In her State of the Union Speech, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, takes stock of the European policies of the past year and sets out the priorities for work in 2022.

In her State of the Union Speech, the President of the European Commission first referred to the most important developments and successes of the past year. These include, among others, the measures to overcome the health crisis. Despite considerable criticism at the beginning, 70 percent of the adult EU population have already been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by the end of August 2021. The European Commission has also procured enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to cover the entire EU population and other parts of the world.

She also referred to the European economic recovery plan, NextGenerationEU, which sets the framework for a greener, fairer and more digitalised post-crisis economy and which will reshape Europe for the next decades. The first European climate law will write into law the European Green Deal's goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030, making Europe's economy and society climate neutral by 2050.

After one of the toughest years in its history, Europe needs to look towards the future with renewed hope. In the coming months, the European Commission will therefore focus on the following priorities:

“The Union of European Federalists (UEF) welcomes the assessment made by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: the attention to young people, first of all, because the European project is primarily about securing their future; the attention to security, in all its aspects, social, health, geopolitical. Then, the reference to the greatest merit in the past year, which is undoubtedly in the area of combating the economic consequences of the pandemic with the multi-billion financial package, the recovery fund. And, as the tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan shows, the proposal for the European Union to initiate the development of a true European Defence Union and to set up quickly an autonomous rapid reaction force. However, as European Federalists, we need also to stress the need of deepening European integration. The past year’s crisis made very visible the need for a more united Europe. Hence, we can’t miss the opportunity to make the Conference on the Future of Europe a true forum with citizens to work together to achieve a more sovereign and democratic Europe.” says UEF President and MEP Sandro Gozi.

"We urgently need a strong, legitimate, and properly financed political Union that can tackle the great transnational challenges of our time, acting decisively in a wide range of policy areas, from climate change, growing social inequalities, health and migration to foreign affairs and defense. That is why we must be ready to move forward by a majority, without letting ourselves be stopped by the states that want to paralyse the Union, from migration policy to the other dossiers that are essential if we are to regain control of our own destiny.“ the UEF President firmly underlines.

UEF with its member sections and over 30.000 members from all 27 EU member states is not alone with its positions. This spring, together with the Spinelli Group and the European Movement International, UEF published the Appeal „Our federal Europe - sovereign and democratic“ signed by more than 500 high-ranking personalities from all over Europe.

UEF is delighted to support also this year the Jean Monnet Prize for European Integration. This initiative aims at honoring Jean Monnet’s memory and life achievements. It does so by rewarding talented individuals or groups having contributed to supporting or strengthening European Integration through a project they designed and implemented. The winning project receives a €1,500 grant.

EuropeanConstitution.eu set up the Jean Monnet Prize for European Integration to honor Jean Monnet’s life and dedication to European integration by rewarding projects that support this ideal in a concrete and apolitical manner for European citizens. The Award is under the patronage of the European Parliament and is supported by the following partners in addition to the UEF: College of Europe, Democracy International, Alliance4Europe, Schwarzkopf Foundation, Friends of Europe, European Student’s Union, Spinelli Group, EU40, BBE, European University Association, European Democracy Lab, The Good Lobby and European Alternatives. Where other prizes may reward public figures of high standing, the Jean Monnet Prize focuses on citizens’ personal engagement for Europe and activities that impact the day-to-day life of Europeans.

The Jean Monnet Prize is an open competition. It can reward any project contributing to the strengthening of European integration and of the European spirit. The Jean Monnet Prize does not reward projects that have yet to be implemented or that seek funding in order to start their implementation, this is to meant to improve the assessment of the project’s concrete impact for citizens.

There are no criteria imposed on the applicants and UEF encourages all to apply, in particular young people, women and disenfranchised groups. The application process is entirely free, and no expenses are asked of participants at any point.

2021 edition of the Prize

The call for applications will be open from 9 September to 9 October, and the results unveiled on 9 November — the anniversary of Jean Monnet’s birth.

All applications must be made online here.

No paper or email applications will be considered. Given the promising mobilisation for the Conference on the Future of Europe, we are convinced that 2021 will be a tremendous year for citizens' engagement.

For any further information you can contact EuropeanConstitution.eu at this mail.

After the sudden withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan that calls into question its ability to assure the European defense, and that further increases instability on the EU's borders and accentuates the need for Europe to assume responsibility for its own security. Following the recent meeting between Mario Draghi, President of the Council of the Italian Republic, and Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, after which France and Italy have expressed their intention to promote an initiative to overcome the right of veto in the European defense sector.

The President of the Union of European Federalists and Member of the European Parliament, Sandro GOZI, urges for a determined improvement of the EU foreign, security and defense policy.

The intergovernmental method prevailing within the EU can’t produce a European defence and prevents any democratic control of a European force. Consequently, Sandro GOZI asks for qualified majority voting in foreign policy to be put on the EU agenda as soon as possible, as requested by the Meseberg declaration.

If there is no agreement at 27, the available countries should go ahead with the procedure of enhanced co-operation, open to the member States that want to join later. Accordingly, until defence eventually becomes a common policy of a Federal European Union, the European Council, in the format of the countries available for an enhanced co-operation on foreign policy, should meet as a European Security Council.

In order to enable the EU to perform the so-called Petersberg missions, the EU needs to establish a permanent military operational headquarters for planning, command and control of European missions. Moreover, UEF President calls for the establishment, in case an enhanced cooperation prevails, of a European intervention force in addition to the national armies or, as an alternative, the integration, in EU treaties, of the Eurocorps, putting it under the control of the European Parliament and of the EU military committee (EUMC). In this regard, the European Defense Fund - to be truly instrumental - needs a substantially increased budget through a EU own resource.

Sandro GOZI invites the Conference on the future of Europe to include the conclusions of the Strategic compass to be approved in the spring of next year, in the conclusions of the Conference, in order that the French presidency of the European semester takes the initiative to establish the European “first entry force” as proposed by 14 European member States and supported by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, to provide, if necessary, Treaty changes allowing qualified majority voting on foreign affairs and defense in the Council and allowing for the introduction of a European “first entry force”, controlled by the European Parliament and the Council.

Europe must use the opportunity of the Conference on the Future of Europe to change and become able to take responsibility

"The survival of the EU depends on its ability to adapt to external changes. In this respect, the tragedy in Afghanistan is a litmus test also for us", says Sandro GOZI, President of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and MEP for Renew Europe. "As Europeans", continues GOZI, "we have a duty to shoulder our responsibilities. We can choose whether to manage or suffer the migratory flows from Afghanistan, which in any case exist and will exist. If we choose to suffer them, without an effective policy to manage them, it will be a political and moral disaster. This is why we cannot afford to wait until all the countries agree to accept the refugees; we would only waste time, there will always be a few governments against. The time has come to take responsibility for deciding by majority vote, involving a group of countries and using EU funds. If we decide together it will be easy to manage the phenomenon, there will be no invasion. If we wait for unanimity we will remain prisoners of our impotence".

"In this moment the EU", continues GOZI, "is committed to the process of the Conference on the future of Europe, to discuss without taboos the changes needed to adapt Europe's capacity to act to the challenges of the present day. It is clear that what is happening in Afghanistan should also make us reflect. The United States has been criticised, but NATO's indecision and improvisation are also blatant. This means that we Europeans must become autonomous and acquire the ability to fight to protect our values and interests. The goal we must set ourselves is to build a European sovereignty, through a federal political union, proceeding with the states that believe in this project. Concretely, this means to share at European level some key competences in the economic and political fields, to create a federal budget, to build a real common foreign policy - starting from the ever-closer cooperation to prepare also in this field the federal transition - and to create an army of the European Union, to achieve a proper strategic autonomy in defense and security."

"The Conference on the future of Europe", GOZI concludes, "is an opportunity that we cannot risk missing, all the more so when a tragedy like this one of the Afghan people shows us the urgency to change in order to act and take control of the political processes. Our political future and our very civilization are really at stake".

An art-project organised by the Union of European Federalists and co-funded by the European Parliament

Abstract

MAKE EUROPE BLOOM: the Time is Now! (project website here) is a project organised by the Union of European Federalists and co-funded by the European Parliament.

This project is being carried out in the context of a political campaign at both European and national levels to raise awareness on the importance of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), as a framework in which to advance the reforms that can create the conditions and changes that citizens are demanding.

Officially launched on Europe Day 2021 together with our Appeal "Our Federal Europe: sovereign and democratic", MAKE EUROPE BLOOM: the Time is Now! is carrying out activities in different European cities. Murals are being created until June 2022 all across Europe.

Building on President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen’s 2020 State of the Union speech, this project is also contributing to setting up the New European Bauhaus by mirroring citizens’ feelings on Europe through art.

In order to meet our innovative approach, we count on renown urban artists that accompany us to the locations helping us to make Europe bloom with their art. Our idea is based on replicating a series of the large-scale “The Future is Europe” mural on Rue de la Loi in the European neighborhood of Brussels. This time, the murals are being drawn in places where EU-related conversations do not normally happen.

From Creation to Dissemination

  1. PRE-PRODUCTION: an online survey is distributed to local and intergenerational participants, local artists and those who wish to participate in this activity through our national sections and partners. Artists then create something from the results of the survey;
  2. PRODUCTION: the mural is finalised with the participation of locals. UEF liaises with local authorities, EP (liaison) offices, chambers of commerce and local private entities in order to place the murals in the most effective and visible places.

Venues that host the murals are visited by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), national decision makers and representatives from civil society. A cross-party group of MEPs, especially members of UEF Europe and The Spinelli Group in the European Parliament, and those from the country or region concerned are encouraged to participate in each local event.

A final report will be written and translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and the local languages of the events. The final content will be shared and disseminated in our network. Likewise, we plan to organize an exhibition in the European Parliament with the graphic content from this project, making into a virtual exhibition on our website.

Doing so will not we only bring Conference on the Future of Europe (#CoFoE) debates to locations where they do not normally take place, it will also serve our organisation, huge networks of our own sections, our partner CSOs, and the European Parliament to identify citizens’ political needs and how to communicate them better in the EU bubble.

The murals

The four murals are painted in:

By Roberto Castaldi

Like the Schuman Declaration in 1950, the Conference on the Future of Europe could pave the way for a reform of the EU, the Spinelli Group – which gathers federalist MEPs and national parliamentarians – with the Union of European Federalists and the European Movement International has said.

In its appeal “Our federal, sovereign, democratic Europe”, the group demands a federal Europe. While the demand itself is not new, the document has catapulted it into the mainstream after it was signed by hundreds of political and cultural personalities from all over Europe and from different political forces.

According to Social Democrat MEP Brando Benifei (S&D), president of the Spinelli Group, the initiative stems from the group’s conviction that the EU needs to change, and that action is needed now.

“Mobilisation, organisation, participation, will be the key words of the next years if we actually want to produce the change that the European Union needs,” Benifei said.

Renew Europe MEP Sandro Gozi, president of the Union of European Federalists (UEF), stressed the need “to exploit the full political potential of this unprecedented Conference”, and the appeal would kickstart a permanent dialogue with all the citizens attending the conference and with national and European parliamentarians.

“The speeches by Costa and Von der Leyen were very cautious, especially on the possible objectives to be taken as a follow-up to the conference, for example on the revision of the treaties. We need to create a strong pressure from below. We will ask to participate in the conference as NGOs: it’s a tough battle, but we have all the requirements to ask for it,” Gozi said.

Such broad support shows that after the EU’s strong response to the pandemic, the Conference on the Future of Europe has raised high expectations in European society.

A recent Eurobarometer showed that citizens understand that the EU can be an instrument for solving fundamental problems, but should be strengthened in crucial areas – such as health, security and defence, social policy – where the EU has little competences and powers.

This would require EU treaty reform, something that “shall not be taboo”, according to European Parliament President David Sassoli.

Proponents believe the appeal may at least give the European Parliament the option to use for the first time its power of initiative on treaty reform as a follow up to the conference.

“We have taken the first step in the creation of the federalist caucus of national and European parliamentarians who share the view that the Conference on the Future of Europe is an opportunity to transform the EU”, said MEP Brando BENIFEI, President of the Spinelli Group, summing up the more than two hours of open and fruitful debate that took place last Friday with colleagues from Member States. "This was a successful kick-off. I am delighted by the great interest from national parliaments".

"We have fought hard to get the Conference. Now we have to make the most of it. This means also no taboos on its outcome. That is also why we need to mobilize federalist and pro-European forces across Europe," said MEP Sandro GOZI, President of the UEF and Board Member of the Spinelli Group. In this perspective, he also stressed "the dialogue between the European Parliament and the national parliaments is crucial, both to exert political pressure on governments and to bring the debate to the local and regional level”.

The meeting was organized by the Spinelli Group, in cooperation with the Union of European Federalists (UEF), who invited the federalist and pro-European members of the parliaments of the Member States to its Plenary Session on 16 April 2021. The meeting was attended by a large group of national MPs from many EU countries, as for instance from Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Romania and Spain. The Plenary Session was also attended by the Presidents and Secretary Generals of the UEF Member Sections.

MEP Guy VERHOFSTADT, Co-Chair of the Executive Board from the European Parliament's side, also attended the meeting, stressing the need for the EU to grow stronger – not only to cope with the pandemic or the economic crisis, but because otherwise we could not do it in front of today’s superpower. He also called on all federalist and pro-European forces and activists to engage actively in the newly launched online platform, which he presented yesterday, 19 April 2021 in a live press conference, encouraging them to submit their events, their positions and comments, thus feeding into the discussion process, up to the Conference Plenary Assembly.

The many interventions in the debate confirmed the common will to work in order to make the process of the Conference a political game changer for Europe. As MEP Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Vice-President of UEF and Board Member of the Spinelli Group, summarized it “Our goal is to build the federal economic and political Union that will make the current fiscal union established with the decision on the Next Generation EU permanent and fully democratic”.

The next meeting of this newly launched network will be organised soon and will be focused on identifying the political priorities to be put at the forefront of its battle.

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