As of 1 November, Greens/EFA MEP Daniel Freund will take over the presidency of the Spinelli Group from Social-Democrat (S&D) MEP Brando Benifei. The Spinelli Group is a network of 72 federalist-minded Members of the European Parliament aiming to reinvigorate the endeavor for strengthening and democratization of the European Union.

Daniel Freund, new President of the Spinelli Group, comments:

“I would like to thank Brando Benifei for his great work as the president, pushing for a more federal Europe. As Spinelli Group we want to use the Conference on the Future of Europe to inoculate our continental democracy with strong reforms against overstretching in next crises. We want strong reforms for truly European elections, EU investments in a digital and climate friendly future, a Europe that speaks with one voice in the world. We invite all to join our campaign to make Europe stronger by making it more democratic!

The EU is being held back by antiquated decision making processes. We need to get rid of unanimity in the EU Council and we have to push for own initiative rights for the European Parliament. With a European second vote for transnational lists we could make sure citizens have a stronger say which lead candidate is the next Commission president in 2024. We have to make clear that more democracy is the answer to the current crises rocking the European Union.“

Follow our group:
https://x.com/spinelligroup

Read our manifesto of 2018 here.

Read our manifesto for the Conference on the Future of Europe here.

Background: history of the Spinelli group

Named after Altiero Spinelli (1907–1986), founder of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and a founding father of the European integration, the Spinelli Group was founded on 15 September 2010 in the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels by former Belgium prime minister and current MEP Guy VERHOFSTADT, former co-chair of the Greens–European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) Group in the European Parliament Daniel COHN-BENDIT, former MEP Sylvie GOULARD (ALDE) and former European Parliament Vice-President Isabelle DURANT (Greens/EFA).

Within the Democracy is Europe project context, Union of European Federalists, and all its partners are launching an essay contest titled: 1989-1991 the fall of communist regimes: what was the idea of Europe behind the Central-Eastern European and Baltic countries’ democratic transition?

Through this contest young students, aged from 18 to 25, have the chance to express their idea on the peaceful revolutions/transitions which characterised Eastern European countries between 1989 and 1991, investigating about the European ideals and principles which belonged to this period and how they reflect in these countries’ politics nowadays.

The conditions to participate are:

  1. Be a student between 18 and 25 years old.
  2. An essay, in English, from 600 to 1000 words essay under the title: 1989-1991 the fall of communist regimes: what was the idea of Europe behind the Central-Eastern European and Baltic countries’ democratic transition?
  3. Attend to one or more events of the Democracy is Europe projects.
  4. Send the short essay to giulia.stefano@federalists.eu mentioning in the subject title “DEMEU Essay Competition”.

The final prize will be 250 euro to be used for books, online courses, cultural events (local or not), magazines, art items, and several European Union official gadgets which the awarded student will receive in December at the project closure.

The nEUres project, Nonviolent European Resistance, was born in October 2019 from the Nonviolent Movement in Italy. Its purpose was that of spreading information on the history of Nonviolent resistance to Nazi-fascim in Europe among young people as a starting point for reflection on Civil Society. Contrary to popular belief, Nonviolent resistance does not mean only pacifism, but also the ability to be proactive on a daily basis through refusal to obey certain laws or governmental demands, with the aim of influencing the legislation or government policy. Refusal and opposition are characterised by the use of non-violent techniques such as boycotts, picketing, non-payment of taxes, and failure or refusal to cooperate.

Passing through six countries, Italy, Austria, Hungary, North Macedonia, Romania and Spain, it was possible to impart knowledge, and encourage a transnational discussion on the forms of organised and unorganized Nonviolent resistance to Nazi-fascism. The educators responsible for sharing this knowledge were trained during the first of the three planned modules, which, ideally, are expected to end with an international conference in Turin.

Despite the fact that the pandemic forced nEUres partners to resort to hybrid and/or remote ways of conducting both the workshops and the 72-hour training course, the partner organisations achieved the training objectives. The workshops dedicated to the younger generation focused on ways to reinforce Nonviolent resistance: to impart historical knowledge of cases of Nonviolent resistance in the 20th century; to enhance the capacity for critical reflection and reading of historical events from a Nonviolent perspective; to improve the analysis of conflicts, power dynamics and leadership in order to facilitate action on Nonviolent principles and techniques.

nEUres builds on Gandhi's teachings through his satyagraha (force of truth), distinguishing itself from the passive Nonviolence movements of those who prefer not to intervene and follows Martin Luther King Jr.'s six principles of Nonviolence. But nEUres and the values of freedom, peace, justice, democracy and coexistence are deeply European. We see these Values in the actions of the men and women who laid the foundations for contemporary Europe. The protagonists of this heritage would today have a European passport. Examples of these are: Jan Palach, a socialist student from Czechia who died by setting himself on fire in protest as a symbol of the anti-Soviet resistance of the Prague Spring in 1968; Hannah Arendt from Germany who, through writing, resisted and recounted Nazi persecution; Marek Edelman from Poland, an activist and politician who took part in the Warsaw ghetto uprising and later became a militant in Solidarnosc; Celeste Caeiro, a Portuguese worker, who distributed and inserted carnations into the barrels of the rifles during the 1974 revolution. These are just a few of the Founding Mothers and Fathers of the idea of Europe as a project of hope and peace.

What does it mean to be Nonviolent in Europe today?

Today, the Nonviolent struggle means defending life, dignity, and the rights of all human beings. The fight for peace is also the fight for a more sustainable and solidarity-based future, as well as the fight against climate change. The latter started with Alexander Langer, one of the first to take the issue of ecological transition to Europe. Today, Nonviolence means the strikes of young people on Fridays for Future, a global movement for climate and environmental justice driven by young Europeans. Greta Thunberg, sitting outside the Swedish parliament during school hours in her "School Strike for the Climate" was the first to set the example. Nonviolence today means opposing exploitation, as Irene reminds us in the Italian workshop "an example of Nonviolent resistance today are the worker- riders who struggle to obtain decent working conditions". Nonviolence today means opposing sovereignist and populist logics, for a Europe of solidarity and welcoming.
It is "the everyday struggle of migrants against xenophobia", says Muscas to his companions of the Hungarian workshop. Dignity and equality are the keywords.

Nonviolent resistance today is, therefore, also opposition to war and violence, racism and all forms of persecution, exploitation and oppression. It is fundamental to oppose weapons and armed organisations, and it is imperative to choose the path of truth to achieve peace. nEUres aims, through its activities, to keep alive the memory of the past in order to look with more clarity towards the future and to have the strength to act against violence in the present. The beliefs on which this project rests can be traced back to the words of Aldo Capitini, founder of the Nonviolent Movement, who stated in 1940 "to work for a liberal and social Europe, without conservatism and particularism […] for tomorrow (regardless of the outcome) the principle of a supranational economic and cultural community". In 1940 Europe was in the midst of a world war. It was unthinkable to talk about peace, and even less so a Union of States. Yet, from Ventotene to Brussels, Europe is humanity's
greatest peace project and boasts more than 70 years of peace in one of the most fragmented and quarrelsome continents.

Today, more than ever, the European Union must be democratic, federalist and a beacon for the green and digital transitions. The crises brought upon by the financial crash of 2008, the migration flows of 2015- 2016, the rise of national populism, the 2016 Brexit referendum, the Covid-19 pandemic or climate change require a paradigm shift for the survival of the Union from national selfishness to a revival of the project of Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi, that in a bitter-tasting spring like this one, wrote the Ventotene Manifesto. The manifesto was then spread across the continent thanks to the commitment of some colleagues, including Ursula Hirschmann and Ada Rossi. It is a forward-looking manifesto, which has remained relevant 81 years after its first edition and has the great merit of bringing together the ideas of three great philosophers, Kant, Robbins and Lord Lothian and of proposing new policies that have given birth to the European Federalist Movement.

A movement that was not born in the palaces of power, but within the walls of a cold house on a small island where dozens of opponents had been sent into exile by the fascist regime. A project born from a common conscience, from young people who dedicated their lives to build an idea that today lies in our hands and is our responsibility to defend: the idea of a Free and United Europe.

Written by Cecilia Comastri, UEF Project Assistant - July 2021

You can read the article in:

French

German

Hungarian

Italian

North Macedonian

Romanian

Spanish

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.

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