Coalition Treaty between
Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals in Germany published
Brussels, 26 November, 2021
Dear federalist friend, With the title « Dare to make more Progress – Alliance for freedom, justice and sustainability« , the representatives of the Sozial Demokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD), BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN and Freien Demokraten (FDP) presented their Coalition Treaty on 24 November 2021, after around a month of negotiations. The 178-page Treaty is intended to form the basis for cooperation between the three parties, which want to build the federal government for the next four years.
The seventh of a total of 9 chapters deals with « Germany’s responsibility for Europe and the world. » As in view of inhabitants largest Member State, Germany should assume its special responsibility in a serving understanding for the EU as a whole. This means that German interests should be defined in the light of European interests, according to the three parties.
One of the most ambitious goals of the so-called « traffic light coalition » is the further development of the European Union in crucial areas: for example, the Conference on the Future of Europe should lead to a constitutional convention and to a further development into a European Federation, organized decentrally also according to the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality and based on the Charter of Fundamental Rights. « The Union of European Federalists very much welcomes the clear commitment of the coalition partners to the creation of a European Federation. The call for the creation of a European Federation is our core petition that we, together with our Sections, have been calling for since our foundation 75 years ago, » says Sandro GOZI, President of the UEF and MEP. « It seems that the coalition partners have read our position papers, as the coalition treaty contains further UEF positions, which one can find, summarized most recently in our Appeal « Our federal Europe – sovereign and democratic.« This Appeal has already been supported and signed by more than 500 high-ranking politicians and personalities and is still open for signatures. I invite the representatives of the parties of the coalition treaty but also the representatives of the other pro-European parties in the German Bundestag to sign the Appeal. »
Furthermore, the coalition partners intend to strengthen the role of the European Parliament, especially the right of legislative initiative. The right of legislative initiative has been requested by the UEF at the last Plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE). The coalition treaty contains also the call of a European electoral law with strong Spitzenkandidaten and transnational lists. « A unified European electoral law with transnational lists will lead to the formation of real European parties » underlines Sandro GOZI. « The clear positioning in the coalition treaty is encouraging with regard to future negotiations in the Council. In the European Parliament, we are currently discussing the Report on the Electoral Law that UEF Vice-President and MEP Domènec RUIZ DEVESA has drafted as Rapporteur. »
Moreover, there is a positive particular focus on democracy and the rule of law in the coalition treaty. The European Commission is called upon to use and enforce existing rule of law instruments more consistently and in a timely manner. Liberal democracies are to be empowered to better fend off disinformation, fake news, campaigns, propaganda from as well as manipulation from within and outside the country. Unanimity in the Council should to be replaced by majority decisions, at least in foreign and security policy and the European External Action Service should be reformed and strengthened; a true EU foreign minister should replace the High Representative. Priority should be given to the Community method, but where necessary, progress is to be made only with individual Member States.
The calls and commitments towards a strong European Union and to European sovereignty in the coalition treaty of the Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals coincide in many points with the positions of the UEF. The goals are ambitious and promising. Germany can thus bring new momentum and new impetus to the necessary further deepening of the European Union. The coalition treaty has thus also raised hopes and expectations. The task now is to turn words into deeds.
Statements by Pier Virgilio DASTOLI and Sandro GOZI
Brussels, 23 November, 2021
Dear
federalist friend,
Pier
Virgilio DASTOLI, President of the Italian
Committee of the European Movement (CIME), writes:
“The Quirinal
Treatybetween Italy and France will be
signed in Rome on 25 November by Emmanuel MACRON and Mario DRAGHI.
The negotiations, launched in early 2018 by the Gentiloni
government at a meeting chaired by Italian Minister GOZI and French Minister
LOISEAU, and the drafting of the project had been entrusted to a group of six
« wise men » including Italians Franco BASSANINI, Marco PIANTINI and
Paola SEVERINO.
Among the priority themes of
the agreement, emphasis is placed on research, culture, industry and defense,
stressing the need to implement means such as structured enhanced cooperation
in the event that unanimous decisions impede joint progress. After the Italian
elections in 2018 and the formation of the Conte I government with Lega and
Movimento 5 Stelle, the negotiations had been frozen, they were not resumed by
the Conte II government due to the pandemic, and they were only relaunched by
the Draghi government. They will finally be concluded on 25 November.
Many things have happened in the meantime in Europe and
between Italy and France, including the start of the Conference
on the Future of Europe, with the French and Italian
willingness to consider the possibility of going beyond the Lisbon Treaty
signed 14 years ago, at a time when the conditions of the world and of Europe
were radically different from those of today.
This raises the question of « what to do » if
some governments are not willing to negotiate and accept a revision of the
Lisbon Treaty, and therefore which project, method and timetable to consider in
order to overcome the obstacle of the Convention on the basis of Article 48 of
the TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), which requires the
convening of a diplomatic conference, the unanimous agreement of the national
governments and the unanimity of national ratifications.
Within the platform on the future of Europe set up in
September 2019 at the CNEL (National Counsil for Economic and Labour) by the Italian European Movement, the issue of differentiated integration has been
discussed several times, a subject on which the Institute of International
Affairs is working within the framework of a European project, while the
European Movement has urged the Spinelli Group of the European Parliament to
revive the essentially constituent method that the European Parliament had
adopted for the elaboration of its draft constitution of 14 February 1984.
These are questions that the Quirinal Treaty should not
escape, also in view of the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of
Europe that could take place in May 2022 after the French presidential
elections on 10 and 24 April 2022.
It should be recalled that the idea of a Quirinal Treaty
was launched under the inspiration of the Elysée Treaty signed in the past
between France and Germany and that a proposal has recently been put forward
for a Franco-Italian-German initiative that would bring together the priorities
of the two treaties after the formation of the new German government and in
view of the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe and the
reopening of work on the reform of the European Union. »
Sandro
GOZI, former Italian Secretary of State for
European Affairs, now MEP (Renew Europe) and President of the Union of European
Federalists (UEF) writes:
“We are on the eve of an important step that will give
France and Italy a leading role in Europe and a new leading role in meeting
global challenges. The signing of the Quirinal Treaty will ensure a solid and
structured basis for making the relationship between our two countries work,
creating a series of working groups and more fluid exchanges.
There is today a great political convergence between Rome and Paris on European and international priorities. In the context of such a favourable relationship as the one established between President DRAGHI and President Emmanuel MACRON, it is therefore important to seal this special relationship with a treaty whose signature will give more strength to Italy and France to engage in joint action at the European and global level. There may still be some differences of opinion or disputes, but we will now have a set of new diplomatic tools and political mechanisms to prevent and resolve them. If we European states compete with each other, we all lose. This is why it is essential that Italy and France work together, hand in hand, starting with the development of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which will have to be followed by important reforms of the European Union.” These two statements, reproduced here with the consent of their authors, were originally written on 17 November 2021 for the members of the « Italian Platform for the Conference on the Future of Europe ».
One year ago, the Union of
European Federalists (UEF) embarked on our “Democracy is
Europe: Remember to Revive” journey across the
Baltics and Central and Eastern Europe. Two main ideas were behind this: on one
hand, to raise awareness about the central role of European values in the revolutions
of 1989-1991; on the other hand, to encourage a reflection on the future of
Europe, European democracy and the Rule of Law. After our online stops in
Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, and our physical ones in Gdańsk (PL) and
Prague (CZ), UEF’s #DemocracyIsEurope
project is coming to an end with our final conference in Brussels on 2-3
December 2021.
Brussels is the chosen scenario in which the project “democracy activators”,
participants, stakeholders and researchers will present and discuss the outcomes
of the project, commemorate membership in the EU of the aforementioned Member
states, and advocate for further European integration based on the
strengthening and protection of democracy and the Rule of Law.
AGENDA
Thursday, 2 December, 2021
14.00 – 15.30
CET The central role of European values in the revolutions of
1989-1991 and their state of play today in Eastern and Central Europe:
Presentation of the project outcomes
Sandro GOZI, MEP & President, UEF
Stefano BRAGHIROLI, University of Tartu, Estonia
Eszter NAGY, Secretary-General, UEF Hungary
Laura TATARELYTE, European Movement Lithuania
Christian MOOS, Secretary-General, Europa Union Deutschland e.V.
Jacek KOLTAN, Director’s representative, European Solidarity Centre, Poland (tbc)
Moderates: Giulia STEFANO, Project Officer,
UEF
16:00 –
17:30 Defending and strengthening democracy in the EU: Article 7 of
TFEU and Conditionality
Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Chair of the LIBE Committee in the European Parliament
Ania SKRZYPEK, Director for Research and Training, Foundations for European Progressive Studies (FEPS)
Nicolaas BEL, Deputy Head of Unit, Justice policy and rule of law Unit, Directorate General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Moderates: Alejandra ALMARCHA,
Director of the Secretariat, UEF
17.30 CET – 19:00 CET Competition: #DemocracyIsEurope
ideas for the future of Europe
Friday, 3 December, 2021
9:30 – 11.00
CET European democracy in the Conference on the Future of Europe
Francisco ALDECOA, Professor of International Relations at the Complutense University of Madrid, President of the European Movement in Spain and Director of the Civil Society Representation of the Conference on the Future of Europe
Leonie MARTIN, JEF President 2019-2021
Citizen representative – Democracy working group
Ingrid GODKIN, Policy & Administrative Coordination, Cabinet of Vice President Šuica for Democracy and Demography, European Commission
Moderates: Alejandra ALMARCHA,
Director of the Secretariat, UEF
11.30 – 13:00 CET How to combat disinformation & fake
news: media freedom in Central Europe
Paul BUTCHER, Policy analyst on citizen participation, disinformation, democracy, EU reform, Western Balkans, EU enlargement, European Policy Centre (EPC)
Žiga FAKTOR, Head of Brussels Office, EUROPEUM
Natasza STYCZYŃSKA, Assistant professor, Institute of European Studies, Jagiellonian University Kraków (tbc)
Wojciech PRZYBYLSKI, Editor-in-Chief, Visegrad Insight (tbc)
Moderates: Christian SKRIVERVIK,
Head of Press and Communications, European Movement International (tbc)
14.00 – 15.30 CET Training “Talking about the EU at
the local level – How to organise events in the framework of the
Conference on the Future of Europe”
Alejandra ALMARCHA, Director of the Secretariat, UEF
Mariona ESPÍN, Communications Officer, UEF
Michal RYBACKI, Policy Officer, JEF Europe
Ilaria CARIA, Communication Team, Movimento Federalista Europeo (MFE)
15.45 – 16.30
CET #DemocracyIsEurope Awards Ceremony
The event is going to be a blended activity with an online and
offline (in Brussels, Belgium) settings, and we are looking for online participants! Register here and stay tuned for more
details.
In the context of the Democracy is Europe project,
UEF invites you to join the essay contest « 1989-1991 the fall of
communist regimes: what was the idea of Europe behind the Central-Eastern
European and Baltic countries’ democratic transition? ». Read on the
prize and the conditions to participate here.
As you may already know, UEF is implementing its project “#makeEuropeBloom: the Time is Now!” not only as a way to accompany and raise awareness of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), but also to contribute to building the New European Bauhaus. Officially launched on Europe Day this year, #makeEuropeBloom consists primarily of painting murals at different peripheral European locations. Today, we are happy to share with you the video of the making of and the final results of our first artwork in cooperation with Marest Studio, Generalitat Valenciana and Ajuntament de València in Valencia (Spain), which was painted in parallel to UEF’s XXVII European Congress.
Do not hesitate to like and leave your comments below the video!
PROJECT BACKGROUND
UEF took on from the very beginning the fourfold challenge to make the European institutions commit to launch the Conference on the Future of Europe (which finally happened on 9 May, Europe Day); to ensure the institutional commitment to study with respect and attention the transformative proposals of European citizens and civil society; to advocate for this Conference to represent a real opportunity for the reform of the Treaties and the European institutions; and, finally, to involve and inform as much as possible the European citizens on this first major pan-European democratic exercise.
As a response to a call for proposals by the Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) of the European Parliament, “#makeEuropeBloom: the Time is Now!” is an ambitious and audacious artistic project. “It is no coincidence that the time slot during which the project is being implemented matches the time span of the CoFoE. The aim of our project is to directly address European citizens in their living environment. Its very nature strives to actively accompany the CoFoE by helping to convince citizens to express themselves in this pan-European democratic process and bring forward the reformations that citizens are demanding towards a more democratic and sovereign Europe”, says Sandro GOZI, UEF President.
In addition, #makeEuropeBloom has also been devised as a response to the invitation “to set up a New European Bauhaus”, that Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, launched in her State of the Union Address of 16 September 2020. “I want NextGenerationEU to kickstart a European renovation wave and make our Union a leader in the circular economy. But this is not just an environmental or economic project: it needs to be a new cultural project for Europe. Every movement has its own look and feel. And we need to give our systemic change its own distinct aesthetic – to match style with sustainability. This is why we will set up a new European Bauhaus – a co-creation space where architects, artists, students, engineers, designers work together to make that happen”.
Arts to illuminate the European project “UEF, combining arts and politics, strives with this project to remind all the peoples of Europe that the European integration project aims to develop their common living space and help them realise that their exchanges go far beyond the cold economic sphere, as a follow-up of the long lasting European common civilisation, by leaning on the citizens’ hearts, minds, senses and artistic sensibilities”, explains François MENNERAT, UEF Executive Board member and legal representative of the project.
A hand out to “lay” citizens “The intention here is to reach out to those persons who appear to be persistently far away from the European perspective and from the debates triggered around the future of Europe. It thus targets, not the big capitals or the privileged quarters of urban centres, but rather deprived or peripheral areas that are still away from the European conversations. It seeks to involve those who live there, starting with the preparation of the events, in full co-operation with the local authorities and the elected representatives”, concludes François MENNERAT.
To reach its goal, UEF distributed ahead of our presence in Valencia an online survey, in which organisations of all kinds, from political parties, trade unions, neighbourhood councils to individual citizens contributed with their ideas and responses on the symbols, shapes and colours that could best capture their feelings and emotions about European democracy, which was the central theme of the pictorial work, and the future of Europe.
“With this mural, which will have a duration of at least seven years, not only has it been possible to create an innovative language by and for the EU from a contemporary and urban perspective, but it has also led to a reflection widely shared by ordinary citizens and sectors linked to education, tourism, culture, industry and think tanks on the EU and its institutions. This is how we believe we have set an example on how the future of Europe should be built”, states Alejandra ALMARCHA, UEF Secretariat Director.
The inauguration
of our mural in Valencia was attended by neighbours of La Plata, an area
between the sophisticated City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia and a modest
working-class neighbourhood, as well as UEF President & MEP Sandro GOZI,
urban artist Antonyo MAREST, UEF Vice-President & MEP Domènec RUIZ DEVESA,
Vice-President Luisa TRUMELLINI, Secretary-General Anna ECHTERHOFF and
contemporary art curator Fran PICAZO.
Among the prominent
European and local personalities that paid a visit: UEF Federal Committee
member & Vice-President of the European Parliament Fabio Massimo CASTALDO,
Co-Chair of the Conference on the Future of Europe & MEP Guy VERHOFSTADT,
Mayor of Valencia Joan RIBÓ, Minister for Culture of the Government of Valencia
Vicent MARZÀ, Director for Culture and Heritage of the Government of Valencia
Carmen AMORAGA, former President of the European Parliament & current
President of UEF Spain Enrique BARÓN, President of the European Movement in
Spain Francisco ALDECOA, Regional Secretary for the European Union and External
Relations of the Government of Valencia Joan CALABUIG, Vice-Director of the
European Parliament Liaison Office in Madrid Juergen FOECKING and President of
JEF Spain Doina STRATU.
Among all the remarkable speeches pronounced on that day, we would like to recall the Conference
Co-Chair VERHOFSTADT’s encouraging words: “The EU is more than a single market or
a political union, we share a common European culture.This kind of project must
become Europe’s trademark. And I am convinced that the most innovative
proposals to come out of the Conference will be those on how to boost European
humanism, thought, art and lifestyle. […] Let’s spread our way of living and
thinking through art in the framework of the CoFoE!”.
You can also share your ideas and feelings on the Valencia mural in the CoFoE digital
platform, within the Democracy section.
Click here
to learn more on #makeEuropeBloom. New locations will be unveiled soon!
One year ago, the Union of
European Federalists (UEF) embarked on our “Democracy is Europe: Remember to Revive”
journey across the Baltics and Central and Eastern Europe. Two main ideas were
behind this: on one hand, to raise awareness about the central role of European
values in the revolutions of 1989-1991; on the other hand, to encourage a
reflection on the future of Europe, European democracy and the Rule of Law. After
our online stops in Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, and our physical ones
in Gdańsk (PL) and Prague (CZ), UEF’s
#DemocracyIsEurope project is coming to an end with our final conference in
Brussels on 2-3 December 2021.
Brussels is the chosen scenario in which the project “democracy activators”,
participants, stakeholders and researchers will present and discuss the
outcomes of the project, commemorate membership in the EU of the aforementioned
Member states, and advocate for further European integration based on the
strengthening and protection of democracy and the Rule of Law.
AGENDA
Thursday,
December 2, 2021
9.00 CET – House of European
History tour
14.00 CET – The central role of
European values in the revolutions of 1989-1991
16:00 CET – Defending and
strengthening democracy in the EU
17.30 CET – Competition:
#DemocracyIsEurope ideas for the future of Europe
Friday, December 3,
2021
9:30 CET – European democracy
in the Conference on the Future of Europe
11.30 CET – How to combat
disinformation & fake news
14.00 CET – Training “Talking
about the EU at the local level
15.45 CET – #DemocracyIsEurope
Awards Ceremony
The event is going to be a blended activity with an online and
offline (in Brussels, Belgium) settings, and we are looking for international,
local and online participants! For the 10 international participants who
are more motivated and want to participate physically, we will cover
accommodation expenses, and we will reimburse their travel fees up to 150 euros
(per person). Register here and stay tuned for more
details.
In the context of the Democracy is Europe project,
UEF invites you to join the essay contest « 1989-1991 the fall of
communist regimes: what was the idea of Europe behind the Central-Eastern
European and Baltic countries’ democratic transition? ». Read on the
prize and the conditions to participate here.
We would like to remind you to join our next hybrid event in the framework of our Democracy is Europe project. The sessions will take place on 11 and 12 November 2021.
AGENDA Thursday, November 11, 2021 – Grandior Hotele, Na Poříčí 42, Praha 1 15.00 CET Democracy is Europe: Remember to Revive – 30 years after the end of the Soviet Union: What can we learn from the transition for the future of Europe?
Sandro GOZI, MEP,
President of the Union of European Federalists
Ivo KAPLAN, UEF
Czechia Secretary General
Moderator: Vladimíra DVORAKOVÁ, director of the Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies
16.30 CET Training: How to Fight democratic backsliding and populism in our daily life? Trainer: Mathias HAMANN, Institut für Kommunikation und Gesellschaft
Friday, November 12,
2021 – CEFRES, French Research Center in Humanities and Social
Sciences, Na Florenci 3 CZ-110 00 Prague 1 9.00 CET
Experiencing History: How did the peaceful revolution feel from inside?
Markéta HODOUSKOVÁ,
director of Kino Visegard
Moderator: Eva SPISAKOVA, Press Officer of the Czech Bishops’ Conference
10.45 CET Panel debate:
Czechia – A More Resilient Democracy in Central Europe?
Petr KUTILEK, Green
Party Politician and Political Scientist
Dr. Jérôme
HEURTAUX, Director of CEFRES (French Research Centre in Humanities and
Social Sciences)
Moderator: Edit ZGUT, Political scientist and a doctoral researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS PAN), DemocraCE fellow at Visegrad Insight
Daniel Freund takes over the Presidency of the Spinelli Group in the European Parliament
Dear
everyone interested, Dear journalists,
As of 1 November, Greens/EFA MEP
Daniel Freund will take over the presidency of the Spinelli Group from
Social-Democrat (S&D) MEP Brando Benifei. The Spinelli Group is a network
of 72 federalist-minded Members of the European Parliament aiming to
reinvigorate the endeavour for strengthening and democratisation of the
European Union.
Daniel Freund, new President of
the Spinelli Group, comments:
“I would like to thank
Brando Benifei for his great work as the president, pushing for a more federal
Europe. As Spinelli Group we want to use the Conference on the Future of Europe
to inoculate our continental democracy with strong reforms against overstretching
in next crises. We want strong reforms for truly European elections, EU
investments in a digital and climate friendly future, a Europe that speaks with
one voice in the world. We invite all to join our campaign to make Europe
stronger by making it more democratic!
The EU is being held back by
antiquated decision making processes. We need to get rid of unanimity in the EU
Council and we have to push for own initiative rights for the European
Parliament. With a European second vote for transnational lists we could make
sure citizens have a stronger say which lead candidate is the next Commission
president in 2024. We have to make clear that more democracy is the answer to
the current crises rocking the European Union.“
Named after Altiero Spinelli (1907–1986), founder of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and a founding father of the European integration, the Spinelli Group was founded on 15 September 2010 in the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels by former Belgium prime minister and current MEP Guy VERHOFSTADT, former co-chair of the Greens–European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) Group in the European Parliament Daniel COHN-BENDIT, former MEPSylvie GOULARD (ALDE) and former European Parliament Vice-President Isabelle DURANT (Greens/EFA). UEF Secretariat
« We should support those citizens who want to move forward and that are openly discussing in the CoFoE with no taboos. We should reform the treaties to ensure a new sovereign, democratic and federal Europe. » – MEP Brando Benifei, outgoing President of the Spinelli Group.
THE TIME IS NOW, UEF’s fortnightly newsletter on the Conference on the Future of Europe! Issue 10/2021
Learn more about the Conference’s latest news and activities related to rebuilding the EU!
This past weekend, the
Conference Plenary discussed reports from the European Citizens’ Panels,
national panels and events, the EYE and the Platform.
This Conference Plenary
meeting represented two major milestones in the context of the Conference. On
the one hand, the 80 representatives of the European Citizens’ Panels that have
been selected from the pool of 800 that convened in Strasbourg in September and
October took their seats. On the other hand, for the first time, the Plenary discussed
citizens’ contributions stemming from the different components of the
Conference as they currently stand, while deliberations, events, and online
debate continue.
The Plenary comprises
representatives from the European Parliament (108), the Council (54, or two per
member state) and the European Commission (3), as well as from all national
Parliaments (108) on an equal footing, and citizens (108). As part of the
citizens’ component, representatives from the European Citizens’ Panels (80),
representatives of national events or national citizens’ panels (27, or one per
member state) and the President of the European Youth Forum take part in the
deliberations. In addition, representatives from the Committee of the Regions
and the European Economic and Social Committee (18 from each), elected
representatives from regional and local authorities (6 from each), and
representatives of the social partners (12) and civil society (8) participate
as members. For the first time, representatives from the Western Balkans
participated as key partners.
On Friday, the Plenary
working groups, composed of representatives from all components of the
Conference Plenary (incl. MEPs, national parliamentarians, government
representatives, the Commission, social partners, civil society, and citizens)
met for a constitutive meeting. On Saturday, the Plenary meeting was opened by
the Co-Chairs of the Conference’s Executive Board, Guy Verhofstadt (European
Parliament), State Secretary Gašper Dovžan on behalf of the Slovenian Presidency
of the Council of the EU and European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica.
The discussions revolved around:
a presentation with first impressions from the European Citizens’ Panels by representatives from each Panel and by the Co-Chairs;
a report by the representatives from national panels and events;
a presentation by the Co-Chairs of the interim reports and state of play on the Multilingual Digital Platform.
The
Co-Chairs of the Conference made the following statements from Strasbourg:
Guy Verhofstadt (European
Parliament), said: “The enthusiasm in the Citizens’ Panels is great,
expectations are high, the formula is working. Now the Plenary has to find
answers to the issues raised, in the form of a shared vision of Europe’s future
and concrete deliverables on how we reform the European Union. EU politics have
to rise to the occasion.”
Gašper Dovžan (Presidency of
the Council) commented that: “Tens of thousands of citizens continue to discuss
the future of Europe in the European and national panels and events, as well as
on the Platform. The Plenary will debate and bring forward their
recommendations in the areas that matter most to them, without a predetermined outcome.
This is the first Plenary under the Slovenian Presidency of the Council and we
were very pleased to welcome representatives from our Western Balkans partners
as key stakeholders with whom we share responsibility for the future of the
EU.”
Dubravka Šuica
(Vice-President of the European Commission) stated: « This is a historic
moment where, for the first time, citizens deliberate on a par with their
elected representatives at all levels. Bringing citizens to the core of
European policymaking will reinforce our representative democracies, as we set
sail towards our common future.”
A little less positive was
the balance drawn by the citizens who participated in the plenary, who
complained about the lack of concreteness of the working groups – with the
exception of the one on health, chaired by European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič
and judged very positive – and to have known only the previous day what the
order of business would be.
The plenary itself was the
subject of criticism, due to the shorter time allowed for speeches by citizens
compared to those of politicians – many of whom, moreover, did not participate
in the afternoon session – and the generic nature of many of the speeches heard
in the classroom. The complaints were expressed directly in the hemicycle
through the words of a Dutch delegate, who asked for more space to speak and
received the applause of all present.
A position that Verhofstadt seems to have taken into account. In the press conference at the end of the assembly, the representative of the EU Parliament said that « the central role of citizens will become even more evident in the next plenaries, when they present their recommendations and proposals and others will be able to react on the proposals ». Verhofstadt added that « the most important novelty of the Conference is the active part of citizens in decision-making processes », and that the mechanism used could « become permanent », as a demonstration « of the fact that participatory and representative democracy can work together ».
2. UEF IN THE PLENARY
UEF was represented in the
Plenary of the CoFoE with our President and MEP Sandro GOZI, Vice-President and
MEP Doménec RUIZ DEVESA and Secretary General Anna ECHTERHOFF.
« Citizens are asking for a
more federal and social Europe. They are calling to remove the veto in theEU
Council, to strengthenEP
powers, a Pan-European constituency, etc. Let’s do not disappoint europeans.”
said UEF Vice-President and MEP Doménec RUIZ DEVESA in the Plenary.
« We must strengthen European
democracy by granting more powers to the EP. We need: a uniform electoral law,
the creation of transnational lists leading to the formation of real European
parties and legislative initiative for the EP. » highlighted UEF Secretary
General Anna ECHTERHOFF
« We should support those
citizens who want to move forward and that are openly discussing in the CoFoE
with no taboos. We should reform the treaties to ensure a new sovereign,
democratic and federal Europe. » added MEPBrando
Benifei, outgoing President of the Spinelli Group.
« We all share responsibility
for making the#CoFoE
its Platform known. We need to develop a common consciousness to have the
Conference awaken, focusing on a few concrete proposals to ensure greater
effectiveness for Europe & its values. » said European Union
Deutschland Secretary General Christian MOSS.
3. SPINELLI GROUP CAUCUS
The Spinelli Group (SG) caucus meeting took Place last Friday in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The caucus should serve to coordinate and defend the federalist and pan-European interests in a transversal way in all the WGs, and make them ambitious, with concrete proposals and conclusions. To this end, the SG distributed a Manifesto defending the main federalist ideas. As a cross-cutting group with different ideas, the SG will join forces to focus on the points in common and to ensure that the inclusiveness of the group is strengthened, without neglecting coordination between the political groups. This is the strength of the GS, the only cross-party, transnational and pan-European group. During the caucus meeting, the change of the Spinelli Group rotatory Presidency took place. We’re happy to announce that Daniel Freund will be the new President of the Spinelli Group on behalf of Greens/EFA. UEF thanks Brando Benifei for his amazing work this year as our first President for this mandate!
4. UEF LIVESTREAM INTERVIEW
Right after the 2nd CoFoE Plenary, a Live Stream analysis from a federalist perspective was scheduled with the President of UEF, MEP Sandro GOZI. The interview was conducted by Nana WALZER. The President shared his impression of the Plenary commented on the topics and working priorities the Federalists addressed in over the weekend session.
5. ANGELA MERKEL AND THE CoFoE
The Conference on the Future of
Europe, which now-outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested could be
the place to solve Poland’s rule of law issues, has been paid little attention.
But that does not mean those attending have not been busy.
“The Conference on the Future of
Europe is actually a good place to discuss,” said Merkel as she entered the
European Council on Thursday (21 October).
She also suggested that the CoFoE
is a good place to talk about “how the individual members envisage the European
Union”. Despite this, even though the conference had its second plenary on 23
October, it failed to make many waves.
6. NEXT STEPS
The next two meetings of the
Plenary will be held on 17-18 December and 21-22 January to discuss the
recommendations of the four European citizens’ panels that will wrap up their
work by then. Co-chair Verhofstadt underlined that these sessions will have a
different setup, with more time for the representatives of the panels to
present their conclusions and a debate with other Plenary members on the
concrete topics.
In the meantime, citizens’
contributions to the Conference will continue to flow in:
the European Citizens’ Panels will meet online in November, and the first two will finalise their recommendations and present them in Plenary in December;
the Multilingual Digital Platform remains available for citizens’ ideas and events, which will become part of the third report due for December, and which will feed into the last sessions of European Citizens’ Panels and the upcoming meetings of the Conference Plenary;
*Feel
free to contact UEF Secretariat if you may have any questions on the CoFoE or
the Digital Platform: secretariat@federalists.eu
Une opinion de Jean Marsia et Domenico Rossetti di Valdalbero,Union des Fédéralistes Européens. Opinion cosignée par Nezka Figelj, Michele Ciavarini Azzi, François Mennerat, Giorgio Clarotti et Robert Verschooten, Union des Fédéralistes Européens.
Les États membres de l’Union avaient envoyé près de 100 000 hommes en Afghanistan et ce pays était le premier récipiendaire de l’aide au développement européenne.
UEF is
delighted to support also this year the Jean Monnet Prize for European
Integration. This initiative aims at honouring Jean Monnet’s memory and life
achievements. It does so by rewarding talented individuals or groups having
contributed to supporting or strengthening European Integration through a
project they designed and implemented. The winning project receives a €1,500
grant.
EuropeanConstitution.eu set up
the Jean Monnet Prize for European Integration to honour Jean Monnet’s life and
dedication to European integration by rewarding projects that support this
ideal in a concrete and apolitical manner for European citizens. The Award is
under the patronage of the European Parliament and is supported by the
following partners in addition to the UEF: College of Europe, Democracy
International, Alliance4Europe, Schwarzkopf Foundation, Friends of Europe,
European Student’s Union, Spinelli Group, EU40, BBE, European University
Association, European Democracy Lab, The Good Lobby, European
Alternatives. Where other prizes may reward public figures of high
standing, the Jean Monnet Prize focuses on citizens’ personal engagement for
Europe and activities that impact the day-to-day life of Europeans.
The Jean Monnet Prize is an open competition. It can reward any project contributing to the strengthening of European integration and of the European spirit. The Jean Monnet Prize does not reward projects that have yet to be implemented or that seek funding in order to start their implementation, this is to meant to improve the assessment of the project’s concrete impact for citizens.
There are no criteria imposed on the applicants and UEF encourages all to apply, in particular young people, women and disenfranchised groups. The application process is entirely free, and no expenses are asked of participants at any point.
2021 edition of the Prize
The call for applications will
be open from 9 September to 9 October, and the results unveiled on 9 November —
the anniversary of Jean Monnet’s birth.
No paper or email applications will be considered. Given the promising mobilisation for the Conference on the Future of Europe, we are convinced that 2021 will be a tremendous year for citizens’ engagement. For any further information you can contact EuropeanConstitution.eu at: jeanmonnetprize@europeanconstitution.eu
