – valu
            guarantees to the present day. It was “easy to forget,” he said “the irreplaceable role in
            peace that the EU played.”

            Georg Habsburg-Lothringen also took aim at a number of criticisms, including the charge th
            bureaucratic”; he argued that the number of employees in the EU apparatus at 50,000 was no
            to, for example, the cities of Munich or Frankfurt (38,000 and 73,000 civil servants respe

            their differences in size, it was really no contest.
            Another common criticism he challenged was the charge that only Brussels holds the reins w
            to decision-making; he suggested that claim was off as all member states have their own re

            Brussels who have a role to play and can take part. In his view, if citizens at home were 
            was going on in Brussels, the problem was with their own politicians being too cut off fol
            He did allow that small member states had a harder time pursuing an agenda at the top Euro

            suggested that cooperation within smaller groups, like the Visegrad 4, amplified their voi
            counterbalance larger member states such as Germany or France. Cooperation on that level, 
            could ensure a greater say in the functioning of the EU.

            Above all, Georg Habsburg-Lothringen maintained, what was most important was “never to giv
            a creed he said his father had followed and featured prominently in his father’s accompany
            numerous presentations and lectures. Optimism was paramount, he made clear.


            By Kamila Kohoutová, May 29, 2019
            Translated by Jan Velinger

            Published by UNIMEDIA