Interview Pavo Barišić in Paneuropa-Deutschland

In its December 2025 issue, the magazine Paneuropa-Deutschland published an interview with the International President of the Pan-European Union, Pavo Barišić, entitled “Europe Means Freedom and Peace”.

The interview was conducted by Stephanie Waldburg.

The interview covers the International President's life story, his vision for the future of democracy, the necessary steps for the next enlargement of the European Union, the ethical and moral values of the EU, and his goals as International President.

Here is the interview in English translation.

Europe Means Freedom and Peace

In spring 2025, the International General Assembly elected Croatian philosopher and political scientist, Prof Pavo Barišić, as the successor to Alain Terrenoire as International President of the Pan-European Union. Stephanie Waldburg spoke to Pavo Barišić about the milestones in his life, his fundamental understanding of politics and his goals for the Pan-European Movement.

You were born in Bosnia, grew up in Croatia and have gained great academic renown worldwide. What were the defining stages of your life?

The turning points in my life were the arrival of democracy and my country's accession to the EU. As a member of a gifted generation, I had the historic privilege of witnessing the collapse of totalitarian rule and the establishment of a democratic order. As the Roman historian Polybius wrote, democracy arises from resistance to injustice and violence when citizens take responsibility for the common good.
Freedom of speech and equality among citizens are most valued by the generation that fought for them; in subsequent generations, this enthusiasm wanes. Those who have experienced communist rule therefore regard a liberal constitution as a precious treasure.
Since my studies in law, philosophy and German language and literature in the late 1970s and early 1980s, an intellectual pluralism began to unfold that was echoed in the democratic upheaval throughout Europe at the end of the decade. The ideals of freedom and human rights aroused enthusiasm and led to a new reality of political reason. This is linked to the second stage of my work: the endeavour to anchor my country in European cultural heritage and to join it to a united democratic Europe.

How did you become involved in politics and ultimately become politically active?

I became politically active after the democratic transition, primarily in the fields of science and education. From 2004 to 2006, I was Deputy Minister, and from 2016 to 2017, Minister of Science and Education. I originally pursued an academic career and had the opportunity to hold various leading public offices – from institute director to dean. In the background, I always had a keen interest in political issues, although initially this was mainly theoretical in nature. I lectured on political philosophy, legal philosophy, democracy and justice at the universities of Zagreb and Split and published several books on these topics.
My real political passion began to ignite during my doctoral studies in Augsburg (1987–1989) – a time of upheaval when the whole of Europe, especially its central, eastern and south-eastern regions, was in flux. You could sense the approach of a democratic awakening. I wrote most of my dissertation on Hegel's philosophy of law and history, entitled Welt und Ethos (World and Ethos), in the State Library in Munich. The subtitle was – with deliberate allusion – Hegel's Position on the Decline of the West.
However, unlike the famous book written seven decades earlier in the same city by Oswald Spengler, I came to a completely different conclusion – closer to the ideas of the founder of Paneuropa, Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi: Europe is not in decline and is not coming to an end – it is uniting and renewing itself. The dialectical development of the Western spirit does not end in nihilism; from the ripened fruit emerges a new seed, a new principle of life. Europe's spiritual heritage forms the basis for the further construction of a dignified dwelling, an ethos of humanity in the world.

When did you first hear about the Pan-European Movement, and how did you come into contact with the Pan-European Union?

In May 1991, the Croatian Pan-European Union was founded. Mislav Ježić, with whom I had previously collaborated in the field of philosophy, was elected as its first president. Bernd Posselt, who coordinated the preparations on behalf of the International Presidency Council, attended the founding meeting in Zagreb. After half a century of interruption by totalitarian rule, the once-banned Pan-European Movement was thus revived in Croatia. I thus found myself in the midst of the Pan-European family, whose charismatic leader at the time was Otto von Habsburg.

President Ježić was elected international Vice-President in 1994 and made a significant contribution to expanding and strengthening the Pan-European mission. At his proposal, I was appointed Vice-President in 1993, and in 2003 I took over as President of the Croatian Pan-European Union.

You have studied Coudenhove-Kalergi and the history of Paneuropa in the interwar period extensively, particularly with regard to Pan-Europeans from the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Education and Training Congress that our Movement organised in Vienna in the 1930s. What were your most important discoveries?

Since the Pan-European Union was forced off the public stage during the totalitarian regimes, much of its history was forgotten. I tried to bring some of it back to light. On the occasion of the 125th birthday of the founder of Pan-Europe, I recalled the movement's early education conferences in an article in the magazine Paneuropa (2020/2). In my article "Education Policy and Paneuropa", I presented the first Paneuropa conference on European geography and history teaching, which took place under the honorary presidency of Austrian Minister of Education Hans Pernter and under the programmatic leadership of Coudenhove-Kalergi.

The conference summarised its findings in ten points, which were sent as recommendations to European governments. Coudenhove-Kalergi emphasised that the formation of a European mindset was primarily shaped by schools and the press: the press shapes the thinking of the present, schools shape the consciousness of the future.

Pan-Europeans from the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia also took part in these conferences, including former minister Dr Otto Frangeš from Zagreb. Slovenian historian Andrej Rahten published valuable articles about these early supporters of the Pan-European idea, who had already participated in the first Pan-European Congress in Vienna in 1926. The organisation in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was founded in 1930, with sections in Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade under the leadership of Andrej Gosar, Milan Vrbanić and Dragoljub Aranđelović. The first meetings took place in Belgrade in 1931, Zagreb in 1932 and Ljubljana in 1933 – each on 17 May, the anniversary of Aristide Briand's memorandum on European Political Union. The honorary committee included the world-famous sculptor Ivan Meštrović.

You personally knew the two other presidents who preceded you at the helm of Europe's oldest unification Movement, Otto von Habsburg and Alain Terrenoire, and worked with them in leadership positions. How would you characterise these personalities and their work?

I was deeply impressed by these two outstanding international presidents and learned a great deal from both of them. It was a special privilege to work with Otto von Habsburg and to be able to exchange ideas with him during his numerous trips to Croatia and other countries. In the epilogue to his biography, I described his life as ‘a majestic and dignified journey of the high nobility from birth, leading through a Europe shaken by two world cataclysms – as a true pan-European democrat by conviction, who contributed significantly to the pacification and unification of the continent’. When he took over the leadership of the Pan-European Union, Europe was still divided by the Iron Curtain. But he did not just leave it at words: with political courage and vision, he actively worked to dismantle the barriers that divided the continent. In the European Parliament, he symbolically kept an empty chair for the people of Central and Eastern Europe beyond the Iron Curtain. He crowned his leadership role as President of the Pan-European Union in 2004 when he welcomed the largest enlargement of the European Union.

I have worked closely with Alain Terrenoire since he was first elected International President. It was an honour and a responsibility to serve as his International Secretary-General. As a member of a truly Pan-European family, he has rendered great services to the movement. As early as 1961, he founded the Youth Movement of the French Pan-European Committee and led the Pan-European Union France from 2003 to 2013 – in the tradition of great French Europeans such as Aristide Briand and his father Louis Terrenoire. As International President, he embodied dynamism, vision and quiet energy. With diplomatic skill, he strengthened the spirit of solidarity and promoted unity within the movement. He travelled tirelessly to meetings throughout Europe and maintained personal contact with members wherever possible.

What are the main priorities you want to set as International President?

In order to overcome the challenges of our time – unilateral power politics, invasions, armed conflicts, customs disputes, uncontrolled migration and the threat of erosion of the international order – I am focusing on four key priorities: freedom, peace, solidarity and democracy. The main direction remains the same as when our movement began: freedom and peace. Our Pan-European motto reminds us that solidarity must be strengthened in all essential areas. Human fraternity and solidarity are crucial to maintaining social cohesion.

On controversial issues, freedom of thought and diversity of opinion must be protected. Tolerance is the foundation on which Europe has developed the highest level of freedom of expression compared to other regions of the world. Democracy provides the political framework for governance based on human dignity.

The European Union is now one of the five major global players. It must continue to strengthen its common foreign policy and defence capabilities in order to safeguard the lives, freedom and well-being of its citizens. At the same time, we should focus our attention more on South-Eastern and Eastern Europe, which are eagerly awaiting enlargement. Together, we must support the defence and EU accession of Ukraine, Moldova and those countries that aspire to and deserve membership.

In this context, how do you view the Pan-European Union and the Pan-European Youth in Germany, which has been closely associated with the Pan-European Union Croatia for decades?

Since the founding of the Pan-European Union Croatia, a close and fruitful cooperation has developed with the Pan-European Union Germany. I am particularly grateful for the long-standing support of its members and the Pan-European Youth. It was an honour for me to attend the anniversary congress of the Pan-European Youth Germany in Heidelberg and to express my appreciation and gratitude on behalf of the International Pan-European Union for their services to the democratisation and unification of Europe.
Croatia, which was the last country to join the EU, has developed into an exemplary EU member, while the European idea is under threat even in the founding states. How do you assess Croatia's European policy and its support within the country?
There is broad cross-party consensus in Croatia on the European orientation, which has shaped political action since democratisation and independence. The application for EU membership was submitted in 2003 under Ivica Račan, and his successor as Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader, continued the pro-European policy. The accession negotiations were conducted by a committee of all parliamentary parties.

The current government of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, a long-standing member of the Presidency Council and holder of the Charter of Honour of the Pan-European Union Croatia, is particularly notable for its Pan-European commitment. According to Eurobarometer 2025, 84% of Croatian citizens see advantages in EU membership, and 61% are in favour of enlargement – well above the European average.

How do you assess the current situation of the EU, and what reforms are you striving for?

Over the past decades, the European Union has emerged as one of the driving forces in the global order. In several areas, it is one of the key powers in the global pentarchy, as Herfried Münkler emphasises with reference to Henry Kissinger's doctrine. For the future, there is a need to further strengthen the common foreign and defence policy and to secure the separation of powers and institutional balance in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity. At the same time, citizens should be more involved in decision-making processes and European institutions should be made more accessible to them.

How do you view developments in the EU's neighbouring countries in the south-east and east, and how can the Pan-European Union contribute to their stabilisation and integration?

Democratic development in the EU's neighbouring countries is showing clear growth, and most states are clearly pro-European in their orientation. Public support for EU accession is high. According to the latest Eurobarometer, over 80% of Montenegrins and 91% of Albanians are in favour of accession, as are 69% in North Macedonia, 89% in Kosovo (IRI) and 50-60% in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only in Serbia is approval below 50%, at 33%. The figures from Ukraine (68%) and Moldova (55–59%) are also positive.

Against this background, I think the EU should not hesitate. With a responsible enlargement policy, it can make a decisive contribution to the democratisation and stabilisation of the continent. The Pan-European Union remains a driving force behind European unification, promoting positive developments and further deepening integration.

As President of the Pan-European Union, what do you see as the fundamental values of Europe?

I believe that the idea of freedom forms the foundation of European values, because it underpins the principles of human dignity, respect for the individual, freedom of expression and all the rights that derive from it. This intellectual foundation is deeply rooted in the three pillars of European identity – Hellenic philosophy, Roman law and Christian spirituality.

Your particular area of research is democracy. What approaches do you see for consolidating and renewing it in the current European and global situation?

Democracy provides the political framework for preserving freedom in society and is also a value in itself. However, it requires constant effort to protect it from those who want to use authoritarian or totalitarian means of rule. Even the inventors of democracy in ancient Greece were always looking for new ways to defend it. For example, they introduced daily allowances for the poor to enable the broadest possible participation of citizens, and relied on short terms of office in which everyone could participate. They protected themselves from the danger of autocracy by voting with pottery shards – the so-called ostracism.

One insight remains crucial to this day: democracy can only be built on free, politically aware and educated citizens. The separation of powers is also essential for parliamentary democracy, in which the highest legislative body plays an appropriate role. Equally important is free and open deliberation on public affairs. I have explored these issues in depth in several publications, in particular in the volume Deliberative Democracy, which I edited together with Professor Henning Ottmann and published by Nomos-Verlag.

Your homeland and Europe as a whole are incredibly rich in culture and cuisine. What do you particularly love about them?

My homeland reflects European diversity and cultural depth in a special way. Central European influences combine with Mediterranean components. As the Croatian scholar Radoslav Katičić used to emphasise, Central Europe is closest to the warm Mediterranean here – a fact that is revealed in many forms of expression.

In addition to the rich heritage of ancient Greek and Roman legacies, Christian spirituality, sacred architecture and music are combined with the traditions of the Renaissance, humanism, the Enlightenment and modernism. Oriental influences are also noticeable, as Croatia has been at the crossroads of the Orient and the Occident for centuries.

Croatian cuisine is a true reflection of this diversity: authentic regional specialities blend with Hungarian, Austrian, Italian, German and Oriental influences. At this year's Pan-European Conference in Osijek and Vinkovci, we were able to experience this in the Slavonian specialities ‘Čobanac’ and ‘Kulen’, while last year in Split and Sinj we enjoyed the Mediterranean flair.

Interview (DE) (PDF)