By margit |
Ave Europa fights for European federalism Centre-right
Interview on Ave Europa (1) with Nikodem Skrobisz (2)
- Why did you name your organisation ‚Ave Europa’?
For two reasons: First, our movement's central goal is the establishment of a democratic Federal Republic of Europe. The first modern, liberal democratic European Republics after the French Revolution, but also the American Founding Fathers, were heavily inspired by the Roman Republic. We wanted to have a name that reconnects us to this noble heritage.
Second, our movement is a wakeup call to Europe - so we named it “Greetings Europe”, which in Latin is “Ave Europa” and has a good sound to it. We picked Latin, because todays European Civilization and Democracy traces most of its roots back to the Roman Republic. And more crucially Latin – unlike for example English – is a language that is no one’s mother tongue today, but still part of our shared heritage; so it is a language that symbolically represents what we Europeans share. An English name would not fit, because English is the language of UK and USA, and we see Europe (including UK) as something distinct and to be emancipated from American Imperialism.
- On platform X, you present yourself as a ‚pan-European federalist political movement ...’ with the addition ‚... committed to the unification of our civilisation.’ What role does European democracy play in this context?
We see Democracy as one of the central achievements of European Civilisation and want to protect it. We believe that only a united Europe can protect its democratic culture in a time of increasingly authoritarian threats from Russia (but maybe also from the USA in the future) on the global stage. But we also believe, that European democracy is not as good as it could and should be right now. We want to make Europe more democratic with various reforms, e.g. we would like to see the European Parliament get more real power.
- Is it one of Ave Europa's goals to offer EU citizens who are politically to the right of centre a European alternative to national and often Russia-aligned right-wing populists?
Yes. We want to basically offer an democratic and pro-european alternative to those dissatisfied with the Status Quo.
We must acknowledge reality. In almost all key European and industrialised nations, Eurosceptic right-wing to far-right forces are gaining strength, in some cases with absolute majorities. These players have not only turned their backs on the European project and our democracy, but are also actively attempting to sabotage them – often with support from Russia, the United States or even China. Their political legitimacy is largely based on the real failures of recent decades: a failed migration policy, serious misjudgements in energy supply and Europe's dwindling economic competitiveness. These problems are real – and for years, the established parties have neither convincingly solved nor prevented them, and in some cases have even contributed to them. This is exactly where we come in. Our goal is to be a democratic, clearly pro-European alternative – both to the opponents of the EU and to the political status quo. We understand very well why many people are dissatisfied with the status quo. Those who are dissatisfied with the current economic, energy and migration policies should not strengthen the radical fringes out of frustration, but should choose a constructive, pragmatic alternative. We are convinced that we have the better answers and that we are that alternative.
- How do you intend to distance your movement from the right wing, i.e. from extremism?
We do not tolerate extremist views. Our statues and our charter, and especially our national chapters, are quite clear on that: If you are a communist, a monarchist, a neonazi, a fascist, a racist or another kind of extremist outside the democratic scope of our organisation, Ave Europa is not a place for you.
- As you state on your website, your organisation emerged from the Lithuanian section of the Young European Federalists movement. How do you differ from these Young European Federalists?
Ave Europa was initiated by some ex-members of the Lithuanian Chapter of JEF among others, but most of our leadership and members have nothing to do with JEF. We differ in scope and ambition from JEF. JEF is a civil movement for young people that is also receiving EU grants. We are a grass roots bottom-up political movement with members of all ages, finances itself from its members' donations, and that has broader scope and bigger ambitions. We actually have the ambition to change things and to also run as a party in elections, impact policy directly.
- There is already a European political movement, VOLT, which can claim a certain degree of success. What is your opinion on this?
We admire what VOLT did for Eurofederalism, but we think they will not be able to make Eurofederalism successful. We hear and see especially in Germany and Italy, but in most parts of Europes, that they have abandoned their big tent, centrist-liberal approach long time ago and are now if it comes to policy barely distinguishable from most green or left-progressive parties. VOLT is failing in making Eurofederalism a successful mainstream issue, because VOLT has effectively failed to gain mainstream appeal for a united Europe by engaging in an americanised culture war agenda. Their program is mostly appealing to urbanite Yuppies with woke worldviews. Europe will not be united by appealing to these niches. We want to address the rest of the electorate, especially the more conservative, liberal and center-right majority. So in this sense, we see VOLT basically not as a competition, but as a complementary movement on the other side of the political spectrum.
- Where was Ave Europa founded, how many members does the movement have in total and in which countries are you active so far? Is there a group in Frankfurt am Main?
Ave Europa International is domiciled in Denmark and was founded in July 2025. The first legally established national chapter was the German one, which was founded in August 2025 in Munich. We have also established NGOs in the UK and the Netherlands in December 2025. Many more NGOs and first political parties are coming; with national chapters being established currently in France, Italy, Romania, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. Our member count sits currently at roughly 500, but we are experiencing rapid growth, especially since December, when Elon Musk called for the destruction of the EU and POLITICO reported on us at the same time. Since then we are seeing basically exponential growth rates. An up to date overview of all the countries we are active, can be found here (3). There is no active group in Frankfurt am Main yet unfortunately; as of now, the members of our German Chapter are clustering in the South of Germany.
- How do you finance yourselves?
100 percent by donations from our members at this point. We have no institutional backing. I personally quit my corporate job in the summer of 2025 and poured my savings into Ave Europa as did also our Head of Policy Paul Wenzel.
- Are there any cooperation partners, for example national organisations or parties, with whom you work?
We have no institutional backing or partnership with any party or organisation, as we want to remain independent. We cooperate mostly with similarly minded Influencers e.g. Gunther Fehlinger (4), and support initiatives we deem in line with our vision, e.g. EU Inc. (5) In the future we may cooperate with some liberal democratic parties in local elections for joined voting lists in Italy or France, but our independence is very important to us and we intend to maintain it.
- On your homepage, you list twelve points that you are striving for, such as strategic autonomy, technical leadership, reindustrialisation and digital sovereignty. But you are also concerned with ‘strong families’ and the cultural identity of Europe. Which ideas from which think tank form the basis for your movement's goals?
We don’t work with any think tanks. Everything we do is built from the ground up on our own Charter and a pragmatic ideology we’ve developed ourselves for today’s political landscape. So far we have not cooperated with any Think Tank. We develop our ideas and strategies in-house and publish them through the Ave Atrium on Substack and X. We don’t see ourselves as a spin-off, a splinter group, or just a fresh coat of paint on an old movement. Not at all. We represent a completely new direction. Our party, our perspective, and our ideological core simply don’t exist on the current political playing field. Our goal is to unite Europe, but we aren't interested in attacking the things people actually cherish about their own countries or identities. We want a Europe where people feel like part of a family—not a Europe that tries to force unity through paperwork, treaties, and endless regulations. We want a united Europe born out of genuine conviction, not as part of some ideological war against someone else. It’s about reconnecting and breathing life back into a shared European soul. That’s why it’s so vital for us to stay independent; we don't outsource our thinking. Everything is developed in-house. We’ve even built a 'Hivemind' to completely reimagine how policy and ideology are visualised on the European stage.
- Do you plan to present your political platform in other European languages?
We already do. We are already running social media accounts in several languages, including Spanish, Romanian, Italian, German, Dutch, Polish, French and more. Dutch and German Websites are launching in January 2026 and we plan to launch websites for most other European languages till the end of this year.
- Thank you very much for the interview!
The interview was conducted by Margit Reiser-Schober.
- website
https://ave-europa.eu/
- Nikodem Skrobisz
https://ave-europa.eu/about-us/
- List of countries in which Ave Europa is active
https://ave-europa.my.canva.site/
- Gunther Fehlinger
https://oesterreichwiki.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnther_Fehlinger
- EU-Inc.
https://www.eu-inc.org/