On Friday, April 16th 2021 President Emil Constantinescu attended the online reunion of the General Assembly of the “Coudenhove-Kalergi” European Society. The participants presented the activity report for 2020 and discussed a series of issues including the creation of a new, English-language biography of Count Coudenhove-Kalergi, made all the more urgent due to the recent publishing of another biographic study titled “Hitler’s Cosmopolitan Bastard. Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi and his vision for Europe” by Martyn Bond. Other issues tackled included access to the Society’s archives (currently held in Moscow) and the planning of commemorative visits to the Coudenhove-Kalergi family chateau and to the Count’s tomb.
In his book, Pan Europa, published in 1922, the Austrian-born publicist and political theorist, count Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, drafted an initial project for the confederacy of Europe. He would go on to dedicate his entire life in support of the European ideal.
The General Assembly also debated a series of proposals for future laureates of the Society’s European Prize, an award already extended to Presidents Emil Constantinescu (1998) and Klaus Iohannis (2020). Another important point of the agenda was the proposal to extend these awards as part of broader events, especially in 2022 when the Society will celebrate both the 100th anniversary of the pan-European movement, initiated by count Coudenhove-Kalergi, and the 50th anniversary of his death.
During the section dedicated to ongoing projects, president Emil Constantinescu offered a brief presentation of the “European Union between Hope and Anxiety. Europe of the Future: a Political, Economic or Spiritual Union?” project, to be launched by the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization in the near future. The project will contribute to the elaboration of a Romanian vision on the future of the European Union, underpinned by an online platform that will inform and present as varied opinions as possible on the future of the European Union. The General Assembly of the “Coudenhove-Kalergi” European Society appreciated the Institute’s project, and will contribute to its implementation.
