Exceptional times call for exceptional measures. The rogue war waged by Putin against Ukraine and its people and against European values and principles is approaching our borders, and we cannot settle down once again for watered down solutions to one of the most defining moments in our common history. No time to hesitate.

The current budget cannot cover a concrete and credible effort in support of Ukraine. The three institutions must live up to their promises to ensure the survival of a free Ukraine, which is not only fighting for itself. It's fighting on behalf of the free world for rule of law and democracy.

This is why we call now for a new Recovery Plan to be financed with eurobonds for our defense and energetic autonomy to put an end to our strategic weakness and our dependence on Russian gas. And We must mutualise the costs deriving from the necessary sanctions against Putin’s regime . Then, we should not be afraid to state the obvious: the Ukrainian people must choose its own destiny and deserves a future in our Union.

The reaction carried out by the EU during the crisis has been unprecedented,but still not ambitious enough. We should push our action beyond. What's at stake today is not only the geopolitical balance of the continent, but our very survival. We need to strengthen European autonomy in the field of defense, to activate common defense clauses as foreseen in the Treaty and constitute a EU rapid reaction force and common armament programs. We must ensure that each euro spent in defense can really contribute to our common security: more efficiency means more credibility and power.

We need a sovereign and Democratic European federation able to defend its values and the principles of peace, multilateralism and cooperation between free and sovereign countries. But also ready to act strongly when strong action is needed. This summit must be a turning point and must be followed by a constitutional reform process at the end and as a follow-up of the Conference on the future of Europe. The crisis we are going through requires us to be more united than ever.

Sandro Gozi

UEF President

Podcasts with Nana Walzer and Sandro Gozi, Antonio Argenziano and Dirk van den Boom

Watch those two podcasts about the Ukraine war.

UNDERSTANDING AND ACTIONS

Interview of 28/02/2022 with the JEF President Antonio Argenziano and Dirk van den Boom on the war in Ukraine and the EU challenges at this crucial time.

Antonio Argenziano argues : "We must be really strong and motivated in supporting the Ukrainian people, all organizations and demonstrations committed to solidarity. At the same time, however, for a long-term solution and perspective we must not give up campaigning for a political European Union, capable of making decisions on significant policies. We cannot expect, for example, that other countries, such as the United States or China, intervening in international affairs almost by reaction, will fix things by bringing them back to the side of freedom, democracy and peace."

Here the podcast "UNDERSTANDING AND ACTIONS"

EU SANCTIONS AGAINST EU

Interview of 28/02/2022 with the UEF President Sandro Gozi on the last measures adopted by European Union in supporting Ukraine. Sandro Gozi argues: "We can isolate Russia with an economic and financial war, create an European unity with a strong capacity to act not only politically and diplomatically, but also in defense and energy."

Here the podcast "EU SANCTIONS AGAINST EU"

Today is a dark day for Europe.

We all condemn in the strongest possible terms the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, a free and sovereign country in the heart of Europe.

This is not only an attack on Ukraine, but also on the security of Europe, the international order, peace and democracy. Therefore, we need:

Let's deliver together, with one European voice.

Sandro GOZI

UEF President

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia are at their highest in years, with a Russian troop build-up near the two nations' borders spurring fears that Moscow could launch an invasion. The current crisis has been provoked by an ongoing Russian military build-up in and around Ukraine, as well as the destabilising use of hybrid attacks, including disinformation and cyber-attacks, on Ukrainian government institutions.

This week, EU Member States have given their political agreement for a new package of sanctions against Russia, after Putin’s decision to recognise the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and sending troops to these areas. This decision violates the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. Russia is not respecting its international obligations, and it is violating core principles of international law.

UEF welcomes the EU’s package of sanctions. We stand with Ukraine and its citizens and reaffirm unequivocal support to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. Ukraine is a free and sovereign country and the EU must continue to stand by its side.

We must act on a double track: the first one, the one related to the urgency, to respond with sanctions to Putin and pursue the diplomatic option. If the EU pursues and increases the sanctions, a compensation mechanism must be created in favour of the affected EU firms.

At the same time, in parallel, we must take steps forward on the military and energy autonomy of Europe. A federal EU whose foreign policy was not subject to individual veto threats would be more effective. This new crisis is an opportunity for the EU to become more mature, sovereign and an independent global actor, who act rapidly and robustly whenever a crisis erupts, with partners if possible and alone when necessary. We are eagerly awaiting the EU’s new Strategic Compass document – now needed more urgently than ever - and a follow up on the Conference on the Future of Europe conclusions that might lead to a more democratic, sovereign and stronger EU in the world.

Sandro GOZI

UEF President

Dear federalist friends,

The Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) has entered its hot political phase and I want to express my appreciation for your dedication and commitment. 

Being present in a structured and effective way, as well as being recognisable on the CoFoE Multilingual Digital Platform with our proposals, became a necessary condition both for conveying its political message and for enhancing meetings on the ground at all levels. The aim was to be influential in order to condition future decision-making processes, to bring out the drive for reform of the European Treaties, unavoidable if it emerged from the debate and the requests of citizens, on the platform - the only tool at our disposal to convey ideas and political message. From there, we, federalists, conveyed both to the European citizens' panels and, above all, to the plenary session.

With a view to a debate aiming at advancing federalist demands, we encouraged our Sections and Members to organise debates linked to our political proposals on the platform. For nearly a year, you have been boosting your efforts to raise awareness about this positive momentum, with a view to engage citizens directly, and to gain wider support for our ideas, projects, and proposals. Therefore, I wish to thank you  for crowding the squares of your cities and towns, for organising conferences and workshops in schools, universities, and inside your sections.

During this past year, we have seen enormous growth in the support and visibility of federalist ideas, especially those aimed at strengthening European Democracy. You have been integral to the important advances we have made, particularly promoting a stronger pan-European democracy — real European political parties and movements and proper campaigns for European elections, based on the creation of a pan-European constituency and transnational electoral lists headed by the candidates for President of the European Commission. Moreover, we have also called for the need for a political and fiscal Union that can tackle the great transnational challenges of our time, acting decisively on a wide range of policy areas, from climate change, growing social inequalities, health and migration to foreign affairs and defense. 

Our collective efforts together with JEF and the Spinelli Group, yielded a great outcome for the federalist ideas in the CoFoE Multilingual Digital Platform. This was only possible through your commitment of time and effort, which was especially notable during this final rush campaigning together for a more sovereign, democratic and federal Europe.

Again, I would like to thank you for all your invaluable contributions and your continued commitment to the federalist values and mission of our organisation.

Yours faithfully,

Sandro GOZI

UEF President

crossarrow-up