September-November 2023 | Support the EU Parliament proposal of Treaty reform

On 14 September 2023, a draft report was presented to the Constitutional Affairs Committee (AFCO) of the European Parliament with a federal reform of the Treaties.

The proposal represents an extremely advanced federal reform project of the Union, capable of establishing a democratically legitimized European sovereignty.

This important result was possible largely thanks to the debate that took place during the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) and the conclusions reached by CoFoE itself, which AFCO's proposal aims to follow up on.

At this historic moment let's make our support to the European Parliament heard!

Just as happened years ago with the Spinelli Project, European federalists are once again called to create consensus on the proposal:

• among CITIZENS, so that they know the proposal which is not currently disseminated by the mass media;
• among the POLITICAL CLASS (in particular the European parliamentarians) to ask to support this relationship.

Foreword by the President of the UEF, Domènec Ruiz Devesa

Dear Federalist friends,

Dear Federalist comrades,

I would venture to say that we are living in a difficult momentum of human history, in which the European Union needs to readapt its institutional framework and decision- making to meet the dramatic challenges that threaten the resilience of our democracy.

In the upcoming weeks in fact, will take place in the committee on Constitutional Affairs and then in the plenary of the European Parliament the vote on the report on the amendments to the Treaties, following the Conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe. As you know, it is a courageously federalist text, and the outcome of the joint work by the five rapporteurs representing all the pro-European forces present in Parliament. We believe that this Parliament proposal will constitute a milestone to launch the Convention to reform the Treaties and an inspiration for coherent reforms that will change to strengthen the federal nature of our Union.

For the European federalists, it is therefore essential to work in these weeks to broaden the consensus towards these proposals as much as possible, making them known, highlighting their importance and contacting MEPs and MPs in the various countries to make them feel the relevance with respect to the choices that we will make in Parliament.As UEF President, I will keep fighting I for myself both within our organisation and in the European Parliament, and also vis-à-vis the other EU institutions and our partners, for receiveing the support that this Parliament proposal deserves. And I encourage you, at your level, and in your sections, to do the same. I fully aware that I can count on all of you, on your everyday work in your national and local sections to carry out our message.

Yes to a more democratic Europe fully capable to act, Yes to a federal Europe.

Federalist regards

Domènec Ruiz Devesa

Foreword by the Chair of the Spinelli Gruop, Sandro Gozi

Dear Friends,

as federalists we have in front of us an extraordinary opportunity, which we have built together with tenacity and intelligence by working within the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe and within the European Parliament. The UEF, which I have had the honour to represent in these years, and the Spinelli Group, of which I am currently the Chair, have worked in synergy and now have to face this extraordinary challenge together.

Precisely for this reason, last 3 October, in Strasbourg, as Board of the Spinelli Group, together with the UEF, we invited the rapporteurs of the proposal for the modification of the Treaties to present their work before the Spinelli Group and the other MEPs.

On this occasion, I wished to recall the contribution of our Intergroup in promoting this report and I recalled the role we must play in supporting this proposal, first in AFCO and then in plenary, in November, so that it can receive a broad consensus. Once the parliamentary steps have been taken, the Spinelli Group will continue to play a role in the procedures leading to the request for a Convention.

Our goal must first and foremost be to show that Parliament presents a united front on treaty reform. We must not take this for granted, although the fact that the five main political families in Parliament have worked together, and are presenting themselves together to defend this courageous proposal is a good signal in the direction of the will of the pro-European parties to fight for a more democratic and sovereign Europe - a federal Europe.

You can count on me and on our commitment as the Spinelli Group. It is a commitment we also owe to the European citizens, who need concrete and democratic solutions to their everyday problems. We owe it to European civil society, which sees in the reform of the Treaties an instrument to defend democracy and the rule of law throughout the continent. We owe it to our friends in Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans, who see in a reformed and sovereign Union a beacon of hope, freedom and prosperity.

But it is also a commitment we owe to you, the countless activists in the federalist cause, who tirelessly, and for many years, have demanded, supported, demonstrated, and backed a reform that will finally enable Europe to live up to its ambitions.

Together we will succeed. As Altiero Spinelli wrote in the Manifesto o Ventotene: The road ahead is neither easy nor safe; but it must be travelled and it will be!

Federalist regards

Sandro Gozi