On November 30, 2021, the big year-end event of the Order of St. George took place in the form of a top-class panel discussion.
Our Grandmaster Karl von Habsburg, author and journalist Stephan Baier, historian David Engels, former minister Daniel Herman, political advisor and honorary consul of the Principality of Liechtenstein in the Czech Republic, Tyrolean NEOS club chairman Dominik Oberhofer and former EU state secretary and ambassador Gergely Pröhle, Director of the Otto von Habsburg Foundation in Hungary, looked into one of the crucial questions for the future of our continent under the sovereign discussion chairman Jürgen Peindl: Does Europe still have a soul?
Chancellor Stefan Schermaier was delighted to be able to welcome more than 130 Knights, Dames and guests and took a brief look back at a year that was demanding but very successful for the Order. He particularly expressed his joy that numerous physical events could take place again this year – from the large Order Convent in Schloss Hof to numerous commandery meetings. In this context, he thanked everyone who contributed to the organization and implementation.
Our Procurator Baron Vinzenz von Stimpfl-Abele addressed the question of the soul of Europe as well as its identity: “What has become of the great European values praised by Václav Havel? And what will happen to them next? Where is this development going? What happens to our ancient and Christian-Jewish heritage in Europe? Maintaining this heritage, which in Central Europe in particular was and is very much shaped by the House of Habsburg, is the basic requirement for a real identity. An identity that sets us apart from the other big players, such as the USA or China. An identity whose central root is the soul of Europe. And we have to rediscover and protect this very root!”
This was followed by an interesting and inspiring discussion, in which the attending Dames and Knights also took part.
Below you find the recording of the panel discussion “Does our continent still have a soul? – Ways out of the European identity crisis” as well as a few impressions: