Austrian Campaigners Against 'Dictatorial EU' View Crimea as Russian

© Sputnik / Vladimir Astapkovich / Go to the mediabankRally and concert on Vasilyevsky Slope to mark anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia
Rally and concert on Vasilyevsky Slope to mark anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia - Sputnik International
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Austrian political movement, known as the Homeland and Environment civic initiative, are people of conviction, who fight for a referendum on the country's exit from the "dictatorial and centrist EU," insist that Crimea's reunification with Russia is "fully legitimate" and oppose anti-Russian sanctions.

In this photo taken on Monday, March 30, 2015 EU flags flap in the wind behind a no entry traffic sign in front of EU headquarters in Brussels - Sputnik International
EU Hushes Up Anti-Russia Sanctions Cost Europe Millions of Jobs - Moscow
The civic initiative sees the exit as the only way to regain freedom, tackle democracy deficit, protect local economy, reduce unemployment and secure Austria's peaceful existence.

The campaign, spearheaded by Inge Rauscher, needs to gather 100,000 signatures from June 24 until July 1 to be considered in the National Council, the lower house of Austria's parliament.

"We have no rights in the EU. The bloc is patronizing," Inge Rauscher explains, citing dictatorial ways and centralism as the main but not the only vices of the union.

"Farmers' troubles, damaged ecology, unemployment, rejection of neutrality – the European Union is to blame for all of that," she noted, as quoted by Austrian newspaper Kurier.

Rauscher is a seasoned fighter. She unsuccessfully tried to block Austria's entry to the EU in 1994. The country became a member the following year. The next attempt came in 2011 but she has never been as close to her dream as this year.

Additionally, Rauscher is convinced that Crimea's reunification with Russia was carried out in accordance with the international law. The move was "fully legitimate in the eyes of the international law and corresponds to the right for self-determination," she said.

© AFP 2023 / DIMITAR DILKOFF A file picture taken on March 16, 2014 shows a Crimean couple kissing as people celebrate in Simferopol's Lenin Square after exit polls showed that about 93 percent of voters in Ukraine's Crimea region supported union with Russia. Russia is gearing up to celebrate one year since Crimea voted to rejoin the country in a move blasted as illegal by the West but seen at home as a triumph for Vladimir Putin. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF
A file picture taken on March 16, 2014 shows a Crimean couple kissing as people celebrate in Simferopol's Lenin Square after exit polls showed that about 93 percent of voters in Ukraine's Crimea region supported union with Russia. - Sputnik International
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A file picture taken on March 16, 2014 shows a Crimean couple kissing as people celebrate in Simferopol's Lenin Square after exit polls showed that about 93 percent of voters in Ukraine's Crimea region supported union with Russia. Russia is gearing up to celebrate one year since Crimea voted to rejoin the country in a move blasted as illegal by the West but seen at home as a triumph for Vladimir Putin. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF
© Sputnik / Vladimir Astapkovich / Go to the mediabankA rally and concert on Vasilyevsky Slope, Moscow to mark the anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia.
Rally and concert on Vasilyevsky Slope to mark anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia - Sputnik International
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A rally and concert on Vasilyevsky Slope, Moscow to mark the anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia.
© Sputnik / Evgeny Biyatov / Go to the mediabankFireworks in Simferopol to celebrate the first anniversary of the Crimean Spring.
Celebrating Crimean Spring's first anniversary in Simferopol - Sputnik International
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Fireworks in Simferopol to celebrate the first anniversary of the Crimean Spring.
© Sputnik / Alexander Lontradyuk / Go to the mediabankRally to mark anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia
Rally to mark anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia - Sputnik International
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Rally to mark anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia
© Sputnik / Vladimir Astapkovich / Go to the mediabankA rally and concert on Vasilyevsky Slope, Moscow to mark the anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia.
Rally and concert on Vasilyevsky Slope to mark anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia - Sputnik International
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A rally and concert on Vasilyevsky Slope, Moscow to mark the anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia.
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A file picture taken on March 16, 2014 shows a Crimean couple kissing as people celebrate in Simferopol's Lenin Square after exit polls showed that about 93 percent of voters in Ukraine's Crimea region supported union with Russia. Russia is gearing up to celebrate one year since Crimea voted to rejoin the country in a move blasted as illegal by the West but seen at home as a triumph for Vladimir Putin. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF
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A rally and concert on Vasilyevsky Slope, Moscow to mark the anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia.
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Fireworks in Simferopol to celebrate the first anniversary of the Crimean Spring.
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Rally to mark anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia
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A rally and concert on Vasilyevsky Slope, Moscow to mark the anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia.

The civic initiative is also against sanctions imposed on Moscow.

If Austria leaves the EU "the sanctions ('economic war') against Russia or any other country will be lifted. Additionally, Austrian Armed Forces will stop taking part in the NATO war-games. The relocation of military equipment through the territory of a supposedly neutral country will also end," the group said.

According to the Austrian Society for European Politics and Eurobarometer surveys, approximately 20-25 percent of Austrians support Austria's exit from the EU, while two thirds of the population want the country to remain in the union.

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