Great disillusionment

The Ländle and the EU: the magic has worn off

Without the EU, there would have been no Vorarlberg export miracle.

(Bild: ÖBB / Lukas Hämmerle)

Vorarlberg has benefited immensely from the European Union, and not just economically. And yet disillusionment has also spread among many citizens in the Ländle. 

Vorarlberg and the European Union - it used to be a love affair. It was voices from the Ländle that were among the loudest in calling for Austria to join the EU. It was former governor Martin Purtscher, who died in January 2023, who played a key role in negotiating the accession treaty after the positive referendum. And it was ultimately Vorarlberg that benefited the most from accession of all the federal states: The export economy experienced an unprecedented boom - the volume of exports has increased almost fivefold since 1995 - tourism blossomed and economic growth was well above the Austrian average for many years. Not to mention the benefits that the free movement of persons has brought to everyday life.

Vorarlberg is a net recipient
Even the biggest critics will not be able to deny that the EU has brought prosperity to the country. In addition, many projects in Vorarlberg would never have been realized without EU funding; no other federal state has made such clever use of the subsidy pot. The bottom line is that even more money flows from Brussels into wealthy Vorarlberg than from Bregenz into the EU budget: Vorarlberg paid in 24 million euros last year, and in the current period (from 2021 to 2027) around 32 million euros will be returned annually in funding.

A partnership of convenience at best
However, the euphoria of the early years is no longer much in evidence in Vorarlberg. The love affair has become a partnership of convenience at best. And there are good reasons for this: the bureaucratic madness, the migration policy, the democratic deficits, the lack of a common narrative. On the other hand, would we be better off without the EU? Hardly.