The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, in his speech to the European Parliament yesterday (Wednesday, 7 February) called for a reform of the Treaties to overcome the actual architecture of the European Union, for example overcome the veto mechanism, which he described as "unacceptable".
"I think three things need to be changed," says Klaus Iohannis, referring to the improvement of communication between the Union and the citizens, the amendment of the treaties to overcome the unanimity mechanism, and the urgency of a European foreign policy.
At the end of his speech, MEPs took the floor, including UEF President Domenec Ruiz Devesa, who emphasised the passage on the need for institutional reforms and then turned to Charles Michel, reminding him to put this debate on the agenda.
"I would also like to thank President Iohannis for his words. I congratulate him on his commitment to European integration and his Europeanism. I am also grateful that he mentioned the institutional dimension in his speech. It is clear that with an enlarged Europe, with the process of relaunching the enlargement process, we must accompany this process with the deepening of our political project in a federal key. You referred to the issue of not excluding the reforms of the Treaties, which I welcome, and I believe that we must also take a further step in that direction. You referred to the bridging clauses. That is true. They can be activated. They are in the Treaty of Lisbon so that more matters can be decided by qualified majority. But in 14 years the Council has not been able to activate a single one of them. I hope we do not have to wait another 14 years. Please support Parliament's proposal to reform the Treaties."
In the closing speech the President of Romania, said: "It is about the architecture of the Union. How do we make it better? And we have to improve it. Because if we take in Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans we will be a large union and this decision making, especially in crisis, war, pandemic, and energy crisis, has to be correct, transparent but fast. So, I believe we have to work on our architecture. Some of it might be possible to change without opening the Treaties. But some issues have to be changed in the Treaties. They are not perfect. Since we have these Treaties, I hope you don't mind me telling you, years have passed. We are a different Union and we work towards a different union and I hope you very much agree, we work towards a better Union, so let's work on this."
We are pleased to present before the end of 2023, the new podcast "Repensando Europe: ideas para una Europa Federal" produced by the collaboration between UEF and UEF Spain, produced and moderated by Kevin Febres President of UEF Madrid, whom we thank for his commitment.
This podcast aims to help disseminate the contents of the European federalists in Spanish, in this historical moment of change for Europe and in view of the European elections of 2024.
The fourth episode is moderated by Kevin Fabres, who interviews Giulia Rossolillo the Vice-President of the Union of European Federalists, Full professor of European Law at University of Pavia, and director of the political review The Federalist.
Giulia explains the legal steps for treaty reform. She begins by pointing out that the process of reforming the Treaties began in an anomalous way that was not envisaged in the Treaties. In fact, the proposal we have today started with the Conference on the Future of Europe, a large assembly where citizens had a voice to say what to improve about the European Union.
The European Parliament used the results of the conference and used them to draft a reform proposal approved on 22 November, calling for Article 48 to be applied.
Then she explains how the real problem with Article 48 is in the European Council, which should unanimously approve this reform, but where consensus is lacking. That is why some believe that the EU could be reformed with Article 49 of the Treaty (the article that applies to EU enlargement), which allows for minimal Treaty changes.
She then recalls which points of the Treaty, for the European federalists, should be reformed.
We are pleased to present before the end of 2023, the new podcast "Repensando Europe: ideas para una Europa Federal" produced by the collaboration between UEF and UEF Spain, produced and moderated by Kevin Febres of the UEF Madrid section, whom we thank for his commitment.
This podcast aims to help disseminate the contents of the European federalists in Spanish, in this historical moment of change for Europe and in view of the European elections of 2024.
The third episode is moderated by Kevin Fabres, who interviews Domènec Ruiz Devesa the President of the Union of European Federalists, MEP S&D and member of the Spinelli Group.
Domenec Ruiz Devesa explains why treaty reform is essential at this historic moment. Reform is essential in order to endow the European Union with powers and competences in fundamental areas such as the European budget (the Next Generation EU is the result of a constructive and emergent interpretation of the current treaties that can be discussed), European defence (from a productive industrial point of view), a European Council decision-making system that is no longer a prisoner of the right of veto.
He then makes an assessment of the current term of the European Parliament.
What objectives pro-Europeans and federalists should have in view of the elections:
- explain the successes of these five years of the EU;
- take the field in the elections to fight disinformation and fake news;
- ask pro-European parties to campaign transnationally and to include the need for treaty reform in their programmes.
We are pleased to present before the end of 2023, the new podcast "Repensando Europe: ideas para una Europa Federal" produced by the collaboration between UEF and UEF Spain, produced and moderated by Kevin Febres of the UEF Madrid section, whom we thank for his commitment.
This podcast aims to help disseminate the contents of the European federalists in Spanish, in this historical moment of change for Europe and in view of the European elections of 2024.
The second episode is moderated by Kevin Fabres, who interviews Diego de Castro member of UEF Spain and Policy officer for Renew Europe, who commented the recent resolution on the reform of the Treaties approved by the EU Parliament last 22 November 2023.
On 18 January 1956, the first meeting of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe is held in Paris. The Committee was founded by Jean Monnet on 13 October 1955 after he had announced his decision to resign as President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in November 1954.
Yestarday, 18 January 2024, the Union of European Federalists and the Young of European Federalists together the Association Jean Monnet commemorate the anniversary of the first meeting of the Action Commettee for the United States of Europe and remember the challenges that europeans have to face.
Speakers:
- Domenec Ruiz Devesa, President of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and Member of the European Parliament
- Miguel Ángel Martín Ramos, Vice-president of the ASSOCIATION JEAN MONNET
- Christelle Savall, President of the JEF Europe
Moderator:
- Luisa Trumellini, UEF Secretary-General
Deadline: 21st January 2024
The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is recruiting a Finance and Administration Officer to work in the Secretariat based in Brussels.
Main Tasks:
- Close cooperation with the Treasurer, Office Coordinator and Grant management Officer;
- Daily follow-up of invoices, expenses, income of the organisation;
- Support during audits;
- Support general budgeting and budget proposals (with Treasurer, Office Coordinator and Grant Management Officer);
- Management purchases goods, services for running the office and events;
- Management Membership;
- Liaising with Belgian administrations and agencies (Partena Professional, insurances, Banks, Banque Carrefour des Entreprises etc), updating UEF information in case of changes (e.g. payroll, addresses, new employees…), and drafting documents to communicate them when needed;
- Supporting in HR related activities (updating internal work regulations, helping with keeping track of staff holidays and time off requests, etc.);
- Contribution to UEF activities, supporting projects and events.
Essential qualifications and qualities:
- Master’s degree is an asset but can be compensated with relevant working experience adequate for the position;
- Excellent command of English (C1);
- Relevant experience in financial management;
- Command of French at native or near native level , to liaise with various administrations and service providers in Belgium;
- Knowledge about Belgian administrations applicable to Brussels-based NGO,or fast-learner with administrative ease;
- An activist mindset and strong commitment to social change and the values and vision of UEF;
- Being passionate about membership-based political organisations and volunteering;
- Proactive and problem-solving mindset, with strong organisational and time management skills;
- Flexibility and willingness to learn into new things quickly on the job;
- Team player and comfortable in an international environment;
- Organised and precise approach to work;
- Good knowledge of Microsoft Office , collaborative tools and videoconferencing tools.
Desiderable:
- Knowledge of UEF, its network, values, structure, mission, activities;
- Previous experience in civil society organisations, especially in back office positions;
- Previous experience in membership-based and/or political organisations (volunteer experience included).
Contract conditions and remuneration:
- 12-month fixed-term contract under Belgian law, with the possibility of extension;
- Full-time, 38 hours/week;
- Monthly gross salary €1,995 plus additional benefits (€50 for public transportation, food vouchers, holiday pay) – equaling approx. to 2,000 EUR net remuneration per month;
- Work during weekends and/or evenings several times a year, with time off in lieu as compensation. The position requires some travels in Europe several times during the year, and all travel-related expenses will be covered or reimbursed by UEF.
Application procedure and agenda:
- Send a CV and a motivational letter by January 21st 2024, 23:59 CET at secretariat@federalists.eu;
- All applicants should have the right to live and work in Belgium;
- Successful candidates will be invited for a face-to-face or online interview in the last weeks of January (from the 22nd to the 31st );
- The selected candidate would ideally start working on the 1st February 2024;
- For all questions, please contact us at secretariat@federalists.eu.
A new way to elect the EU president? No more VETO voting? The European Parliament has set the stage for a potential seismic shift towards a more federalized European Union with a new proposal that seeks to alter the bloc's fabric in three substantial ways. This initiative calls for a comprehensive reshaping of EU institutions, exemplified by changes to the presidential election process and the veto vote mechanism. It also advocates for expanding EU competencies, granting the Union greater exclusive powers that may redefine the balance between EU governance and national sovereignty. Finally, it proposes a robust enforcement of EU authority by amending the consensus requirement of Article 7, thus streamlining the Union's ability to act decisively. This compact yet potent set of reforms could mark a pivotal point in the evolution of the EU's political dynamics.
This video is co-produced by the Union of the European Federalists, co-funded by CERV grant 2023 of the European Union, and YouTube Channel "EU made SIMPLE".
All other videos here: LINK
The European Union has a mix of 30 kinds of tanks, 20 types of planes, and 27 different military offices. The U.S., on the other hand, has just one military headquarters and fewer kinds of tanks and planes. If European countries shared their military resources and worked together more, they might be stronger within NATO and less reliant on the U.S. So, the big question is: Should the EU team up for its own defense and foreign policies, maybe even start a European army? Or should it just stick to working within NATO?
With the contribution and intervention of the former General Vincenzo Camporini
This video is part of the series "Treaty Reform Now Made Simple" co-produced by the Union of the European Federalists, co-funded by CERV grant 2023 of the European Union, and YouTube Channel "EU made SIMPLE".
We are pleased to present before the end of 2023, the new podcast "Repensando Europe: ideas para una Europa Federal" produced by the collaboration between UEF and UEF Spain, produced and moderated by Kevin Febres of the UEF Madrid section, whom we thank for his commitment.
This podcast aims to help disseminate the contents of the European federalists in Spanish, in this historical moment of change for Europe and in view of the European elections of 2024.
The pilot episode is moderated by Kevin Fabres, who interviews Alejandro Peinado Garcia, Secretary of UEF Spain and member of the Executive Bureau of the UEF, on the importance of the reform of the EU Treaties at this historical moment, the role of the European federalists in this context and a brief analysis of the role of the Spanish rotating presidency of the EU Council.