XIX UEF European Congress

3.1 General policy resolution

Title: A New Drive Towards a European Federation in 2004
Outcome: adopted unanimously.

The resolution:

• reaffirmed a European Federation as UEF's objective, encompassing member states, candidate countries and future members;
• proposed subsidiarity, a federal government responsible to a bicameral legislature consisting of a house of citizens and a house of states;
• called for the intergovernmental method to be superseded by democratic and effective federal institutions;
• linked federation to governance of the euro, economic recovery, security and a unified foreign policy;
• judged previous reforms inadequate and the Nice outcome a setback in several respects;
• called for a European constitutional process and, if some states refused, an open federal vanguard;
• urged governments, parliamentarians and UEF sections to relaunch European unification.

3.2 Campaign resolution

Title: For a European Federal Constitution
Outcome: adopted unanimously.

The Congress confirmed the second phase of the UEF-JEF campaign and mandated the new Bureau to:

• prepare a new appeal with JEF;
• define the essential elements of the Constitution: allocation of powers, Federal Assembly, Federal Government and Federal Court;
• approve a common action plan involving petitions, parliamentary intergroups, public debates, demonstrations and campaign material;
• press the Belgian Presidency and member-state governments before Laeken;
• organise a human chain in Laeken on 14 December;
• call on members of the future Convention to act as a constituent assembly and decide by majority;
• mobilise civil society and develop thematic “cahiers” showing the practical value of federation;
• establish an expert group to examine the legal relationship between a federal core and the wider Union.

3.3 Resolution on the Convention

Title: Resolution on the Convention
Outcome: the first five points were adopted by majority; a sixth point contained in the draft did not appear in the final text.

The adopted demands were:

1. the Convention should act as a constituent assembly and adopt a genuine draft Constitution by majority vote;
2. its outcome should be a coherent text, not a compilation of options;
3. it should include representatives of the European Parliament, national parliaments, governments and the Commission;
4. candidate countries, the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee should participate as non-voting observers with a consultative voice;
5. it should engage with civil society organised in a Forum and foster broad public debate throughout the member states.

3.4 Appeal for the European Centre of Culture in Geneva

Title: Appeal to the Swiss and Genevan Authorities for the Revival of the Centre Européen de la Culture
Outcome: the UEF dossier labels it unanimously approved; the contemporary report describes it as a recommendation accepted by the Congress.

It called on the Swiss and Genevan authorities to prevent the closure of the Centre founded by Denis de Rougemont in 1950, regarded as a symbol of intercultural dialogue and Switzerland's contribution to European unification.

Document not adopted as a Congress resolution

The draft resolution proposing a new Delors Plan for growth, competitiveness and employment was not adopted by the Congress. It was referred to the Federal Committee as a recommendation for further debate.

Friday, 12 October - opening and reports

The solemn opening session was held in the European Economic and Social Committee's Europe Room.

• 14:00 - arrival and registration.
• 15:00 - welcome addresses by Jo Leinen, Fernand Herman, Jacques Santer, Göke Frerichs and Peter Thomas.
• 15:25 - video message from Nicole Fontaine, President of the European Parliament.
• 15:30-17:00 - round table on the future European political Union with Annemie Neyts for the Belgian Presidency, Christine Roger for Commissioner Michel Barnier, Jos Chabert for the Committee of the Regions and Göke Frerichs for the Economic and Social Committee.
• 17:15 - formal opening, appointment of session chairs and adoption of the rules of procedure.
• 17:30 - political report by UEF President Jo Leinen.
• 18:00 - activity report by UEF Secretary-General Bruno Boissière.
• 18:30 - financial report by Treasurer Rogier Chorus: management and accounts for 1999-2000, discharge and 2001 budget.
• 19:00 - general debate on the reports, followed by implementation decisions and closure.

Saturday, 13 October - committees, debate and ballot

The Congress moved to the European Parliament's Eastman Building, Room 300.

09:00-12:30 - three working committees

1. “After the introduction of the euro: now a European Federal Constitution.”
   Moderator: Martine Méheut. Introductions by Elmar Brok, Paul Magnette and Sergio Pistone; rapporteur Otto Schmuck.
2. “Which Europe? Social solidarity, sustainable development, employment and consumer protection.”
   Moderator: Thomas Jansen. Contributions by Ortrun Gauper, Fernand Herman, Jean Nestor and Franco Spoltore; rapporteur Honoré de Munck.
3. “Fortress Europe or open space? Immigration, asylum and cultural diversity in a federal Europe.”
   Moderator: Philipp Agathonos. Contributions by Raimondo Cagiano, Ozan Ceyhun and John Parry. The contemporary Italian account names Alfonso Sabatino as rapporteur, while the earlier archival programme named Lucio Levi.

Afternoon

• 14:00 - deadline for statutory election nominations.
• 14:30 - Pro Merito Altiero Spinelli medals awarded to Rudolf Dumont du Voitel and Henri Cartan; reports from the three committees.
• 16:30 - debate on the general policy motion, committee reports and other motions.
• 18:30-19:30 - end of debate, amendment deadline, opening and closing of the ballot, vote count.
• 19:00 - meeting of the Resolutions Committee.
• 20:30 - joint dinner.

Sunday, 14 October - decisions and closing

• 09:00 - delegation meetings and announcement of election results.
• 09:30 - votes on amendments and motions.
• 11:00 - closing session chaired by Francesco Rossolillo. Paolo Vacca spoke for JEF, Enrique Barón Crespo represented the International European Movement and Keith Best represented the World Federalist Movement. The latter two replaced José María Gil-Robles and Peter Ustinov, who had been listed in the programme.
• 12:00 - closing address by Jo Leinen.
• 12:30 - end of the Congress.
• 13:30-14:30 - first meeting of the new Federal Committee, which elected the Bureau and Treasurer.

4.1 Officers and Bureau elected by the new Federal Committee

• President: Jo Leinen, re-elected.
• Vice-Presidents: Philipp Agathonos; Sergio Pistone.
• Secretary-General: Bruno Boissière.
• Treasurer: Honoré de Munck.
• Bureau members: Philipp Agathonos; Fernand Herman; Alfonso Iozzo; Richard Laming; Massimo Malcovati; Marc-Oliver Pahl; Elke Pütz; Sergio Pistone; G. Spätli; Paolo Vacca.
• The JEF President was an ex officio member of the Bureau.
• Honorary Committee members entitled to intervene: Caterina Chizzola, John Parry, John Pinder, Francesco Rossolillo and Klaus Schöndube.

Political report and opening

Jo Leinen described federalists as forerunners of political Europe and advocates of its most innovative ideas. His report placed the Congress on the road from Nice to Laeken: the intergovernmental method had produced inadequate results, while enlargement, the euro and the international crisis made a constituent reform urgent.

The political core of his intervention, as recoverable from the contemporary account and adopted resolutions, was:

• the Convention should not prepare merely another treaty revision but should receive and exercise a constituent mandate;
• its output should be a clear and coherent federal Constitution;
• the European Parliament and a Council transformed into a House of States should share legislative power, with a democratically accountable federal government;
• Europe needed governing capacity over the euro, foreign policy, security and major global challenges;
• if unanimity proved impossible, willing countries should form an open federal vanguard.

Closing address

Leinen concluded that the Congress had defined the institutional project and that the next task was to develop its substantive policies. He urged the Convention to become a constituent assembly, produce one coherent constitutional text and adopt it by majority vote. He reaffirmed the proposal for a vanguard group of states and outlined a demanding programme of federalist work up to the next Congress.

Bruno Boissière delivered the report on the supranational UEF's activities in 1999-2001, described by the contemporary account as an organisational report. The full text is catalogued in UEF-782 but is not digitally available.

The available evidence shows that his intervention linked the organisational review to the new campaign phase:

• coordinate the work of national sections at European level;
• build on the first phase of the UEF-JEF constitutional campaign launched in 1998;
• move from a general slogan to an operational programme before and after Laeken;
• strengthen cooperation with JEF, the European Parliament's “European Constitution” Intergroup, national parliamentarians and civil society;
• translate the federalist goal into visible activities: an appeal, political pressure, the Laeken demonstration, public debates, common campaign material and thematic “cahiers”;
• advocate a constituent mandate for the Convention and majority voting.

Boissière also introduced the campaign resolution in plenary; it was subsequently adopted unanimously. His report therefore served as the operational bridge between the President's political line and the organisational instruments entrusted to the new Bureau and the national sections.