Austrians have launched a petition to quit the European Union. They argue that the nation will be better off economically if it leaves the union.
In order to force the national parliament to consider the initiative activists need to gather 100,000 signatures by July 1.
The Local report: The petition was initiated by 66-year-old Inge Rauscher, who also launched a petition back in 2000 which was only signed by 3.35 percent of the electorate.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
The retired translator has been against EU membership ever since Austria joined the union.
Last year she collected 9,971 signatures – enough to start the current petition which requests that parliament should make a decision on Austria’s withdrawal from the EU by holding a referendum.
She and her supporters believe that Austria would be better off without EU membership – economically, socially and environmentally.
At a press conference to launch the petition, Rauscher said that the EU is undemocratic, and that laws are adopted by commissioners who are not elected by the people.
“We want to go back to a neutral and peace-loving Austria,” she said, adding that Austria is presently forced to endorse economic sanctions against Russia. She also said that she believes the EU is responsible for the economic downturn.
She argues that withdrawal from the EU would lead to welfare gains of up to €9,800 per household per year, because Austria would no longer have to help fund the EU administration.
The petition is available to sign in municipal or district offices. Austrian citizens aged 16 and over are eligible to sign – so around 6.4 million people.
Niamh Harris
As a whistleblower who was retaliated against for trying to correct inaccurate
financial reporting in the World Bank’s financial statements, I testified in 2012 about the corruption in the international financial system to the Committee on Budgetary Control of the European Parliament. I also reported this corruption to Dr. Josef Moser, President of the Austrian Rechnungshof and Secretary General of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. The staffmember in the European Parliament who advised me to keep my email to Dr. Josef Moser was fired for his efforts to end the corruption I had reported.
From: Karen Hudes
To: intosai@rechnungshof.gv.at
CC: intosai.donor.secretariat@idi.no
Subject: Audit of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2012 08:31:25 -0500
To Dr. Josef Moser, President of the Austrian Rechnungshof and Secretary General of INTOSAI
Your Excellency,
I have been reporting significant and pervasive control deficiencies at the World Bank for many years as in-house counsel at the World Bank. The World Bank refused to cooperate with a US Government Accountability Office investigation requested by Senators Lugar, Leahy and Bayh:
“In March 2009, GAO staff stated that ‘we cannot begin this work because of
challenges we recently faced in gaining access to World Bank officials to
discuss these types of questions. We are continuing to negotiate access
with World Bank officials but this process is likely to take at least several
months.’ Senator Lugar’s staff continues to press the World Bank and GAO to begin this report during the first half of 2010.”
See page 18 http://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/55285.pdf
I am now a bondholder of the IBRD, and commenced litigation against IBRD and its external auditor, KPMG. I have requested the Board of the World Bank to remove this litigation from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.
The World Bank’s General Counsel, who is supervising the litigation, is part of the internal control lapses. I have testified before the European Parliament and the UK Parliament posted my evidence on its website twice. The latest testimony was published on November 2, 2012 and is at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmpubadm/writev/publicpolicy/m03.htm
I spoke this morning at length with Mr. Einar Gorrissen about my request for INTOSAI to advise the Dean of the World Bank’s Board, Dr. Merza Hasan, on this matter.
Sincerely,
Karen Hudes
http://www.kahudes.net
Subject: RE: Update
Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2012 15:43:30 +0100
From: Main counterpart in the European Parliament who was fired
To: Karen Hudes
Hai,
Wat bedoel je precies met ‘dit’?
Ik blijf moeite hebben met generale termen als “bring into compliance” en
“rule of law” als je niet precies uitlegt wat je concreet bedoelt.
Sorry.
De e-mail aan Dr. Josef Moser zou ik persoonlijk als Word-document bewaren als in het attachment: met datum, zender en afzender in de bestandsnaam.
translation:
Hi
What does this mean precisely? I still have difficulty with your generalizations like “bring into compliance” and “rule of law” without precise definitions and concrete meanings. Sorry.
I would keep your email to Dr. Josef Moser as a Word-document with date, sender and recipient in the file name.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/khudes/Twitter6.27.15.pdf
As a whistleblower who was retaliated against for trying to correct inaccurate
financial reporting in the World Bank’s financial statements, I testified in 2012 about the corruption in the international financial system to the Committee on Budgetary Control of the European Parliament. I also reported this corruption to Dr. Josef Moser, President of the Austrian Rechnungshof and Secretary General of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. The staffmember in the European Parliament who advised me to keep my email to Dr. Josef Moser was fired for his efforts to end the corruption I had reported.
From: Karen Hudes
To: intosai@rechnungshof.gv.at
CC: intosai.donor.secretariat@idi.no
Subject: Audit of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2012 08:31:25 -0500
To Dr. Josef Moser, President of the Austrian Rechnungshof and Secretary General of INTOSAI
Your Excellency,
I have been reporting significant and pervasive control deficiencies at the World Bank for many years as in-house counsel at the World Bank. The World Bank refused to cooperate with a US Government Accountability Office investigation requested by Senators Lugar, Leahy and Bayh:
“In March 2009, GAO staff stated that ‘we cannot begin this work because of
challenges we recently faced in gaining access to World Bank officials to
discuss these types of questions. We are continuing to negotiate access
with World Bank officials but this process is likely to take at least several
months.’ Senator Lugar’s staff continues to press the World Bank and GAO to begin this report during the first half of 2010.”
See page 18 http://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/55285.pdf
I am now a bondholder of the IBRD, and commenced litigation against IBRD and its external auditor, KPMG. I have requested the Board of the World Bank to remove this litigation from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.
The World Bank’s General Counsel, who is supervising the litigation, is part of the internal control lapses. I have testified before the European Parliament and the UK Parliament posted my evidence on its website twice. The latest testimony was published on November 2, 2012 and is at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmpubadm/writev/publicpolicy/m03.htm
I spoke this morning at length with Mr. Einar Gorrissen about my request for INTOSAI to advise the Dean of the World Bank’s Board, Dr. Merza Hasan, on this matter.
Sincerely,
Karen Hudes
http://www.kahudes.net
Subject: RE: Update
Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2012 15:43:30 +0100
From: Main counterpart in the European Parliament who was fired
To: Karen Hudes
Hai,
Wat bedoel je precies met ‘dit’?
Ik blijf moeite hebben met generale termen als “bring into compliance” en
“rule of law” als je niet precies uitlegt wat je concreet bedoelt.
Sorry.
De e-mail aan Dr. Josef Moser zou ik persoonlijk als Word-document bewaren als in het attachment: met datum, zender en afzender in de bestandsnaam.
translation:
Hi
What does this mean precisely? I still have difficulty with your generalizations like “bring into compliance” and “rule of law” without precise definitions and concrete meanings. Sorry.
I would keep your email to Dr. Josef Moser as a Word-document with date, sender and recipient in the file name.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/khudes/Twitter6.27.15.pdf