On a victorious Ukraine in a Federal Europe

• Deplores the Russian aggression of Ukraine since February 2022 and the more than 240,000 human lives lost in the conflict,
• Welcomes the European Council’s decision of granting candidate status to Ukraine on 22 June 2022,
• Welcomes the Council Regulation on gas storage of 27 June 2022, which sets the goal to fill the reserves of this fuel to a minimum of 85% by the end of 2022,
• Welcomes the adoption of the REPowerEU plan to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition on 14 December 2022,
• Celebrates the Russian forces withdrawal from Kherson, the only provincial capital Russia had occupied, and that was recovered on 11 November 2023, reducing the Russian occupation from 27% (161,000 km 2 of the total of 603,628), to 14% (86,557 km 2),
• Welcomes the nine packages of sanctions against Russia by the European Union,
• Welcomes the decision on putting a cap price of 60 euros on a barrel of Russian oil by the European Union,

1. Considers that Ukraine is fighting for its independence and sovereignty, but also for European values and security;
2. Encourages Member States and the European Commission to maintain and increase multisectoral sanctions with a long-term approach, particularly now on Western companies and individual who deal with Russia, as well to send the frozen 300 billion euro of Russian Central Bank directly to Ukraine, and to fix all possible implementation loopholes for those measures that are already into force,
3. Calls for the strengthening of the sanctions already imposed against Belarus,
4. Reiterates the need to the Member States to uphold the necessary supply of military and intelligence capabilities to Ukraine to repel the aggression including the bombardments and recover the rest of occupied territory, from anti-aircraft systems and ammunition, to longrange artillery and missiles, tanks and fighter jets, beyond the delivery of Patriot batteries,
5. Calls on the Member States to increase the humanitarian aid by establishing a Special Humanitarian Package for the Winter, which includes generators, heaters, fuel, thermal blankets and warm clothing, tankers and bottled water,
6. Declares its support to the Commision proposal and resolution 2022/3017 of the European Parliament on the establishment of a special international tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine, as a clear and undisputed breach of the UN Charter,
7. Strongly reaffirms its support of the millions of refugees of the Ukrainian war,
8. Reiterates its praise to the Commission and the Council for the expeditious activation of the temporary Protection Directive,
9. Urges the Commission and the Member States to develop stronger coordination and relocation mechanisms based on solidarity to ensure that all human and social rights (such as access to work, health, schooling or housing) conferred by it to Ukrainian refugees are effectively ensured,
10. Affirms that there can be no possible trade-off between the compliance with the EU values of democracy, respect of human rights and rule of law, and the moral obligation of welcoming refugees,
11. Considers it necessary to widen the scope of application of the conditionality regulation and to ensure its proper enforcement,
12. Concludes that the costs arising from Russia´s war of aggression on Ukraine for European citizens require additional and substantial investment and financial support to minimise surges in the cost of living, in energy prices, but also for continued financial, humanitarian, and military support to Ukraine,
13. Stands with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, which confront with continuous attacks and threats by Russia,
14. Stands in solidarity with the Russian opposition, Russian civil society and the courageous
    citizens opposing the war,
15. Calls to provide further support to the Russian democratic opposition and civil society organisations, including additional multi-entry visas for long period of validity for civic and political activists opposing Putin’s regime,
16. Calls on the EU Member States to facilitate the use of humanitarian corridors inside Ukraine’s territory, in particular through the United Nations mechanism, to allow civilians’ safe passage out of the zones affected by military operations, and of the territories unlawfully occupied and controlled by the Russian Federation,

B. Towards a new Europe

17. Therefore, the Union of the Federal Committee of the Union of European Federalists (UEF),considers that the absolute necessity of the construction of a federal union should take place in parallel with enlargement;
18. Urges all EU institutions and responsible politicians not to lose sight of finding a moment to launch diplomatic efforts for peace and a new security architecture in Europe; Proposes defense and full restoration of the International Law within International Relations in full respect of the Art. 39 UN Charter;
19. Urges to fully exploit the potential of the Lisbon Treaty, with the purpose of guaranteeing the proper implementation of Union’s policies, thanks to the activation of passerelle clauses to overcome unanimity voting in the Council in the field of Foreign and Security Policy, Social Policy, and of taxation, and extending Qualified majority decision and ending national vetoes,
20. Calls upon the European Council to fast track the development of a first embryo of Defence Union, to ensure the safety of European citizens and the longstanding commitment of the European Union to uphold peace, if possible, by activating article 42.2 TEU and constituting the Rapid Reaction Force proposed by the Strategic Compass,
21. Recommend to set up a centralized military equipment buying platform through the European Defence Agency, which would reduce the military equipment acquisition costs for the national and European military units, (F. Leray, UEF-France),
22. Highlights that the current 2021-2027 long-term EU budget and the Next Generation EU will not provide sufficient resources to achieve the abovementioned goals,
23. Calls therefore to integrate the European Recovery (and Resilience) Plan in the regular EU budget, to define the necessary additional financial resources to finance the new unions and the European Green Deal and to complement it with the necessary additional resources financed through new EU own resources:
24. Reiterates the need to urgently progress towards a federal political union, where Parliament and Council will negotiate on an equal footing on the EU budget and its financing, including on EU debt, and on European taxation,
25. Believes that the magnitude of the challenges ahead will require all democratic institutions to conceive innovative and unprecedented solutions,
26. Reiterates thus the need to empower the European Parliament with the right to initiate legislation, and with increasing fiscal prerogatives,
27. Calls for the extension of the Ordinary Legislative Procedure to all the Union’s policy areas,
28. Recognises the need to consolidate the new competences and policy instruments, and to confer stronger democratic legitimacy to the new European Union through the adoption of a Federal Constitution allowing for the full involvement of the European Parliament in all policy areas.

C. Federalism in Ukraine

29. Calls for a UEF mission to Kiev in order to meet with the pro-European civil society and the political representatives with a view to report back to the Federal Committee and a potential establishment of a federalist organisation in Ukraine.