Press Release - Union of European Federalists

Sandro GOZI, President of the Union of European Federalists, welcomes President Macron’s new initiative for a European renaissance, a direct letter to the citizens of Europe, published today on a number of European newspapers and invites European citizens to mobilize and support it.

“European Renaissance! With great courage and vision, today French President Emmanuel Macron is relaunching the Europe we want and for which we are fighting: a sovereign Europe, a Europe of citizens, of democracy and popular participation, which multiplies protection, security and freedom for Europeans.

Guaranteed minimum salary, new industrial policy, common defense, bank for climate, European right of asylum and common control of Europe external border: these are very concrete proposals, we have been proposing them for a long time and they respond to the new needs of European citizens.

The progressive platform proposed by President Macron can and must be the basis to build a new political majority in the European Parliament after the European elections, as we European Federalists propose in our Manifesto for the European elections.

A European Renaissance without taboos, and therefore including also a revision of the Treaties, with a new and strong popular participation from the beginning. A Conference for Europe, with representatives of the European institutions and the Member States, should be gathered before year-end, to prepare a roadmap for this political project. This is the only way for a real re-foundation of Europe.

We must now mobilize citizens across the continent to make these proposals a reality as soon as possible. We European Federalists are ready and will play our part in all the Member States of the Union”.

Read the letter here.

This Press Release is available in the following languages for download:

English: here

French: here

German: here

Italian: here

Spanish: here

UEF Manifesto for European Elections in : here

EDITORN'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.

Sandro GOZI is the President of Union of European Federalists, he was the Secretary of State for European Affairs in the Renzi and Gentiloni Governments (2014-2018) and Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies (2006-2018). Prior to that, he was a diplomat and then spent more than a decade in the European institutions notably as a European Commission official (1996-2000) and then as member of the Cabinet of European Commission President Romano Prodi (2000-2004) and advisor to European Commission President Jose Barroso.

Press contacts:

Bruxelles: Valentina Presa, valentina.presa@federalists.eu, +32.2.5083030

Rome: Lorena Vetro, vetrolorena@gmail.com, +39.338.7800683

“We respect the vote of the British Parliament yesterday but we regret it” says Sandro GOZI, President of the European Federalists.

“We respect the vote of the British Parliament yesterday but we regret it” says Sandro GOZI, President of the European Federalists. "A Hard Brexit is a self-made disaster caused by nationalists and Eurosceptics and their illusions of isolation from Europe. But Europe is strong and will become even stronger if it relaunches its integration to react to Brexit."

A no-deal Brexit will be extremely damaging for the United Kingdom as well as for the European Union and their citizens, so we urge the United Kingdom to clarify what it wants for its post-Brexit life. It is necessary to clarify as soon as possible the situation of the United Kingdom and more importantly the situation of British citizens living in the EU and of EU citizens living in the UK.

It is evident that much of what Brexiters promised cannot be achieved since a country that leaves the European Union cannot have similar benefits as a country which stays in the EU and fullfils its obligations. It is always very easy for populists to win a vote with impossible promises that cannot be fulfilled following the win. Brexit is the biggest but unfortunately not the only example of this. Across Europe nationalist and populist fueling Eurosceptism are playing with fire and should learn from the Brexit disaster.

We are a community of interests, values and destiny, which is almost impossible to disentangle without major damage. The EU's contribution to the daily life of all Europeans is much larger than it is given credit for: peace, free movement, no borders, one common currency, a common trade policy, programs such as Erasmus+ and structural funds, and a lot more which are direct solutions to today’s society’s needs. Abandoning all this for the illusions of national sovereignty is just suicidal. The European Union needs reforms and a relaunch, to be more effective, democratic, social, but progress can only come with moving integration forward. Europe shall go on!

Click here for Italian version.

Click here for French version.

EDITORN'S NOTE

Press contacts:

Bruxelles: Valentina Presa, valentina.presa@federalists.eu, +32.2.5083030

Rome: Lorena Vetro, vetrolorena@gmail.com, +39.338.7800683

“Today’s decision of the Eurosummit to start a process to create a budgetary instrument for the Eurozone is a first step, but there is a long way to go” says Sandro GOZI, President of the European Federalists. “To really fix the shortcomings of the Economic and Monetary Union, bolder decisions are needed now on the use, size and governance of the Eurozone budget. And we should have the courage to call it that way!”

The European Federalists recall their proposals in a letter to the members of the European Council sent before the meeting:

Size matters. A Eurozone budget needs to be sizable enough to make a difference and can’t be doomed to be too small because it is capped within the European Union budget.
The right use matters. A Eurozone budget should be used not only for promoting convergence and competitiveness of Member States’ economy but also for stabilization when one or more countries are hit by a crisis.
Democracy matters. New money for the Eurozone should not be managed by governments only. As the core of the EU, the Eurozone must also be democratic: the European Commission and the European Parliament should have on the Eurozone budget the same competences they have on the EU budget and also on how it is financed.

We urge the Heads of State or Governments to properly address these challenges and really take a final decision next June. European citizens expect reforms for a Europe that works and they won’t wait forever.

EDITORN'S NOTE

Press contacts:

Bruxelles: Valentina Presa, valentina.presa@federalists.eu, +32.2.5083030

Rome: Lorena Vetro, vetrolorena@gmail.com, +39.338.7800683

The European Federalists set out their proposals in an open letter to the Heads of State and Government.

“The political agenda of these days is dominated by Brexit, but it is the decisions on the Eurozone that will make the upcoming European Council and Eurosummit a success or failure” states Sandro GOZI, President of the Union of European Federalists. “After years of discussions and long negotiations, there is no reason to further postpone or water-down decisions needed to fix the architecture and policies of the Eurozone. We need to seize this opportunity as long as the current economic upswing lasts”.

The European Federalists set out their proposals in an open letter to the Heads of State and Government:

The Banking Union needs to be supported as soon as possible by a common fiscal backstop.
The European Stability Mechanism should be able to support Member States in difficulty at an early stage and with more flexibility of action.
The European Commission and the European Parliament should have a greater role in designing, approving and implementing assistance programmes.
The Eurozone should have its own budget, prospectively financed by own resources, for investments but also for stabilization of the Eurozone economy. The proposals submitted by France and Germany are welcome but greater ambition is needed on the size, role and governance of the Eurozone budget.
A European unemployment (re)-insurance scheme could support Member States hit by high unemployment and help stabilizing the Eurozone economy.

Here the full text of the letter.

EDITORN'S NOTE

Press contacts:

Bruxelles: Valentina Presa, valentina.presa@federalists.eu, +32.2.5083030

Rome: Lorena Vetro, vetrolorena@gmail.com, +39.338.7800683

How long can Europe survive this never-ending impasse?

UEF Statement on the conclusions of the European Council meeting of 28 June 2018

Brussels, 2nd July 2018

In the struggle for finding a common solution to the migration crisis and enhancing border protection, once more the European Council has failed to deploy the political will and motivation to advance EU legislation in this matter. Though there has been progress in fields like fighting root causes in crisis-torn states and human trafficking, several member states of the Union still refuse to take responsibility and stand up for shared European solidarity. This state of play is quite shameful with regard to European Union governance.

On the Eurozone, then, there was a deadly silence…

Once more, thus, the heads of state and governments have been able only to decide, unanimously, not to decide…

“This European Union must become stronger before it is too late” comments Elmar Brok, President of the Union of the European Federalists. “More and more nationalists and populists are holding Europe hostage. The EU needs a leap forward, its governance must be strengthened by creating a genuine political union. This is the only solution, if we want Europe to be able to act effectively, and be closer to citizens.”

“This is also the reason why a reform of the Eurozone is so important” adds Brok. “In order to complete the EMU (Economic and Monetary Union) and make it more resilient and attractive, economic and political union is urgently needed. The Single Market at 27 can be deepened and improved, but it works quite well; it is when we have to deal with questions such as economic policies, or migration, or foreign and security policies, that Europe needs to become stronger and more united. The only way to begin strengthening the EU politically, is to start from the EMU framework.”

With the Meseberg declaration France and Germany have began showing the way. But more and concrete proposals are now necessary. On the occasion of the next European elections, parties supporting European unity must share a strong European political project: ranging from the Eurozone economic and political reform, to the changes necessary to make cooperation at European level much more effective in fields like migration or foreign and security policy.

“If we want to stop nationalism and populism, we must oppose them a strong European vision. Time is now, or it could be too late”, concludes Brok.

For more information:

news@federalists.eu or 0032 (0)2 508 30 30

The Union of European Federalists regrets that, at the informal European Council meeting in Brussels on Friday 23 February, the leaders of the EU Member States decided that they may disregard the result of the European elections and may appoint a President of the European Commission who is not the result of the vote of the European citizens.

Elmar Brok, President of the Union of European Federalists and long-time member of the European Parliament, declared “There is only one way to respect democracy and the result of the elections. The candidate proposed by the political party or alliance of political parties which receives the largest number of votes from European citizens must be tasked to try and form a majority in the European Parliament and, if s/he succeeds, s/he must be nominated by the European Council for election by the European Parliament to head the European Commission. The President of the Commission should be the result of the votes of the citizens and not of untransparent bargaining behind closed doors. There cannot be a way back from this system. It is a matter of respect of the treaties”.

Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the President of the European Commission must be nominated by the European Council on the basis of the result of the elections of the European Parliament and after consultation with it. In 2014, the Spitzenkandidaten process represented a significant democratic progress in the European elections and a step forward in reconnecting citizens with Europe and in giving Europe more legitimacy.

The European Council’s attempt to renegade this progress and disregard the citizens' vote must simply be ignored. The European Federalists call on the European Parliament to stick to its position, reaffirmed in its resolution of 7 February, that the process of the “leading candidates” must continue and the Parliament would reject any proposal of the European Council that does not respect it.

European political parties should nominate their leading candidates by the end of 2018 and then run a truly European election campaign to present their candidate to the citizens and explain which policies they want the European Union to deliver and how to change the European Union to make it able to deliver what it promises.

Forty years from the first direct election of the European Parliament, it is essential to try and make the European elections truly European, and no more a patchwork of national elections, prevent that citizens become even more disenfranchised from Europe, and give the European Union a stronger popular legitimacy for the choices ahead, including how to reform and relaunch itself toward a united and federal Union.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

The Union of European Federalists (UEF), is a supranational political movement dedicated to uniting Europe along federal lines. The UEF consists of 25 member organisations across Europe that are autonomous centres of the UEF activities, reaching out to EU citizens and spreading the federalists' message to them by organising various activities in their countries.

PRESS CONTACT:

+32 (0) 2 508 3030

news@federalists.eu

Sofia-Declaration of The Spinelli Group and the UEF

Faced with euroscepticism and even resurgent nationalism, unification of Europe is the greatest duty of our generation. Globalisation, the emergence of continent powers, the rise of protectionism outside Europe, global warming, migration and new security threats leave European states short of means to find suitable solutions to some of the most important challenges of our times on their own. European citizens share a community of fate. It is unquestionable that the failure of one country will mean the failure of the rest. Only through a common sense of belongingness will European citizens gain back the ability to decide on their destinies.

Far from being an option, European political integration is a crucial challenge. The Eurozone is weakened by poor fiscal integration and loose governance. The EU continues to underperform in foreign, security and defence policy. It struggles to agree common policies in the fields of asylum and immigration. Enlargement has almost ground to a halt. And Brexit exemplifies the risk of overall disintegration. Europeans cannot afford a new failure by their Governments to make the qualitative leap forward the EU requires.

The difficulty to effectively reform the EU in the latest years proves that the intergovernmental method of integration has reached its very limits. In a moment where European economies and societies are irreversibly and deeply intermingled, the legitimacy of the European project cannot be seen any longer as the sum of national democracies. Shared challenges are the basic foundation of political communities. And Europe is undeniably one. It is urgent that European leaders face this reality and act accordingly.

Increasing convergence between the positions of France and Germany, and among a much broader circle of member states, offers a once-in-a-generation window of opportunity that ought not to be missed. The time of small steps is over. The 2019 European elections need to be the turning point towards the final recognition of the sovereignty of the European people.

In reference to the European Treaty of Lisbon The Spinelli Group and the UEF request that, firstly, the Commission is elected by the European Parliament, and secondly that the European Council can propose only a candidate in accordance with the European elections and in consultation with the European Parliament.

We call on the European parties to nominate the candidates for the Commission President this year, so that the European citizens can make up their minds and decide whom they will support through the elections to the European Parliament. The European Parliament already declared that it will not elect any candidate arising from any other process.

The Spinelli Group calls on the Heads of State or Government meeting on 23rd February 2018 in Brussels to open the way for an ambitious reform of the European Union leading to a renewed legitimacy of its institutions and policies. This reform must be based on the principle of European sovereignty, which can be effective only through the representation of member states’ and European citizens’ interests on an equal footing and the implementation of all necessary measures to promote the development of a genuine European political space.

Andrew Duff,

President of The Spinelli Group

Elmar Brok,

President of the Union of European Federalists and Co-Chair of the MEP-Spinelli Group

Jo Leinen,

Member of the European Parliament and Co-Chair of the MEP-Spinelli Group

Andrey Kovatchev,

President of the Union of European Federalists Bulgaria

Elmar BROK, President of the Union of European Federalists, declared that the "Top Candidate Process" is already provided in the Treaty of Lisbon. The Treaty clearly states and makes mandatory that the European Parliament elects the president of the European Commission. The European Council is only entitled to propose a candidate, based on the European elections and after consulting the European Parliament. Therefore, it would infringe EU primary law if the European Council and the EU Member States frustrate this important process.

Brok stated that "the European political families are called upon to name their top candidates by the end of 2018. There have to be election campaigns of these top candidates in every EU Member State, so EU citizens are aware that they are voting for the next President of the European Commission. By involving them in the nomination of the next president, the election turnout will increase."

Today President Juncker has unveiled his proposals for EU institutional reforms feeding into the discussion expected to take place at the informal EU-27 meeting in Brussels on 23 February.

Dear Members of the European Parliament,

Next Wednesday you are called to vote on a resolution on the composition of the European Parliament. It includes provisions for the setup of a European constituency where members of the European Parliament could be elected on transnational lists. We believe this would be an important step to increase the European dimension of the European election, strengthen the European political parties and public debate, and give European citizens an additional tool to engage in European politics. We encourage you to vote in favor of the proposal and reject any amendment against the European constituency.

On the occasion, we would like to react to the puzzling arguments that some members of the EPP group have put forward against the ideas of transnational lists and European (joint) constituency in a video last week [31 January 2018]. See our answers below. You can also read our latest publication explaining how transnational lists are good for European democracy.

OUR ANSWERS TO THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUENCY

1. Such constituency would bypass the current link between the Members and their electorate. Therefore building up on a more distant and centralized Union, rather than a more democratic and accountable one.

This is not correct. The current link between MEPs elected in the national or local constituencies and their electorates would not change at all, as the current constituencies would not be affected by the creation of a European one and the election of additional MEPs. European citizens will continue to elect the same number of Members of the European Parliament in their national (or local) constituencies, like they have always done. Transnational lists ADD a further tool to European democracy and create an additional link between the local and the European level: by casting a SECOND vote for candidates presented on a transnational list, European citizens will double up their say on European political choices, without losing in any possible way their locally-based representation in the European Parliament. It will make Europe closer to its citizens, not more distant, more understandable, democratic and accountable, not less.

2. The transnational list would be perceived as a drift to centralism.

Just the opposite. National representation will continue to be the rule as the size of the pan-European constituency would be a very small fraction of the total size of national (/local) constituencies. It’s more likely that the transnational lists will be perceived as a further tool for citizens to better influence European choices and better participate in the European political system.

3. The list would most probably be utilized by populist movements that would then get further visibility and capitalize on extremist views around Europe.

Populists will be the losers. Populist movements are trapped in their nationalism and prosper on pretending to defend national interests against other national electorates. They would be divided and unable to play a role in transnational lists in a EU-wide constituency. Populist movements will be fought off by using the right arguments and political values, not by halving the voting possibilities of European citizens.

4. Transnational lists do not promote democracy; indeed they subvert its logic to an elitist top-down approach.

Come on! How can the right to choose additional members of the European Parliament reduce European democracy? It will enhance European democracy. It will help transforming the European elections from a patchwork of national elections, focused often on national issues, into a more European election, with clearer European choices and issues presented to European citizens. European political parties could very well choose the method they repute the best to compile their own transnational list. If that is behind closed doors rather than involving their national and/or individual members, that is up to them to decide.

5. Collecting protest votes all over Europe, populists could end up choosing the next candidate to president of the European Commission in the next legislature.

Impossible. The members of the European Parliament elected on transnational lists would likely reflect the same proportion of the political parties as in the national lists. Their limited number would not change the balance of power in the European Parliament when deciding the choice of the president of the European Commission. Nationalist parties will be the losers of such a system, because they will neutralize each other, each prisoner of their own nationalism, unable to be real political forces.

6. A European constituency (whose existence is yet far from being agreed upon) would expand the already existing gap between smaller and larger Member States.

Why should it? In a European constituency there is no small or large Member State, there are only European citizens and their representatives.

7. It would launch a debate on the status of the Members of this house, whether elected through national or transnational lists.

This is not correct. All the MEPs have the same rights and duties, regardless from their constituency. They are set out in the Treaties and in the rules of procedure of the European Parliament. Despite MEPs elected in bigger Member States currently represent more people than MEPs elected in smaller ones, there is no distinction in the status of the former and the latter MEPs within the European Parliament. The introduction of a European constituency would not alter this. Moreover, in many states inside and beyond Europe, members of national parliaments are elected in overlapping constituencies with different sizes, without this entailing any difference in the status of elected MPs.

8. Besides, in the absence of a European constituency, it is hard to know to which citizens these putative transnational list MEPs would be accountable.

Incomprehensible. Art. 14(2) TEU is quite clear: “The European Parliament shall be composed of representatives of the Union’s citizens”. Should any doubt remain on this issue, recalling that MEPs elected on European lists are voted by European citizens should be enough.

9. At the end of the day, a possible transnational list cannot be adopted without the necessary legal basis, which is currently not provided neither in the Treaties nor in EU Electoral Law.

It’s time to fix this! The Treaties provide sufficient legal basis for the competent institutions (European Parliament, European Council and Council of the EU) to make the necessary decisions to both set up the European constituency and agree an electoral law which includes transnational lists.

10. Not even the most successfully integrated federations, such as the United States, Switzerland and Germany, have a single national constituency.

This is a misleading comparison. The EU-wide constituency would not be the only constituency, just an additional one, side by side with national constituencies. Existing federations have other systems to ensure a direct link between the citizens and the federal level, which the EU doesn’t have yet. The transnational lists would be one of the many elements of novelty of the EU as a political system that wants to find the best balance between the national and European levels.

European citizens count on your support for a better European democracy.

Best regards,

European Federalists

Elmar Brok, Member of the European Parliament and President of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) welcomes the White Paper on the Future of Europe presented by the President of the European Commission today. “We Europeans need to have a broad and deep debate on what type of European Union we want. Changes in the global context and the prospect of Brexit oblige us to make choices. The European Commission made a great effort to outline the options in front of us and show how catastrophic some options might be” declared Mr. Brok “The European Union can’t stand still, nor revert to a simple single market, nor dismantle its existing policies. Our collective reflection needs to involve all European stakeholders and focus on the options that can bring Europe forward, bring stronger and more efficient institutions and deliver on key policies that matter to citizens, when necessary with countries moving ahead at different speeds”.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

The Union of European Federalists (UEF), is a supranational political movement dedicated to uniting Europe along federal lines. The UEF consists of 25 national member organisations across Europe that are autonomous centres of the UEF activities, reaching the EU citizens and spreading the federalists' message to them by organizing various activities in their countries.

It was officially brought into life on 15 December in 1946, in Paris, in the belief that only by uniting into a European Federation could the states of Europe overcome the divisions of the past and ensure a future of peace and economic prosperity. Last year marked the UEF’s 70th anniversary, a significant milestone that brings together generations of passionate European federalists who, since the end of World War II, have been campaigning for a united and federal Europe.