Statement by the Union of European Federalists on the European Council Conclusions of 18 December 2025 on Ukraine

Brussels, 19 December 2025

The Union of European Federalists welcomes the decision of the European Council to resort to the issuance of common EU debt to grant Ukraine financial assistance to the tune of ninety billion euros, with the backing of the EU budget. This measure is fundamental to continue its defence operations in face of Putin´s unprovoked aggression, also for the benefit of European security as a whole.

This decision also constitutes a further and significant step - after SURE, NextGenerationEU, and SAFE - in the development of a genuine European fiscal capacity, confirming that the Union can act beyond convention, even if once again only in times of existential crisis. Still, the EU must introduce real own resources, that is, non-dependent from national contributions, to finance its debt issuances.

At the same time, we regret that the European Council failed to agree on the use of the frozen assets of the aggressor state to finance Ukraine’s defence and reconstruction. This omission represents a missed opportunity to deliver a better deal for EU taxpayers, and a strong and credible political signal, both to President Putin and to those who question Europe’s resolve, like Trump´s US.  We call for continued engagement on this solution.

More broadly, the conclusions once again reveal the political unsustainability of unanimous decision-making, particularly when a few national leaders are effectively Putin´s allies, and of ad hoc arrangements in the face of strategic challenges. Effective unity of action can only be achieved by making full use of the qualified majority voting possibilities already provided for in the Treaties, and ultimately by reforming the Treaties themselves to endow the Union with the powers required to act decisively with full democratic legitimacy.

In this context, the Union of European Federalists calls on the President of the European Council, to place on the agenda of the next European Council meeting the activation of the Common Defence provisions of Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union, as well as the follow up of the proposal to reform the Treaties in accordance with Article 48 of the Treaty of the European Union.

Further use of the emergency procedure of article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be accompanied by an inter-institutional agreement to ensure the involvement of the European Parliament.

Finally, we call on the European Parliament to assume its political responsibility and to take the lead in convening a European Parliamentary Assembly (Assises), bringing together elected representatives and citizens, with the aim of relaunching the European integration process on a federal basis and with a renewed democratic mandate.

Read here the presentation

Rewatch here the webinar

Here the article published by the Greek Newspapar TO BHMA about the recent political event in Athens and then the following days of working on the Federal Committe meeting.

Here the online article.

Read here the article:
"The annual meeting of the Federal Committee of the Union of European Federalists - The need for the creation of a European federation - took place in Athens for the first time."

The workshop gathered 27 members in presence, coming from the UEF sections of Bulgaria, Romania, Kosovo, and Hungary.

All participants actively took part in the discussion. Each member was invited to intervene and share their perspective, ensuring a balanced and inclusive debate. More experienced members contributed with long-term strategic vision and institutional memory, while younger participants brought fresh perspectives and innovative ideas for addressing long-standing challenges.

Throughout the discussion, several common structural problems affecting national sections clearly emerged:

• a limited number of active volunteers, often with insufficient organisational and communication skills;
• very limited financial resources, with sections relying almost exclusively on membership fees;
• a lack of technical competences, particularly in the field of communication and digital tools.

Participants collectively reflected on how these challenges can be addressed through mutual support, knowledge sharing, and targeted capacity-building efforts within the federalist family. The discussion highlighted the value of the twinning program method as a practical tool to connect stronger or more experienced sections with those facing difficulties, enabling mentoring, exchange of best practices, and joint initiatives.

The workshop confirmed the importance of community building, intergenerational dialogue, and cross-border cooperation as key elements for reviving national sections and bringing people together around the federalist cause.

The workshop brought together 27 participants from the UEF sections of Romania, Kosovo, Bulgaria, and Hungary, reflecting the diversity and vitality of the Balkan federalist family.

Participants were divided into three working groups, each representing a fictional national UEF section. At the start of the exercise, every group received a sealed envelope containing a set of cards describing the initial conditions of their section, including organisational strengths and weaknesses, political context, available human resources, and external constraints.

Each group was given 45 minutes to develop a one-year strategic plan, which had to include the following elements:

• organisational structure and internal capacity building;
• a flagship political campaign;
• a communication strategy;
• one major annual public event;
• a recruitment and membership retention plan.

To mirror real-life dynamics, the simulation also included periodic deliveries of new cards introducing unexpected events, opportunities, or difficulties (bonus/malus). These elements required groups to continuously adapt their strategies, reflecting the reality that national sections must constantly respond to evolving political, organisational, and social challenges.

At the end of the simulation phase, the three groups reconvened in a plenary session, during which each team presented its strategic choices, priorities, and lessons learned. This was followed by an open discussion that allowed participants to compare approaches, identify common challenges, and highlight transferable solutions and best practices.

The workshop proved to be a highly engaging and effective format, fostering peer learning, strategic thinking, and regional solidarity. It reinforced the importance of planning, adaptability, communication, and collective leadership in building resilient and impactful federalist organisations across the Balkan region.

Pictures of the Political Debate: The EU at Crossroads: 20 Years After the Big Bang Enlargement, Is the EU Ready for the Next Wave? Can the EU Avoid Another Lost Decade in the Western Balkans?

Pictures of keynote speech by Rosen Plevneliev, Former President of Bulgaria, followed by a Q&A

Pictures of Political Debate: Can the EU Deliver? The new Commission’s first year, the MFF review, and what it takes to build a strong and secure Europe.

Here the presentation done

Here the recording of the workshop

Brussels, 11 December 2025

The new US National Security Strategy aims to ensure American global preeminence, "America first," and its tool is "divide and conquer." It comes on the wake of the 28-point capitulation plan for Ukraine that mirrored Putin´s illegal demands. It identifies China and the European Union as antagonists, but not Russia. The defense of Ukraine and European security are no longer a priority. It formalizes the Trump Administration's hostility toward the European unification project. Not surprisingly, Putin quickly welcomed this document.

Trump´s US wants a deregulated European market, by watering-down our rules on digital, artificial intelligence, environment, and due diligence of companies, so US corporations can profit without any restriction. In addition, the US does not want Europeans to become autonomous in terms of security through a European defense, but rather to spend more on American weapons. It does not intend to simply focus on competing with China (as some in Europe had hoped) but considers it detrimental to American interests for the European Union to grow and strengthen. In the nationalist project of MAGA ideology, the European model—founded on freedom and the protection of citizens through rules, the rule of law, the pursuit of social justice, democracy, and inclusiveness—is also a moral competitor.

The message could not be clearer for pro-European political forces in Europe, for democratic governments, and for the EU institutions. The US has turned from ally to foe. EU leaders that are still in denial should wake up to this new reality: this is the end of America's guarantee of European security. Therefore, it is essential to step up Europe´s support to Ukraine, including though the reparations loan and the development of new capacities, and to rapidly create a European defense system in accordance with article 42 of the TEU, as European pillar of NATO, to restore Europeans' real deterrent capacity in the face of the threat from Russia, effectively supported by Trump. The tools, if desired, are available, starting with the creative use of Permanent Structured Cooperation in the field of defense (PESCO).

In this NSS, Trump has also declared its support for the national-populist and Eurosceptical political forces in European member states. Europe's enemies, who finance subversive anti-democratic movements within Europe, are extremely powerful. At the same time, European Union institutions—lacking in competence, power, and resources—and the member states—powerless and inadequate—are vulnerable and weak. Until member states agree to create shared sovereignty in key areas of foreign policy, security, and defense, and complement monetary union with banking union, a unified capital market, and a federal budget, thus creating a truly federal political union, this state of paralysis will perpetuate, and Europeans will not be able to take their destiny into their own hands. The European Parliament has reiterated the call for treaty reform to adapt institutions and decision-making mechanisms to these existential challenges. Now it is up to the most influential Member States within the EU to take the lead in building a true political union that will overcome the unanimity rule.

Therefore, and in view of the European Council meeting of the 18^th of December 2025, the Union of European Federalists, and in line with the Action Committee for the United States of Europe, calls on to the Heads of State and Government to agree on:

1. Full legal risk-sharing among EU countries regarding the use of frozen Russian funds as collateral for the issuance of EU debt to finance Ukraine.
2. The activation of article 42.2 TEU on European Common Defence, and subsidiarily, the recourse to Permanent Structured Cooperation to build a European defense system, with a common command-and control system for the territorial defence of Europe, in order to guarantee the mutual assistance clause of article 42.7 TEU.
3. The progressive scale-up of the Rapid Deployment Capacity from 5.000 to a 60,000-strong rapid reaction force, approved by the Helsinki European Council in 1999, and the communitarizing existing bilateral and multilateral military cooperation between member states; and, within this framework, launching a Joint Undertaking between the EU and member states to develo and acquire Strategic Enablers, starting with satellite surveillance, secure communications, transport of vehicles and troops, and anti-aircraft defense, which could prove vital to replace US support to Ukraine;
4. The activation of the Treaty reform procedure as requested by the European Parliament in its 2023 proposal to overcome unanimity and extend the ordinary legislative procedure.

In an increasingly polarized international context, where only continent-sized empires — such as the United States, China, Russia and India — carry real weight, Europe needs a federal government capable of speaking with a single voice in the world and of protecting the rights and interests of European citizens. Their freedom, democracy and self-determination do not lie in the return to old national sovereignties, but in the completion of the European integration process, with federal, democratic, and accountable institutions able to tackle our common challenges: security, climate, innovation, migration and global competitiveness.

Watch the new video produced by EUMS with sponsorship of the UEF, about the recent approval of the resolution (2025/2013(INI)) Institutional aspects of the Report on the future of European Competitiveness (Draghi Report),with Brando Benifei MEP S&D and former Chair of the Spinelli Group as Rapportouer).

Europe is falling behind the United States, and Parliament is once again pushing for major reforms to close the gap. This video breaks down the EU’s latest attempt to strengthen its institutions, upgrade the Single Market, and move toward a more federal Europe. We look at why Parliament is calling for Treaty change, why previous proposals stalled, and what national leaders would need to do next. With the EU facing growing economic and geopolitical pressure, the question is whether this third attempt will finally make a difference. If you want to understand where Europe goes from here, this is the video to watch.

Watch more video produeced by EUMS and UEF here

EU Made Simple, our partner for producing high-quality videos viewed by tens of thousands of people, has decided to create a documentary series dedicated to the mothers and fathers of Europe.

This second episode about Jean Monnet was produced with the collaboration and sponsorship of the UEF. Enjoy watching.

For other Episodes of this Series in the UEF Library Series here: LINK

Europe wasn’t built in parliaments or on battlefields—but in quiet offices, through deals, trust, and relentless diplomacy. This is the untold story of Jean Monnet, the man who shaped modern Europe without ever holding elected office. From the chaos of two world wars, Monnet crafted a vision for unity that became the foundation of today’s European Union. Discover how one strategist’s concrete achievements created a de facto solidarity that still defines Europe today. This is Episode 2 in our Founding Fathers & Mothers of Europe series from EU Made Simple.

This is produced with the contribution of the Association Jean Monnet for pictures and video from archives.