Austrians have launched a petition to quit the EU, arguing that the nation will be better off economically if it leaves the union. To force the national parliament to consider the initiative activists need to have gathered 100,000 signatures by July 1.
The petition was started
by a retired 66-year-old translator, Inge Rauscher, who has
collected enough signatures to launch an official campaign. The
plea seeks to request that the national parliament debate the
idea of a referendum on quitting the EU. However, to get that
issue even discussed, the petition must gather 100,000
signatures.
“We want to go back to a neutral and peace-loving
Austria,” Rauscher said at the start of the campaign this
week. Austrians have until July 1 to sign the petition which they
can do in municipal or district offices.
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Rauscher and her non-partisan Heimat Umwelt committee
(Homeland and Environment) argue that Austria will benefit from
leaving the EU both economically and environmentally. She also
criticized Austria’s forceful endorsement of EU sanctions against
Russia, generally blaming Brussels for the economic downturn.
“We are not any longer a sovereign state in the European
Union. Over 80 percent of all essential legislation is being
imposed by Brussels, not by elected commissioners. In our view,
Europe is not a democracy. The European Parliament does not even
have legislative powers,” Rauscher told Sputnik Radio.
An independent Austria, the committee believes, would gain an
extra €9,800 ($10,900) per household per year, because the
country will be freed from the burdens of EU bureaucracy.
Recent polls show that only about one third of Austrians would be
in favor of leaving the EU, according to the Local. The idea is
championed by both the right-wing Freedom Party and the
Euro-skeptic Team Stronach party.
“This initiative is open for all political parties and we
expect a broad support,” Rauscher said. “This is proved
by our numerous conversations with the citizens over the past
months.”