The Unfinished European Project
In light of Austria's 30th anniversary in the EU, Prof. Christoph Reinprecht reflects on the nation's past and present within the Union and highlights the master's program "European Studies" as a key to understanding and advancing the European project.
With Euroscepticism on the rise, how can the unfinished European Project move forward?
2025 marks the 30th anniversary of Austria's accession to the European Union. Since the Austrian Independence Treaty (1955) and the following declaration of permanent neutrality by the Austrian Parliament, no other political decision has had such an impact on the country's development and its identity. What is the legacy of EU accession, and how does it influence the country's future?
Why did Austria join the EU? A critical reaction to Austria's Nazi past and the Yugoslavian wars
The decision to become a member of the European Union (at the time of the application in 1989, still the European Community) was largely influenced by domestic and foreign policy developments:
Domestically, the so-called Waldheim affair (the then ÖVP presidential candidate Kurt Waldheim, UN Secretary-General from 1972 to 1981, had played down his role in the Wehrmacht and the Nazi regime during the election campaign) made aware the need for an active and self-critical examination of the Nazi past, both in terms of historical obligation and as an incentive to help shape a Europe united in peace, social security and cultural diversity.
No less significant was the political change that became apparent in Eastern and Central Europe. Austria's negotiations with Brussels, which started on 1 February 1993, took place against the background of the collapse of the East European regimes and the so-called Yugoslav succession wars.
In the referendum on 12 June 1994, two-thirds (66.6 per cent) of Austrians voted in favour of Austria's accession to the European Union. The above-average turnout of over 82 per cent underlines the importance attached to the issue by the population at the time.
Why are Austrians no longer certain about the EU? Euroscepticism and right-wing populism
Today, the situation in Austria and Europe looks very different. A series of critical incidents fundamentally changed the European integration process and people's attitudes: the Euro debt crisis 2010 in aftermath to the global financial and economic crisis; the arrival of more than a million refugees, mainly from Afghanistan and Syria in 2015; terrorist attacks in Paris, Brussels, Barcelona; the COVID pandemic; Brexit, the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU, in 2020; Russia's war against Ukraine; the dramatic consequences of climate change.
All these events and developments have severely dampened hopes – which, in retrospect, seem rather naïve – that the European success story of the post-war decades of peace, collective welfare and prosperity would continue unabated.
As in other countries, the European Commission has increasingly become a bogeyman in Austria. According to Eurobarometer data, Austria is currently one of the Member States with a particularly Eurosceptic population. Recent surveys indicate a division in public opinion on the future of the EU: Just under half of the respondents believe that Austria should remain in the EU in the future, a quarter are clearly in favour of leaving the Union.
The success of right-wing populism is to be seen against this background. The resurgence of authoritarian nationalism uses the language and symbols of patriotism, as a source of resistance against the bureaucrats, the "elites" in Brussels.
What can we do to move the EU project forward?
The European Union is a post-national project. European integration is based on the conviction that solving the complex problems of our time is doomed to failure without supranational strategies and approaches; the establishment and institutionalisation of supranational regulations and organisations is a core mission in that context.
Much progress has been made in this regard, but much remains to be done, for example in the fields of social policy and the quality of democracy, and there is still no convincing answer to geopolitical change. Robert Menasse speaks about the European Union as a "provisional real result of a concrete utopia, a glimpse into the world of tomorrow, into a future based on historical experience and the will to shape it". And we agree: the danger of the resurgent neo-nationalism lies in destroying this unfinished, provisional project.
The master's program "European Studies" at the University of Vienna
Austria's accession to the European Union also provided the initial impetus for the postgraduate Master's Program "European Studies": the initiator, Rosita Schjerve-Rindler, professor at the Institute of Romance Studies with a research focus on language policy and minority languages, developed a curriculum together with a group of social and cultural scientists, which has been offered since 2000, initially as a one-year programme and, since 2024, as a two-year master's programme, as part of the University of Vienna's continuing education programme.
What has distinguished this postgraduate programme from the outset and sets it apart from many similar programmes across Europe is, on the one hand, its distinctly interdisciplinary character: beyond essential legal, economic and political science fundamentals, the programme offers an intensive examination of the historical, cultural and social backgrounds of European integration.
In addition, the study programme is characterised by a special Viennese and Central European spirit. This is reflected, among other things, in the prominent importance attached to topics such as multi-ethnicity and linguistic diversity, in the cultivation of the bridge function between East and West, and in the special attention paid to social transformations and the associated learning processes.
Finally, another characteristic is the close connection between academic orientation and practical relevance, which is also reflected in the composition of the teaching staff. In addition to academics from the University of Vienna, staff from relevant institutions, including the European Commission, are also involved in teaching.
Successful completion of a university degree is required to participate in the postgraduate European Studies Master. The participants are characterised by a high degree of diversity, both in terms of academic backgrounds and national origins. What sets them apart is their critical curiosity about the European project and a keen interest in engaging with it in a multi-perspective, dialogical and reflective manner.
The postgraduate European Studies at the University of Vienna constitutes a framework for gaining a nuanced understanding of the yet unfinished European integration project - and for thinking, and developing it, further.
Online Information Event for the Master's Program "European Studies"
There will be an online information event about the master's program "European Studies" on October 21st, 2025 at 18.00. The scientific director Prof. Christoph Reinprecht will give a short input from his lecture "European Societies in Transition" in the master's program. Use this opportunity to get a preview into (one of) the contents of the master's program. After the input there will be room for a discussion and questions.
We will also present the curriculum of the postgraduate program and give organizational information about the application process. Please register at: europeanstudies@univie.ac.at