STATEMENT: Appeal of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) to the European Council and EU national governments

Adopted by the Federal Committee of UEF, Brussels 10 July 2022

The European project - born from the ashes of the Second World War to build, through the unity of Europeans, a new world order of peace and cooperation between peoples - is threatened as never before by the return of the most brutal war of aggression on its territory.

This conflict is doomed to last for a long time, if we do not want to accept to surrender; indeed, it opens a new cycle of world politics with still unpredictable scenarios, while globalisation recedes and power politics asserts itself.

The European Union is at a crossroads: either it is capable of becoming in turn a political power that can promote its agenda on a global level along with the other major powers, or it will be more and more subject to the aims of other. If the future is one of conflict and contention to enlarge spheres of influence, to gain control of raw materials and technological and military supremacy, to weaken adversaries in every way, this European Union will find itself simply powerless.

Never since the middle of the last century have the destinies of the world and of democracy been in European hands as they are at this moment: not because the Europeans already have the strength to change the destiny towards which we are heading, but because they are the only ones who might have it. The US will remain the military leader for a long time, but only Europeans possess the weapon to defeat the nationalism that underlies aggressive power politics, undermines democracy and seeks to bend people's freedom. This weapon consists in becoming the first supranational democracy capable of acting and protecting its citizens. In other words, the European Union must become federal, sovereign and democratic, and be endowed with the appropriate competences, powers and resources.

The Conference on the Future of Europe discussed this, ultimately, and how to realise the European project conceived by the Founding Fathers; it addressed in depth the issue of democracy and the construction of a true political community, and made important proposals in this regard; many of them require Treaty change. Now the national governments and the European Council have a political and moral duty to follow up on these indications also by convening the Convention to discuss the reform of the Treaties as requested by the European Parliament, which has triggered the procedure of Article 48 TEU.

The European Union needs to strengthen its capacity to act democratically and effectively now.

The Union of European Federalists (UEF) therefore

• appeals to the European Council and the national governments of the member states, who now hold the power to initiate the Convention in their hands, to immediately open up to reform and to initiate the process that, with the support of the citizens, can lead to the creation of a federal, sovereign and democratic Europe;
• engages the national sections to campaign in their country, towards the government and parliamentary forces, to support the launch of the Convention and the opening of the reform of the Treaties.