First General Meeting: "A More Secure and Perfect Union"

The first general meeting, held at the Maison Jean Monnet in Bazoches-sur-Guyonne (France), brings together European parliamentarians, academics, think-tank representatives, and civil-society leaders. Its programme includes thematic sessions, workshops, and high-level debates designed to combine intellectual rigour with policy relevance.

This gathering commemorates the Committee’s historic legacy while charting a forward-looking roadmap for a renewed and more effective European project.

At a time when Europe faces both internal fragmentation and external pressure, the Action Committee reaffirms its role:

• as a forum for convergence between institutions, political actors, and citizens;

• as a catalyst for concrete political projects, not abstract ideals;

• as a driver of institutional renewal, proposing realistic paths to strengthen the Union.

This relaunch is not merely symbolic: it is a commitment to sustained, collective effort — to build a safer, fairer, and more united Europe for the generations to come.

Background and Objectives

The Final Program and Background Paper of the first General Meeting outlines both a diagnosis of the current European context and a roadmap for action:

• Economic sovereignty and competitiveness – Europe must complete the Single Market and advance towards a true economic union: banking, capital markets, and fiscal integration, including a genuine European fiscal capacity to finance strategic investments.

• Common defence and security – Strengthen integration among defence industries, coordinate procurement and operational planning within the EU, while maintaining close cooperation with NATO.

• Enlargement and neighbourhood – Prepare the Union for new accessions (Ukraine, Western Balkans, and others), with clear criteria and adequate institutional capacity. The neighbourhood policy must increasingly be treated as an extension of Europe’s internal affairs.

• Democracy, rights, and values – Uphold the rule of law, counter populism and disinformation, promote media pluralism, civic participation, and European education.

• Political union and treaty reform – The next leap in integration requires institutional innovation: moving beyond unanimity, using reinforced cooperation and qualified-majority decision-making to enable concrete progress.

• Europe’s global role – The EU must assume responsibility for shaping global governance, promoting multilateralism, reforming international institutions, and building alliances with democratic partners.

The paper stresses that Europe’s multiple crises — from war at its borders to climate change, technological competition, and democratic fatigue — demand not only vision, but also executive capacity and political will. The Action Committee is being revived as a platform to transform analysis into action, renewing the spirit of Monnet’s original initiative for the 21st century.