On Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 May, the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and its partners in France and Alsace (Mouvement Européen and Les Jeunes Européen) organised two important events for the democratic future of Europe.

On the evening of the 8th, more than one hundred federalists gathered for a public debate on the Future of Europe at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art with the participation of Sandro Gozi, President of the UEF and Member of the European Parliament. Guy Verhofstadt presented the European Parliament’s Institutional Affairs Committee report on Treaty change and what European representatives have in mind for the future of Europe. All other panellists from the European and Strasbourg’s civil society, Citizen Ambassadors of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), touched on the reform of European Treaties and the positive changes it will bring to European citizens.

Among them were UEF Vice-Presidents and MEPs Markus Ferber and Domènec Ruiz Devesa, Prof. Frédérique Berrod, a member of the UEF France Scientific Committee, and Véronique Bertholle, deputy-major for the city of Strasbourg.

On the morning of Europe Day, activists of the Federalist network offered coffee and croissants to passersby and Members of the European Parliament, reminding them of the urgency to reform the European treaties and ensure a proper follow-up of the CoFoE.

Both these events are linked to the UEF’s petition Respect the Will of the Citizens and the Conference on the Future of Europe calling the Council of the EU to answer to the European Parliament’s resolution of June 2022 asking for treaty reform. The petition now gathers more than 1300 signatures from elected officials, civil servants, academics, and citizens.

“It is time for a strong political message. We must mobilise for treaty reform” said Sandro Gozi, President of the UEF. “The debate organised by the UEF in Strasbourg on 8 and 9 May is this occasion.”

Background
The Conference on the Future of Europe, which ended in May 2022, highlighted the necessity, shared by its Citizen Ambassadors, for the reform of the European treaties. The European Parliament endorsed this call as soon as June 2022, by voting on a resolution calling for a Convention to draft new treaties.
The Council of the European Union, in clear breach of its legal obligations and its engagements during the CoFoE, refused to answer to the European Parliament’s resolution and to give the Conference a proper follow-up.
The UEF campaigns for the recognition of the recommendations of the CoFoE Citizens and the necessity for Treaty change for a federal, democratic and sovereign Europe.

On 28 March 2023, the Union of European Federalists (UEF), along with the Citizens' Panel Ambassadors of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) and the Spinelli Group, the European Parliament’s Intergroup of federalists-minded MEPs, is launching a Petition to the Council of the European Union calling for the reform of European Treaties. The revision of the current Treaty is essential to implement the conclusions of the CoFoE.

The UEF is now calling on European citizens to support the unprecedented democratic exercise of the Conference on the Future of Europe by signing the petition. By pressuring the Council to deliver on the recommendations of the Conference, we will ensure a sovereign and democratic Europe where the will of citizens is duly acknowledged and respected.

Sandro Gozi, President of the UEF said: "The Council does not share the sense of urgency that History is asking of Europe today. We need Treaty revision and the Council is kicking the can down the road. We must put the Council in front of its responsibilities to answer to the citizens’ will.”

Context
The Conference on the Future of Europe, which run from May 2021 to May 2022, drafted a series of recommendations to policymakers. All European institutions promised to ensure a proper follow-up of these proposals. So far, only the European Parliament decisively endorsed the full implementation of the CoFoE recommendations in its 9 June 2022 resolution calling for a Convention to draft new European Treaties.

The Council of the European Union failed to act on the recommendations of the CoFoE citizens. In a complete breach of its duties, the Council is refusing to answer to the European Parliament’s initiative. The Council cannot arrogate to itself the power to block democratic processes. Democracy must prevail, and the UEFs stand with the citizens of the CoFoE to see their recommendations adopted to the fullest.

The petition will be presented today at the European Parliament in the presence of Citizens' Panel Ambassadors of the CoFoE, MEPs, and representatives of the European civil society.

On 28 March 2023, the Union of European Federalists (UEF), along with the Citizens' Panel Ambassadors of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) and the Spinelli Group, the European Parliament’s Intergroup of federalists-minded MEPs, is launching a Petition to the Council of the European Union calling for the reform of European Treaties. The revision of the current Treaty is essential to implement the conclusions of the CoFoE.

The UEF is now calling on European citizens to support the unprecedented democratic exercise of the Conference on the Future of Europe by signing the petition. By pressuring the Council to deliver on the recommendations of the Conference, we will ensure a sovereign and democratic Europe where the will of citizens is duly acknowledged and respected.

Sandro Gozi, President of the UEF said: "The Council does not share the sense of urgency that History is asking of Europe today. We need Treaty revision and the Council is kicking the can down the road. We must put the Council in front of its responsibilities to answer to the citizens’ will.”

Context
The Conference on the Future of Europe, which run from May 2021 to May 2022, drafted a series of recommendations to policymakers. All European institutions promised to ensure a proper follow-up of these proposals. So far, only the European Parliament decisively endorsed the full implementation of the CoFoE recommendations in its 9 June 2022 resolution calling for a Convention to draft new European Treaties.

The Council of the European Union failed to act on the recommendations of the CoFoE citizens. In a complete breach of its duties, the Council is refusing to answer to the European Parliament’s initiative. The Council cannot arrogate to itself the power to block democratic processes. Democracy must prevail, and the UEFs stand with the citizens of the CoFoE to see their recommendations adopted to the fullest. 

The petition will be presented today at the European Parliament in the presence of Citizens' Panel Ambassadors of the CoFoE, MEPs, and representatives of the European civil society.

Pictures

This video has been produced after the event

Report below by EUCON (LINK)

During the Chinese President’s recent three-day state visit, Xi Xingping provided geostrategic support for Russia. The trip to Moscow was also a clear signal of Chinese geopolitical aspiration, showing China’s capacity to shape global politics. China has become an increasingly influential competitor on the international level. While the two countries share some common values, the “Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation Between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation” stipulates the principles of non-interference of other countries and mutual respect of sovereignty. Furthermore, there are territorial, political, and economic tensions between the two partners. One major issue is the “Belt and Road Initiative”, a Chinese government foreign policy concept to integrate with the economies of Asia, Europe, and Africa. It competes with the Eurasian Economic Union of five former Soviet states under the leadership of Russia, which is modelled on the European Union and seeks to establish a Common Market in Eurasia. Thus, cooperation and tensions both characterise the current Chinese-Russian relations.

Here the report of the event: LINK

Here below the video recording of the event:

Today marks the first year of the Russian aggression on Ukraine. On this important date for Europe and the besieged country, the European federalists want to reiterate their support to Ukraine and its people. The Union of European Federalists (UEF) remains committed to seeing a victorious Ukraine join the European Union.

Since the start of the conflict, the UEF stood beside Ukraine. On the day of the aggression, the UEF condemned “in the strongest possible terms the aggression [...] against Ukraine, a free and sovereign country in the heart of Europe.” On 4 March, the UEF partnered in the Europe-wide gathering in support of Ukraine organised by its German section of Europa-Union Frankfurt. On this occasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a moving speech and thanked the Europeans for their solidarity, while thousands of people gathered, at the same time, on major European city squares, such as in Frankfurt, Prague, Tbilisi, or Paris.

On many occasions throughout the last 12 months, the UEF reiterated its support to Ukraine. On 5 March, the UEF organised the first Europe-wide online demonstration on the video platform Twitch. On 29 March, our Political Commission on Common Foreign and Security Policy debated the implication of the war for the future of Europe. In April, a statement from the UEF renewed its support to “Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, which are currently confronted with continuous attacks and threats by Russia,” and recommended “the Commission [to] expedite its opinion on the granting of the candidate country status to Ukraine.” In June, the UEF welcomed Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for the European Union. In December, the Federal Committee endorsed the appeal "An airlift to save Ukraine" from its Italian section the Movimento Federalista Europeo.

On 27 February, the European federalists will gather at Cafe Kyiv in Berlin to explore ways for the European civil society to help Ukraine

At the UEF’s Federal Committee meeting of the 11 and 12 February 2023, Sandro Gozi, President of the UEF, called for the European Union to reform and welcome a victorious Ukraine: "Our generation must assume its political responsibilities—like the generation of Adenauer or Schumann did with its own. It is not the Ukrainians who should pay the price of our disagreements and reluctance in reshaping the European project. It is an existential duty to reform the European Union.” 

The European federalists will never forget that the fight of the Ukrainians for freedom is ours, and it is that of all of Europe.

The Union of European Federalists (UEF) welcomes the joint declaration between France and Germany on Sunday 22 January and emphasises the commitment of the two countries to reform the European institutions, including the possibility of Treaty revision, in order to strengthen the European Union as a geopolitical actor and prepare it for future enlargements.

In the short term, France and Germany, in order to break the impasses that have been experienced, agree to extend the areas in which qualified majority voting takes place in the Council, for example in certain areas of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and taxation. Moreover, in order to strengthen public participation and support for the European democratic model, they are in favour of the renewal of European electoral law, including the creation of a single European-wide constituency with transnational lists, as well as the development of new ways of involving citizens in European policy discussions, building on the experience of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE).

“The European federalists greet this declaration with satisfaction”, states Sandro Gozi, President of the UEF and MEP of Renew Europe. “The shift to majority voting in the Council, particularly on those matters mentioned in the declaration, the new electoral law with the transnational lists, together with the declaration in favour of opening up the revision of the Treaties, these are all steps in the direction that we federalists advocate, and which also correspond to the demands contained in the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe.”

“We now call on the other member states, and notably Sweden, which currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency, to prepare the necessary steps to bring the request of the European Parliament and the CoFoE citizens to the European Council to convene a Convention for the reform of the Treaties,” concludes Sando Gozi. 

The Conference on the Future of Europe has clearly shown that European citizens want a stronger, more efficient and democratic Union. Only through treaty change will the European Union be able to answer their legitimate aspiration. Today's French-German declaration is another step towards the European citizens' will for a federal Europe, sovereign and democratic.