The Union of European Federalists (UEF) calls on the European Commission to take a step forward by requesting for a Health Union on the basis of Art. 168.5 TFEU in its next proposal for a regulation on severe cross-border health threats:
“Since the beginning of this unprecedented pandemic crisis, Europe has become its global epicentre. The second wave of the COVID-19 is ferociously sweeping the continent, while at the same time drastically reshaping the lives of our European citizens and our European way of life. It is time to act together, with common guidelines and a single regulation in the fight against the virus, to avoid discrepancies that weaken our capacity of reaction”, UEF President and Member of the European Parliament Sandro GOZI says.
"We federalists have been convening, with particular emphasis in these last months, on the urgency to launch a Health Union, necessary to strengthen the mandate of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Art. 168. 5 TFEU provides the legal framework to establish it, on the basis of the principle of subsidiarity, which means that each problem must be tackled at the level where it can be better solved. Since pandemics know no borders, the key to a lasting solution lies with the Health Union as part of a stronger social and political integration at European level”, continues GOZI.
“And the truth is that we are not the only ones who believe this. The Health Union was presented as a key reform by the Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union Speech in September 2020”, emphasizes GOZI.
President von der Leyen said: “For me, it is crystal clear - we need to build a stronger European Health Union. And to start making this a reality, we must now draw the first lessons from the health crisis”.
UEF reiterates the call on the European institutions to agree on an interinstitutional declaration on the Conference on the Future of Europe.
“It is therefore we demand and expect to see the European Commission's lead on this urgent matter to advance health guarantees for European citizens. In this sense, we call again on the German Presidency of the Council to call for the Conference on the Future of Europe to be launched as soon as possible, to involve citizens in the debate on how to build a stronger European Union”, GOZI concludes.
Background information
The Federal Committee of UEF adopted on the 4th of July its resolution “Europe, think the unthinkable!”, in which UEF calls for the launch of a Health Union, among other important and urgent proposals.
Earlier in spring, UEF together with The Spinelli Group called on the European institutions and the national governments to adopt a series of urgent measures.
The Union of European Federalists (UEF) welcomes the positive outcome of the Multiannual Financial Framework's political agreement for 2021-2027 and new Own Resources.
Following ten weeks of intensive talks, the Parliament's budget negotiators' decision with the Presidency of the Council regarding the confirmation for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF 2021-2027), represents a significant win for Europe and its citizens:
"Today, Europe has historically won with this agreement. After weeks of negotiations, we finally have a political compromise that can live up to the European citizens' expectations and challenges our current times,” says GOZI. “Thanks to the European Parliament’s commitment, this package is bigger than the one presented by national governments in the summer; for that, I warmly congratulate the EP budget negotiators to make possible this historic step for a federal Europe together with the Council Presidency,” continues GOZI.
“Ambitious ideas on common debt and new own resources to get out of the crisis, solidarity, and digital and ecological transformation are exactly what we as federalists have been convening,” states UEF President and Member of the European Parliament Sandro GOZI. "Recalling on new resources, we as federalists are very pleased to see that the agreement ensures and increases the budget allocated to the major top-ups of EU flagship programes like Horizon, Erasmus+ which were about to pay the price for the health crisis we are currently facing, jeopardizing our current and future generations of Europeans,” stresses GOZI. “Moreover, we have a clear timetable for the introduction of fiscal justice and ecological transition. UEF will be closely following and advocating to make sure that the Commission and the Council will fully respect the calendar to implement them."
“The next clear step forward to consolidate this path is the need to give the European Parliament the power to share decisions on own resources. UEF fully backs the European Parliament’s legislative resolution that implies a Treaty reform on this regard,” says GOZI. “We reiterate our call on the German Presidency of the Council to launch the Conference on the Future of Europe with celerity, to involve citizens and the civil society in the debate on how to build a stronger European Union”, concludes GOZI.
The UEF urges the European Parliament, as a matter of necessity and urgency, to fight for genuine European own resources that are designed, collected, and managed at the European level. An urgent need is even more pressing in the event of establishing the Recovery Fund in the form proposed by the Commission – thus launching the debate for the creation of an autonomous fiscal capacity of the EU.
The board of the Spinelli Group, network of federalist and pro-reform Members of the European Parliament, gathered on Wednesday 21 October, in videoconference, to set up its programme of activities until the end of the Parliamentary mandate. The meeting was the opportunity to discuss recent EU developments, including democracy, the negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework, Next Generation EU, the system of own resources, the Rule of Law mechanism, the Electoral Law and transnational lists, as well as the Conference on the Future of Europe, within which the Group aims to play a central role and lead the discussions in the European Parliament, coordinating with the like-minded elected Members in national parliaments and at local level.
The Spinellist MEPs have agreed to assign the Presidency of the Group to a representative of the main political Groups in the EP in a rotating system of a period of 9 months. The S&D Group will take the Chair for the first phase, formally starting on November 2nd. Brando Benifei (IT) was endorsed by the colleagues to take the place of former liberal MEP and EPC Visiting Fellow, Andrew Duff, as Chair of the Spinelli Group. Members have also agreed to entrust the Secretariat of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) with organisational and logistical support, considering to also enlarge the internal structure to support the many projects to be pursued for next years.
The following MEPs that are part of the board of the Spinelli Group were present at the meeting: Danuta Huebner, Sven Simon, Radek Sikorsi (EPP); Gaby Bischoff, Domènec Ruiz Devesa, Brando Benifei (S&D); Guy Verhofstadt, Sandro Gozi, (Renew); Sven Giegold, Daniel Freund, Damian Boeselager (Greens/EFA); Dimitris Papadimoulis, Helmut Scholz (GUE). Former Chair Andrew Duff also attended.
THE SPINELLI GROUP AND THE UNION OF EUROPEAN FEDERALISTS LAUNCH A JOINT STATEMENT ON THE STATE OF THE UNION AND NEXT GENERATION EU 2020
The Spinelli Group and UEF welcome the “more than ever before” ambitious State of the Union speech on 16 September 2020 by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s. The speech took place 500 days after the European elections and in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Together with the adoption of the “Hamiltonian” recovery instrument Next Generation EU by the European Council, an economic stimulus of € 750 billion on top of the MFF for 2021-2027 that we strongly believe is a clear step towards a Federal Europe, we would like to draw attention to a number of worthy proposals stated by President von der Leyen during this year’s Debate on the State of the Union. We would also like to highlight that many of them had already been proposed by The Spinelli Group:
- The establishment of a European Health Union
- The transformation of the European economy through the recovery plan to meet climate objectives
- The adoption of a European Directive on fair minimum wages
- Aiming at an increased emissions reduction target for 2030 to at least 60%, instead of 40% as planned.
- The strengthening of the European cultural dimension through the creation of a new European Bauhaus.
- The need for the completion of a New Pact on Migration in 2021 along with a Strategy on the future of Schengen evaluation mechanism as well as concrete proposals aimed at creating safe and legal channels for migrants.
- Boosting initiatives against racism, “LGBT-free zones” and anti-Semitism
- The activation of a qualified majority in the Council, at least, for the adoption of common rules on sanctions for Human Rights violations (Navalny Act)
- The introduction of new guidelines for the strengthening of the Union’s multilateral system, showing firmness towards Russia and a sustainable solution with Turkey
“Whereas these proposals are of the utmost importance for the democratic life and values of our Union, they have to be implemented in time to be properly called reforms which push towards a federal Europe”, says MEP Sandro Gozi, President of Union of European Federalists (UEF) and member of The Spinelli Group “The EU needs a stronger 2021-2027 MFF supporting strategic EU Programmes and must launch the Conference on the Future of Europe as soon as possible”, continues Gozi. “In addition, among other things, NextGenerationEU needs to be approved with a legally binding calendar for the introduction of new own resources.”
“Von der Leyen's speech conveyed the need to increase Europe's unity of action. The President's message was clear: Together we are stronger. The anti-crisis response should be an opportunity to boosting the EU’s ecological and digital transitions, but also to complete the nascent financial Union with a stronger political Union. This can only be done through the reflection and debate on treaty changes, that can finally lead to the construction of a federal Europe”, says MEP Doménec Ruiz Devesa, member of The Spinelli Group and UEF.
“Europe cannot afford to waste any more time. Any time missed jeopardizes our European project. Imminent problems needs common European solutions, discussed in an open and constructive way in a new and innovative exchange with EU citizens: we must start the Conference on the Future of Europe. We call on the German Presidency of the Council to ensure that the Conference is launched this autumn with an interinstitutional declaration in autumn 2020”, concludes Gozi.
The Joint Statement can be downloaded here.
Below the PDF version of this article.
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"On 6 August, we remember the demonstration of 300 students from different European countries at the German-French border in St. Germanshof/Wissembourg 70 years ago. The young people sawed the border trees there and called for the opening of the borders and a united Europe," says Sandro Gozi, President of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and Member of the European Parliament. “For young people, open borders are now normality. But the Corona pandemic this spring has briefly upset this normality, which the Schengen area has offered us since 25 years.”
“The border regions have suffered particularly badly during this period. Nowhere else can Europe be experienced and felt on a daily basis and has already grown together as much as in the border regions. Border closures have not only led to considerable economic damage, to considerably impair of the mobility of hundreds of thousands of border commuters, but also to separation of whole families. Good neighbourly trust has been damaged. This must not happen again and it will not happen again," Sandro Gozi is convinced. "The corona virus knows no borders and cannot be contained by closing internal borders.”
“Open borders have always been a core concern for us, European federalists”, stresses Sandro Gozi. “I therefore welcome and strongly endorse the Press Release of the UEF sections from the Greater Region and the Upper Rhine Region, namely the regional UEF sections Europa-Union Baden-Württemberg, UEF Grand-Est, Europa-Union Luxembourg, Europa-Union Rheinland-Pfalz, Europa-Union Saar and the UEF sections UEF Belgium, UEF France and UEF Luxembourg on the occasion of 6 August students demonstrations 70 years ago.”
“The pandemic has become a stress test for Europe," continues Sandro Gozi. "The crisis can only be overcome by joint European action. As the Press Release states there can no longer be any national go-it-alone initiatives by the Member States and if limited restrictions on rights and freedoms can be considered temporarily necessary to protect against the epidemic, they must be implemented in the form of coordinated European measures. Priority must be given to cross-border initiatives to prevent or contain the pandemic“.
"The crisis can only be overcome by joint European action” concludes Sandro Gozi. “Against this background, the UEF welcomed the agreement of the European Council on 21 July 2020 to introduce the new Next Generation EU fund proposed by the European Commission as one expression of European solidarity. However, the crisis also shows us the urgent need for reform of the European Union. It is therefore time to reopen the construction site of the Treaties and to give strong support to the political-institutional reforms which will make it possible, first of all, to give the European Union a fiscal competence and to move towards political union through a profound reform of the European Union, without being held up by those for whom the new vision of Europe is not yet mature, but to organise the Conference on the Future of Europe along these lines. This is where also the border regions have an important role to play.”
Brussels, 5th August 2020
*The Saarland section of the European Federalists re-enacted scenes from that historical day for the European unification at the main French-German border crossing point "Brême d'Or / Goldene Bremm" between Saarbruecken and Forbach. (photo: Werner Hillen/Europa-Union Saar).
EDITOR’S NOTE:
The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is a pan-European, non-governmental political organisation dedicated to the promotion of European political unity. For more than 70 years UEF has been a leading voice in the promotion of European unity and an early campaigner for key milestones in the development of the European Communities and then the European Union. With 25 national sections and over 400 local groups across Europe, UEF promotes a federal Europe among citizens and political representatives at all levels of government.
PRESS CONTACT
Anna Echterhoff
anna.echterhoff@federalists.eu
On the 25th of May 2020, the European Federalists sent an open letter to MEPs calling on the European Parliament to propose the required amendment to the Treaties and asking the other EU institutions to commence the related process of treaty revision. We received today the reply by David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament. After thanking UEF for the commitment to the European project, he stresses on the need to have a successful Conference on the Future of Europe and on the key role that the Parliament will have.
Therefore, the support and inputs of CSOs like UEF are essential to make the Conference on the Future of Europe a success, meeting the expectations of the citizens. We need, now more than ever, a stronger Union.
Brussels, Monday 27th July 2020
The Union of European Federalists (UEF) welcomes the fact that after four days of very tough negotiations, national governments in the European Council have agreed on measures to launch the new Fund proposed by the European Commission, Next Generation EU.
"The Fund maintains its ambitious scope, with innovative financing through common debt and a dimension capable of providing concrete responses to this very serious crisis, strongly orienting the recovery towards the plan for the ecological transformation of the economy; the crucial issue of own resources is now also on the table, though as UEF we urge for a clearer and tighter calendar to implement them.” Sandro Gozi, President of the UEF and Member of the European Parliament, stresses. "However, there are some shadows in this agreement that need to be highlighted. The Multiannual Financial Framework has been significantly scaled down compared to the indications of the European Parliament and the Commission's proposals, especially for the cut in the programmes for health, research, external action and migration policy, all strategic policies sacrificed on the altar of the "rigor" of "frugal" countries. Instead, they maintain the privilege of their "rebates", so dear to Margaret Thatcher, which is an indicative practice of the intergovernmental and selfish approach that characterizes them. We rely now on the EP to strengthen the agreement on MFF in order to ensure that EU can act effectively in the long run, beyond the urgency of the crisis. Finally, the softening of conditionality on the rule of law is a partial vulnus that should be noted. Here we urge the Commission and the German Presidency to present and discuss very quickly a specific and effective proposal".
"The real knot," continues Sandro Gozi, "is that the critical issues that emerged in the negotiations are yet another demonstration that the decision-making system on which the European Union is based is totally inadequate. If the EU wants to be a community of destiny and if it wants to have an authoritative presence in the world, it cannot remain a prisoner of intergovernmental mechanisms that try to reduce it to a sum of nation states. Until the EU is endowed with fiscal autonomy and the possibility to take action directly, both the right of veto of each member state and the priority for each government to negotiate in the name of the interest of its own country before the common one will never be eliminated, de facto before de jure".
"The time has come, therefore, to reopen the construction site of the Treaties and to strongly support the political-institutional reforms that will allow, first of all, to endow the European Union with fiscal competence, and to start the path towards political union through a far-reaching reform of the European Union, without being stopped by those who have not yet matured the new vision of Europe, but focusing in this direction the Conference on the future of Europe that we hope can begin as soon as possible".
Brussels, Tuesday 21st July 2020
EDITOR’S NOTE:
The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is a pan-European, non-governmental political organisation dedicated to the promotion of European political unity. For more than 70 years UEF has been a leading voice in the promotion of European unity and an early campaigner for key milestones in the development of the European Communities and then the European Union. With 25 national sections and over 400 local groups across Europe, UEF promotes a federal Europe among citizens and political representatives at all levels of government.
PRESS CONTACT
secretariat@federalists.eu
+32.2.5083030
The European Federalists call on the European Parliament to propose a limited but radical Treaty revision: a reform of the system of EU own resources to abolish unanimity and agreement of national parliaments on the establishment of new EU resources to back new EU debt issuance.
The ongoing discussion on the creation of new financial instruments to address the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis, and in particular the recent joint proposals by the French and German governments for a EUR 500 billion Recovery Fund funded by the issuance of European debt calls for a radical change in the European Union’s budget.
Sandro GOZI, MEP, President of the Union of European Federalists, stated today “The most urgent issue is certainly the creation of European resources so that the European Union can issued debt without asking higher contributions from Member States but establishing new financial resources at European level, in particular focusing on digital and financial giants and on polluters. This is the only way to ensure that any debt issued by the European Union can be guaranteed by and eventually repaid by the EU budget and does not have to rely on direct or indirect guarantees by Member States and their ability to repay such debt”.
To this end, however, it is essential to reform the Treaties, and in particular the decision-making on the establishment of new European sources of revenues amending only a few specific articles of the Treaties to ensure that the European Parliament and the Council by majority vote can establish Union's own resources and at the same time eliminating the need for agreement by the national parliament of the Member States.
Such a reform would establish an autonomous fiscal capacity of the European Union as indispensable contribution to the long-term sustainability of the new financial instruments currently under negotiation as well as to a qualitative and quantitative transformation of the European budget.
In an open letter to MEPs today, the European Federalists call on the European Parliament to propose the required amendment to the Treaties and ask the other EU institutions to commence the related process of treaty revision.
The rapid implementation of fiscal union is also the premise and the basis for the opening of the institutional work in view of the Conference on the future of Europe, that can then focus on achieving a true political union. The European Parliament has the democratic legitimacy and the institutional vocation to impose such an agenda on the Conference, and to elaborate and propose to the other European institutions and the Conference a project for a European Federal Constitution - similarly to what it did in the first legislature under the leadership of Altiero Spinelli.
Brussels, Monday 25th May 2020
EDITOR’S NOTE:
The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is a pan-European, non-governmental political organisation dedicated to the promotion of European political unity. For more than 70 years UEF has been a leading voice in the promotion of European unity and an early campaigner for key milestones in the development of the European Communities and then the European Union. With 25 national sections and over 400 local groups across Europe, UEF promotes a federal Europe among citizens and political representatives at all levels of government.
PRESS CONTACT
Valentina Presa
valentina.presa@federalists.eu
+32.2.5083030
Yesterday’s proposal by France and Germany for a €500 billion Recovery Fund to address the economic consequences of the coronavirus crisis is finally opening the doors for a real European response to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic and can be the beginning of a real fiscal Union.
"A Recovery Fund, financed through the issuance of EU debt, backed by the possible introduction of new EU taxes on digital giants, big firms and polluters, and used for a direct European economic response to the crisis through the EU budget, has the potential to transform our Union fundamentally” - says SANDRO GOZI, President of the Union of European Federalists - "Europe is finally getting serious with a fund of the considerable size of €500bn, real “new money”, nor recycled funds or financial engineering. Issuing European debt in such a proportion recognizes the principle that European public goods require European financing and European actions. It is a real revolution that Germany has recognized the advantage of common European borrowing. It implies rebuilding common trust and bet on a common future. It is also crucial that the money will be provided as spending under the EU budget and grants, not loans to member states that would only cripple national finances. This is European solidarity which in the long run will benefit every European citizen. The Fund will change fundamentally the way the European Union finances itself. It will be a precedent for the future and can pave the way to further and deeper EU reforms".
“Focusing the use of the Recovery Fund to finance the green and digital transition everywhere in Europe and make it a permanent and not a temporary instrument would further increase its potential to make the Union stronger than before. The European Green Deal and Digital Pact can be our new 'Coal and Steel' of this century, almost 70 years from the Treaty of Paris” concluded Sandro GOZI. “We encourage the other EU institutions and member states to endorse the proposals submitted by France and Germany and move to a fast implementation of the Fund in 2020” .
Brussels, Tuesday 19th May 2020
EDITOR’S NOTE:
The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is a pan-European, non-governmental political organisation dedicated to the promotion of European political unity. For more than 70 years UEF has been a leading voice in the promotion of European unity and an early campaigner for key milestones in the development of the European Communities and then the European Union. With 25 national sections and over 400 local groups across Europe, UEF promotes a federal Europe among citizens and political representatives at all levels of government.
PRESS CONTACT
Valentina Presa
valentina.presa@federalists.eu
+32.2.5083030