UEF - Union of European Federalists

Today the European Council reached an agreement on the creation of a budget for the Eurozone. Sandro GOZI, President of the Union of European Federalists comments…

Today the European Council reached an agreement on the creation of a budget for the Eurozone. Sandro GOZI, President of the Union of European Federalists comments:

“After many months of blockage and inaction, today’s agreement on the creation of a budget for the Eurozone is a small but important symbolical step forward. While the size of the budget is likely to be very small, the agreement of national governments that a common currency needs a common budget is a major breakthrough for the future development of the Eurozone architecture. When the next economic crisis hits, we need a tool on the European level to fight back, and it has been time that all Member States agreed to this principle.”

“Unfortunately, President Macron’s proposals have been watered down in negotiations, leaving us with a less than ideal result. I fear that the current proposal risks not only being too small to counter a major crisis like in 2012 but also it duplicates parts of existing programmes instead of filling the gaps in the Eurozone architecture.”

“Building on this proposal the new Commission should propose an additional budgetary capacity that is not part of the general EU budget and can be scaled up quickly when it is needed. Such a budget also should give the flexibility to spend the funds where and when it is needed and not be allocated to Member States over seven years according to their contributions. Time is running out to fix the roof while the sun is shining. Negotiations on the Eurozone budget need to be decoupled from the general EU budget and start focusing on building a real monetary and fiscal union before it is too late”, continues Sandro GOZI.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is a pan-European, non-governmental political organisation dedicated to the promotion of European political unity. For more than 70 years UEF has been a leading voice in the promotion of European unity and an early campaigner for key milestones in the development of the European Communities and then the European Union. With 25 national sections and over 400 local groups across Europe, UEF promotes a federal Europe among citizens and political representatives at all levels of government.

PRESS CONTACT:
Valentina Presa
+32 (0) 2 508 3030
news@federalists.eu

Our "I Choose Europe" campaign for the European elections has been a large success in calling citizens who believe in European unity to come out and vote for a Stronger, Democratic, Social, and Federal Europe.

With over 250 candidates to the European Parliament who signed our pledge, we managed to form a strong core of federalist supporters in the new European Parliament.

Watch HERE an overview of our campaign, and have a look at our main achievements below.

No fewer than 45 MEPs were elected, and they will form the first core group of Members who will take part in the relaunch of the next Spinelli Group.

As European federalists, we can only wish them all the best in their work — for a more united, sovereign, and democratic Europe!

Ahead of the European elections starting on Thursday, 256 candidates to the European Parliament have committed to support the European Federalists' demands for the next European Parliament. Supporters come from a range of political parties and countries.

You find the list per country and an on-line picture gallery here.

The European Federalists invite citizens to go and vote and support only candidates who have committed to support a stronger, more democratic, federal Europe.

Key demands of the European Federalists supported by candidates include a stronger Economic and Monetary Union (with a Eurozone own budget), a single European foreign, security and defense policy (with stronger European defense capabilities), a European migration system (including the management of external EU borders through European forces and EU channels for legal migration), make Europe a global leader in combating climate change and promoting the transition to a fully environment-friendly economy, and an increased European budget based on own resources. Candidates have also pledged to engage the next European Parliament in reforming EU treaties towards a stronger, more democratic, more social, more effective, federal Europe.

Here the "Appeal and pledge for candidates and citizens"

EDITOR'S NOTE

The Young European Federalists (JEF-Europe) is a non-partisan youth NGO with 13.000 members active in more than 30 countries. The organisation strives towards a federal Europe based on the principles of democracy and subsidiarity as well as respect for human rights. JEF promotes true European Citizenship, and works towards more active participation of young people in democratic life.

PRESS CONTACT:
Valentina Presa
+32 (0) 2 508 3030
news@federalists.eu

With two weeks to go until the European Parliament elections, today the continent dwells in celebrating the achievements of the EU, on the 69th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, preferring to look back at what has been achieved instead of looking forward into our future. 2019 looked like it was going to be a promising year with a window of opportunity opened for institutional reform and further EU integration – finally, a year of the Future of Europe debates, a year of bold, common solutions to European challenges. But today, on the 9th of May 2019, we see European leaders yet again defending the status quo, or worse backsliding towards nationalistic and authoritarian tendencies.

Simply celebrating the EU and its achievements is not enough anymore. Our continent is in need of common solutions driven by European democracy: we are still a long way from the federal Europe our Founding Fathers and Mothers envisioned and fought for.

“Today we decide to not only celebrate Europe, but to Choose Europe: wholeheartedly and without reservations! Unlike European leaders today, we decide to look into the future, our common future and work to change Europe for the better. A future where we see the EU transformed into a real political Union, one where the EU is capable of solving European-wide problems - one where even more citizens choose Europe”, states Emma Farrugia, Executive Board Member of the Young European Federalists (JEF) Europe.

“How can we celebrate the successes of the EU in the last 70 years or so, without an even modest attempt at providing a clear vision of where we want to go in the next decade? How can we expect people to go vote and increase the 2014’s European election youth turnout when the problems that we will have to deal with in our lifetime are not even being properly tackled on European level? A project for radical change towards a more united, democratic and federal Europe is today more necessary than ever to keep the promises of the Schuman declaration and rally again the support of European citizens”, comments Paolo Vacca, Secretary General of the Union of European Federalists (UEF).

“Our time is now! It is time to Choose Europe! We must act to ensure our common European future. Only by taking courageous steps towards a real political Union, will we be able to respond to the needs and concerns of us European citizens, thus fulfilling the vision of our founding parents”, confirm both Farrugia and Vacca.

Thousands of UEF and JEF members and activists across the continent will be choosing Europe and connecting with each other via political debates, dinner table discussions, street actions and other Europe-wide festivities to support a much needed, comprehensive, and democratic reform of the EU. Take part in our pan-European campaign by sending a special ‘I Choose Europe’ postcard to your friends in other cities and regions of Europe, calling on them to join the European Federalists in fighting for real European democracy! #IChooseAFederalEurope

9th of May: Background

On the 9th of May, 1950, Robert Schuman held a speech in Paris where he foresaw the pooling of French and German coal and steel production, as a first step toward the political unity of the Continent. This idea became the European Coal and Steel Community, which later evolved into the European Union. Today Europe Day celebrates sixty-nine years from the Declaration, paying tribute to a significant landmark in the history European integration.

I choose Europe is JEF Europe campaign for the European Parliament elections, designed to encourage and strengthen European-oriented youth participation for the European Parliament Elections 2019 and in the longer term for the future of Europe.

Studies have shown that asking people specifically if they plan to vote and if they already know when and where they are planning to go to vote increases turnout.

So we are going out the last weekend before the elections. We are going to use our pledge for citizens to launch debate with passer-by or we are going to create posters with outrageous quotes by MEPs and use them to confront people in the streets as proposed by JEF.

You will find a series of “outrageous” quotes from local Eurosceptic MEPs and we will see if they meet your consensus or not.