News of Europe | 15/2023

Dear readers,

Brussels woke up this morning in terror after a gunfire took the lives of two Swedish nationals. The UEF sends its condolences to the families of the victims.

And now, to your newsletter,

Last week, the UEF's Political Commission on Institutional Affairs hosted a live debate on the AFCO Report and the Process for Treaty Reform. You can hear the recording here.

A welcome surprise is coming out from Poland. The Civic Coalition (KO) led by former Council of Europe President Donald Tusk ousted the ruling Law & Justice (PiS) government. We welcome Poland back at the EU leadership table. Now, the real challenges start: How will the next government revert to liberal democracy and safeguard pro-EU sentiments in Poland?

After the electoral success of populist Robert Fico in Slovakia (see last week's News of Europe), the Party of European Socialists suspended the membership of Slovak parties Smer and Hlas. Both parties, the party of the EU parliamentary group Socialist and Democrats (S&D) argued, departed from socialist values and failed to pro-Russian propaganda. “The recent public comments and positions taken by SMER and HLAS party leaders regarding the Russian war against Ukraine, migration, the rule of law and the LGTBIQ community have raised serious concerns and have no place in the progressive family,” the party said. 

Don't forget that the UEF's Political Commission on Rule of Law, Values & European Cohesion (PC2) will debate the elections in Slovakia, with Norbert Kucharik and Eszter Nagy, on Wednesday 18 October at 18:00. Register here.

On Thursday from 9 a.m. the European Parliament's Constitutional Committee will debate the draft report for the amendments of the treaty. Follow live on the European Parliament's website.

In addition to the PC2 debate on Wednesday evening (see above), the UEF is inviting you to a live debate on the Policy Solutions for Restoring Growth and Competitiveness in Europe organised by the Political Commission on Economic, Fiscal Policies & Social Policies (PC4), on Tuesday 17 October, 18:00 (register here) and to a joint event with the World Federalist Movement on Thursday 19 October, 17:00: Ecological agriculture and the Earth constitution (More info and registration here).

We hope to see you there.

If you don't know what to read this week, let it be this manifesto by Jean-Claude Juncker, Pierre Moscovici, Mario Monti; et al. (more than 30 names): The European Union at the time of the New Cold War: A Manifesto. "A new world order is in the making and, if the EU remains a half-baked construction, it will not play a role in shaping it" the authors argue. But "a gradual and pragmatic federalism" could help, they conclude, listing seven ways to enhance the EU's capabilities.

If you have some more time on your hands, we strongly recommend you take a look at Luca Lionello's note on the European Parliament's draft report on the amendment of the treaties.

Luca Lionello is a Researcher of European Union Law at the “Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore” of Milan, and Chair of the Political Commission on Economic, Fiscal Policies & Social Policies of the Federal Committee of the Union of European Federalists (UEF).

To exchange with the author, see you tonight (18:00 CET) at the UEF's Political Commission on Economic, Fiscal Policies & Social Policieslive debate.

Thank you for your continuous readership. Let us know what you think of News of Europe at this link.
Federalist regards,

Alexandre Météreau
on behalf of the UEF Secretariat