Presentation of the Proposal

Presentation

The Proposal of a Manifesto for a Federal Europe: sovereign, social and ecological, was an idea born in 2021on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Ventotene Manifesto and during the development of the Conference on the Future of Europe. A total of 23 drafters (representatives of political organizations, federalist activists, academics and experts) and 60 supporters have set proposals inspired in the heritage of the Ventotene Manifesto in today´s context: the need to update the European institutional framework in a federal path and improving the global governance; the challenges resulted from the war in Ukraine; the health emergency and the climate crisis; the digital revolution; and the challenges to Human Rights as consequence of deepening inequalities. The proposal presented captures a diverse and constructive approach to culminate the necessary European federation.

After its first presentation on the 2 nd of March 2022 in Brussels, the Proposal of a Manifesto for a Federal Europe: sovereign, social and ecological was launched in the Island of Ventotene (Italy) on the 29th of August 2022, in occasion of the federalist seminar yearly organised by the Istituto Altiero Spinelli, by a delegation of the Spinelli Group Members in the European Parliament and federalist activists. Particularly:
Daniel Freund, President of the Spinelli Group (Greens, Germany), Salvatore de Meo (EPP, Italy), Domènec Ruiz Devesa (S&D,Spain), Guy Verhofstad (Renew, Belgium), Helmut Scholz (Left, Germany), Pietro Bartolo, (S&D, Italy), Fabio Massimo Castaldo (Non-Attached), Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy), Alin Mituta (Renew Europe) and Thijs Reuten (S&D, The Netherlands) – and representatives of different proeuropean organisations, such as the Italian Council of the European Movement, Group Europe, the Union of European Federalists in Spain, Belgium and France.

The Ventotene Lighthouse participated from the beginning to drafting the Manifesto and support it.

Drafters & Contributors:

Domènec Ruiz Devesa, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Board Member of the Spinelli Group, Vicepresident of the Union of European Federalists (UEF)

Guy Verhofstadt, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe), Co-founder and Board Member of the Spinelli Group, Co-chair of the Executive Board of the
Conference for the Future of Europe

Daniel Freund, Member of the European Parliament (Greens/EFA), President of the Spinelli Group, Vice President of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament

Salvatore De Meo, Member of the European Parliament (EPP)

Pietro Bartolo, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Alin Mituta, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe), Member of the Spinelli Group

Helmut Scholz, Member of the European Parliament (The Left), Board Member of the Spinelli Group

Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Member of the European Parliament (Non-Attached), Member of the Spinelli Group, Member of the Federal Committee of the Union of European Federalists (UEF)

Pier Virgilio Dastoli, President of the Italian Council of the European Movement, Former collaborator of Altiero Spinelli

Laura Maria Cinquini, Former Ambassador, citizen ́s panel of the Conference on
the Future of Europe

Paolo Acunzo, Member of the Federal Committee of the Union of European Federalists (UEF)

Nicola Vallinoto, Member of the World Federalist Movement (WFM)

Tommaso Visone, Associate Professor of History of Political Doctrines, Member of the Movimento Federalista Europeo (MFE)

Antonio Longo, Member of the Federal Committee of the Movimento Federalista Italiano (MFE), and Director the Ventotene Lighthouse

Jaap Hoeksma Philosopher of law, Director of Euroknow

Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Writer, Former Member of the European Parliament, Co-founder of the Spinelli Group

Enrique Barón Crespo, Former President of the European Parliament, Union
of Europeanists and Federalists (UEF) Spain President

Hans-Gert Pöttering, Former President of the European Parliament, President of the Board, House of European History

Luca Visentini, Secretary General, European Trade Union Confederation

Danuta Hübner, Member of the European Parliament (EPP), Board Member of the Spinelli Group

Sophie in ‘t Veld, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe), Member of the Spinelli Group

Maite Pagazaurtundúa, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe), Member of the Spinelli Group

Pierre Larrouturou, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member
of the Spinelli Group

Lucio Levi, Former President of the Movimento Federalista Europeo (MFE), Professor of Political Science

Francisco Aldecoa Luzárraga, President of the Spanish Federal Council of the
European Movement, Professor of International Relations

Paolo Ponzano, Author, University professor, and Member, Movimento Federalista Europeo (MFE)

Guido Montani, Former President of the Movimento Federalista Europeo (MFE), Professor of Political Economy

Domenico Moro, Member of the Federal Committee, Movimento Federalista Europeo (MFE)

François Leray, President of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) France

Alberto Alemanno, Professor Jean Monnet, EU law

Carlos María Bru Purón, Former Member of the European Parliament

Andreas Bummel, Author, Co-founder and director of Democracy Without Borders and the International Campaign for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly

Fernando Iglesias, Co-President of the World Federalist Movement, Member of Parliament, Argentina

Participating colleagues of the Spinelli Group & other supporters

Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Board Member of the Spinelli Group, Vice-President of the European Movement International

Thijs Reuten, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Jonás Fernández Álvarez, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spnelli Group

Dafni Gogou, Member of the Board Union of European Federalists (UEF)

François Mennerat, Member of the Board Union of European Federalists (UEF)

Giulia Iapichino, Doctorate researcher in Political Science

Francesco Sanguineti, Researcher and writer

Alejandra Oriola Almarcha, Member of the Young European Federalists of Spain

Silvana Boccanfuso, Historian, Writer

Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Vice-President of the European Parliament (The Left), Board Member of the Spinelli Group

Othmar Karas, Member of the European parliament (EPP) and Vice-President of the European Parliament, Member of the Spinelli Group

Monica Frassoni, Former Member of the European Parliament, Former General Secretary Young European Federalists (JEF)

Jo Leinen, Former Member of the European Parliament, Union of European Federalists (UEF) Honorary President, Former President of the European Movement International

Mercedes Bresso, Former member of the European Parliament Former President of the Union of European Federalists (UEF)

Andrew Duff, Former Member of the European Parliament, Former President of the
Union of European Federalists (UEF), Former President of the Spinelli Group

Gabriele Bischoff, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Board Member of the Spinelli Group

Pierluigi Castagnetti, Former Member of the European Parliament, Former Member of the Italian Parliament

Maria João Rodrigues, Former Member of the European Parliament, Former Vice-President of the S&D Group, President of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies

Pascal Durand, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe), Board Member of the Spinelli Group

Damian Boeselager, Member of the European Parliament (Greens/EFA), Board Member of the Spinelli Group

Katalin Cseh, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe), Board Member of the Spinelli Group

Gwendoline Delbos-Cornfield, Member of the European Parliament (Greens/EFA), Board Member of the Spinelli Group

Radan Kanev, Member of the European Parliament (EPP), Member of the Spinelli Group

Javier Moreno Sánchez, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Eugenia Rodríguez Palop, Member of the European Parliament (The Left), Member of the Spinelli Group

Bernard Guetta, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe), Member of the Spinelli Group

Eider Gardiazabal Rubial, Member of the European Parliament (S&D) Member of the Spinelli Group

Ernest Urtasun, Member of the European Parliament (Greens/EFA), Member of the Spinelli Group

Sylvie Guillaume, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Hilde Vautmans, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe), Member of the Spinelli Group

Niklas Nienass, Member of the European Parliament (Greens/EFA), Member of the Spinelli Group

Isabel García Muñoz, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Olivier Chastel, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe), Member of the Spinelli Group

Petras Auštrevičius, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe), Member of the Spinelli Group

Klára Dobrev, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Nacho Sánchez Amor, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Cristina Maestre, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Sandor Ronai, Member of the European, Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Inmaculada Rodríguez Piñero, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Delara Burkhardt, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Estrella Durá, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Giuliano Pisapia, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Adriana Maldonado, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Ibán García del Blanco, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Rene Repasi, Member of the European Parliament (S&D)

Nicolás González Casares, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Lina Gálvez Muñoz, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Michele Ciavarini Azzi, President of the Union of European Federalists (UEF), Belgium

Alícia Homs, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Javier López, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Alessandra Moretti, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

César Luena, Member of the European Parliament (S&D), Member of the Spinelli Group

Francesco Cerasani, Member of the Partito Democratico (PD) Executive Board

Carlos Carnero, Former Member of the European Parliament

Catherine Vielledent, Group Europe (UEF) Secretary General

Josep Lluís Salazar, Member of Federalistes d́Esquerres (UEF) Catalunya

Montserrat Oliván, Member of Federalistes d́Esquerres (UEF) Catalunya

Domenico Rossetti, Secretary General of the Union of European Federalists (UEF), Belgium

Pablo Faura, Former President of the Union of Europeanist and Federalists (UEF) Spain

Pilar Llorente, Former Vicepresident of the Union of Europeanists and Federalists (UEF) Spain

Piero Graglia, Historian, Professor

Collaborators

Martina Ciai, Writer, Parliamentary Assistant at the European Parliament

Eleonora Vasques, Journalist

Alejandro Peinado García, Parliamentary Assistant at the European Parliament,
Secretary General, Union of Europeanists and Federalists (UEF) Spain

Rosa Pérez Monclús, Parliamentary Assistant at the European Parliament

Iria Campo Rey, Trainee at the European Parliament

Witness

Silvia Costa, Commissario straordinario di Governo per il Progetto di recupero dell’́ex carcere borbonico di S. Stefano, Former Member of the European Parliament

Carmine Caputo, Sindaco dell’Isola di Ventotene

MANIFESTO FOR A FEDERAL EUROPE – PDF VERSION

It is glaringly evident that strategic objectives and clear guidelines for a European foreign and security policy urgently need to be formulated.
The European Union is committed to defining its role and taking action for a new “world order”, focusing on the development of multilateralism as the best way to govern global public goods.
Europe’s neighbouring areas represent the most immediate test for a truly European foreign policy.
This Appeal, starting from Italy, sets out to contribute with opinions and proposals to a broad debate on these issues in Europe.
It has been sent to the President of the European Parliament, the President of the European Commission and to the High Representative for Foreign Policy and European Security.

The Appeal

The pandemic has hit Europe and the rest of the world hard, making it glaringly evident that we urgently need to transform the economy and our way of life if they are to remain compatible, in the long term, with Planet Earth.

The world needs a new political order, based on the creation of global supranational institutions to protect global public goods, above all health and the environment.

Multilateral, cooperative policies between states are required, starting with the USA, China and Russia, in order to overcome the power politics that have always characterized relations between them.

Europe, which came into being based on the very idea of moving past the absolute sovereignty of states, can and must accept its own responsibilities in building this new ‘world order’: relations between states must be based on universally recognized law; democracy and the human rights of freedom and equality must be pursued – as well as affirmed – as universal values.

These are the basic conditions that must be met for the individual to be considered an
“autonomous centre of life”, as was written in the “Ventotene Manifesto” eighty years ago.

The European Union can no longer put off formulating its own foreign policy based on these principles, establishing its own strategic autonomy within the framework of a renewed Atlantic Alliance (as an equal partnership).

This has been highlighted by recent events in Afghanistan, which have pointed up the irreversible crisis of the United States in the role of “government of the West”.

It is also dictated by the need to forge a new relationship with Russia based on détente and
cooperation, inspired by the perspective of the “Common European Home” indicated by
Gorbachev in his day.

Europe must equip itself with its own defence force: it urgently needs military troops capable of rapid intervention to defend European territory and intervene abroad in the defence of human rights, “for peace keeping, conflict prevention and strengthening international security in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter” (Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union).

This new European military force could be based on the present Eurocorps, and incorporated into the existing Treaties. It should operate under the control of a European Council acting as “European Security Council”, comprising the states supplying personnel and resources.

In recent times, European institutions have been driving change, gradually enabling the European Union to provide a coordinated, common response, both to emergencies and for health security, and in economic and social terms. In the space of a few months the Recovery Plan for Europe introduced the Union’s first form of fiscal capacity, issuing European bonds to finance the green energy and digital transition of the economy, and social and territorial cohesion, in an increasingly federal union.

To consolidate the change that has taken place and launch a genuine common foreign and
security policy, it is now imperative to outline Europe’s role in neighbouring areas in more detail.

The content of European foreign policy is determined by its response to real issues.

There are three main challenges facing the European institutions in the short term.

1) A single policy for the Mediterranean area.

The Mediterranean sea is the dumping ground for the tensions and unsolved problems in Africa and the Middle East. The Union can no longer stand by in the face of the democratic power vacuum in North Africa (and sub-Saharan Africa), which condemns these countries to underdevelopment, resource grabbing and uncontrollable migration, making them hubs of illicit traffic, and home to corrupt systems of power and endless internal wars. This situation prevents these areas from initiating a process of sustainable development and energy transition, which is the only way to change the economy and life of these countries.
To this end, the European Union must:

• Identify a clear common strategy (at least among the EU governments interested, and as a continuation of the approach formulated at the Berlin Conference on Libya, of January 2020 and  June 2021) towards the countries of North Africa, to help them achieve political stability in the context of a democratic process, also guaranteed by the UN;
• present a coordinated energy transition plan to the countries of North Africa – as the basis of a Plan between the European Union and the African Union. This should be based on the pan-African management of public goods (water, alternative energies, agriculture), the shared construction of material infrastructures (energy networks, port and airport systems) and the development of cultural and technological partnerships (universities, research centres) to launch forms of sustainable economic integration between the two of the Mediterranean, also capitalizing on existing city networks (e.g. medCities).

An outlook of this kind would also benefit the southern regions of the Union, a natural “bridge” between Europe and Africa, thanks also to the use of NextGenEU resources.

1. EU accession for the Western Balkans

The peoples of the Western Balkans are an integral part of European history and culture. For them, joining the Union would be a way to move beyond their disastrous experience of the nation-state, and the tragic divisions, war and currents of nationalism that they experienced in the 1990s.

The decision to embrace a common destiny, with shared rights and duties, has the same meaning for them now as it had for those European states which, after two horrific world wars, decided to change the course of events by initiating a process of unity.

For the Union, the inclusion of the Western Balkans is motivated by clear political/strategic reasons, rather than economic considerations. By broadening the reach of its governance to unstable areas of Europe, the Union will play a more significant role in the dialogue with the US, Russia and China when it comes to drawing up global rules to govern relations between states.

For the Western Balkans, belonging to the Union will guarantee a security they would otherwise not be able to have. Being part of the European Green Deal project would enable these countries to make a qualitative leap in their economic and social development, in common with other European peoples.

The policy of enlargement has always had the effect of strengthening the European institutions, as happened when the Eastern Europe countries joined the Union: the Treaty of Lisbon heralded great institutional progress, strengthening the powers of the Parliament and the Commission. Enlarging the Union is a clear sign of its successful vocation to unite peoples, changing relations between states and bringing them into the arena of law rather than force: this is the essence of a federal process.

The Council has already decided (March 2020) to start accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia and the Commission has already presented (July 2020) the draft negotiating frameworks to the Member States – the first to take into account the ‘revised methodology for enlargement to the Western Balkans”. The negotiations must be based on countries committing to respect the principles of the “rule of law”.

The process of enlargement to the Western Balkans. including Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, must be restarted soon, so it can be successfully completed before the next European elections in 2024, thus enabling these countries to be part of the European constitutional process.

2. Peace in the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian question

The Middle East continues to be the area in which global disorder generates the most serious crises. Over time, conflicts between superpowers have also led to conflicts between “regional” powers for the control of an area crucial to a global economy whose growth is fuelled by oil.

A radical change is needed, with a new path to offer security and development to this part of the world: cooperation must replace conflict, and the rule of law must prevail over force, exactly as happened with the process of European unification seventy years ago, which transformed relations between European states after centuries of war.

Only in this context will European action to rescue and welcome Afghan refugees become the first step in a new course, based on sustainable economic development in both environmental and social terms: alternative energies and new technologies, water and agriculture represent the main challenges.

The economic unification of the Middle East market represents the framework in which this transformation process is conceivable.

The point to leverage is the pacification between Israelis and Palestinians, as demanded by the new generations of the various communities. It is possible for them to coexist under a common democratic entity: a federation between the six Israeli provinces and the territories of the West Bank and Gaza is the only prospect/set-up capable of guaranteeing rights and security to the various communities, sanctioned by a Constituent Assembly.

The European Union is the only credible guarantor of this constitutional process, because its DNA is based on overcoming division and war.  And its economic and commercial might can help generate a new process of economic development for the entire area.

As exponents of European civil society and culture, members of federalist, pro-European, environmental and civil rights movements and political forces inspired by the values of democracy, freedom and social justice, we ask that:

• The European Parliament launch a major debate on the role of the Union in the world, setting out guidelines for a European foreign policy.
• The European Council indicate the strategic base for the Union’s foreign policy action, then let the Council decide by qualified majority how to implement it.
• the European Commission and the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy initiate the consequent foreign policy actions, rendering them enforceable and bearing political responsibility for them.
• the Conference on the Future of Europe initiate an in-depth discussion on the strategic lines of the European Union’s foreign policy.

September 30, 2021

First Signatories

Antonio Longo – Editor of The Ventotene Lighthouse – A Federalist Journal for World Citizenship – www.theventotenelighthouse.eu

Piergiorgio Grossi – Movimento Federalista Europeo, President of the Liguria Regional Council

Antonio Padoa–Schioppa – Jurist, historian, academic, University of Milan

Alessandro Cavalli – Sociologist – University of Pavia

Franco Praussello – Economist,University of Genoa

Roberto Palea – Former President of the Centre for Studies on Federalism

Fabio Masini – Economist – University of Roma-Tre

Davide Emanuele Jannace – Editor-in-chief of the webzine Eurobull www.Eurobull.it  

Roberta De Monticelli – Philosopher, San Raffaele University, Milan

Lucio Levi – Editor of the review The Federalist Debate https://www.federalist-debate.org/

Domenico Moro – Board of Centre for Studies on Federalism, Turin

Paolo Ponzano – Teacher of European Governance at the European College of Pavia

Luigi Giussani – Former World Federalist Movement Council Member

Stefano Dell’Acqua – PhD University of Pavia

Michele Sabatino – Economist Kore University of Enna

*A partnership The Ventotene Lighthouse / Eurobull

Italian version at https://www.eurobull.it/essere-giovani-in-europa-quale-futuro?lang=fr

The world is changing, visibly and dramatically. The floods which hit Central Europe in July – the last in a long series of disasters – glaringly highlighted the unpredictable consequences of climate change, which is now giving rise to increasingly perilous, abrupt and chaotic meteorological phenomena.

The situation appears to be constantly escalating. The climate system is at breaking point and any efforts being made to address the situation tend to feel like attempting to bail out a sinking ship: the water is pouring in faster than we can empty it.

The world is changing, and this is nothing new. But a rational, strategic approach to climate change, based on a long-term vision of the future, would be entirely new. Those who will have to live with the consequences of climate change are not the past generation, those who enjoyed the so-called “Economic Boom”, or those – in Europe and North America – who reaped the benefits of it during the 60s and the 70s. The new generations are those which will be trapped by the consequences of politics focused on an eternal present, and lacking the imagination to face the future.

The youngest generations, and those as yet unborn, will be living in a more and more urbanized world, with rising temperatures and without the necessary resources for their survival. These young people will need to be able to count on new political, social and economic structures, and innovative institutional systems, to tackle challenges that will otherwise be insurmountable.

The process of European unification arose and developed around the idea of ushering in a new era of peace, after the horrors of the two World Wars. But this idea is no longer enough: the Union now has to take responsibility, and it is a huge responsibility, for building a new and different future for its younger generations. And not just for them alone, because the challenges involved go beyond continental and national borders. The European Union seems better equipped than other political players to bring a considerable number of  industrialized nations into line with the new principles of sustainable development – in both economic and ecological terms.

But do young people trust the European Union? As an institution it is often viewed as a distant, bureaucratic body. An organization that issues diktats from the glass palaces of Brussels, and sometimes appears to be uncertain of its identity. The recent COVID pandemic has highlighted its cracks, flaws and slow response times.

Brexit placed a heavy toll on the unity of the EU, but did not lead to the break down envisaged by the opponents of the integration process. At the same time, the attitude of Poland and Hungary towards the “rule of law” represents a new challenge to the primacy of European law over national systems.

But if the European Union has to answer to anyone in particular, that must necessarily be its younger inhabitants. We thought it would be useful to take a little survey, with the limited means at our disposal, to explore how young Italians – with or without experience of living in the rest of Europe – feel about the EU, this institution that increasingly appears to be viewed as vital to building a better future for everyone.

Ours was not an exhaustive sample. We prepared a set of questions which we then sent to various young people, and we were able to extrapolate some considerations from their responses.

One of the most significant findings was the percentage of young people who state that they  feel European – 50% of the sample – and those who confirm that it makes sense to feel European, 93.8%. If almost all respondents acknowledge that this sense of belonging is meaningful, and highlight its importance, why are some of them not feeling it?

From this perspective, the accounts of our respondents offer precious insights. Eleonora, 27, and with a degree in sociology, writes “I think the reason I don’t feel European is to do with the fact that I have never lived in another country”. Indeed all those who have lived abroad feel European. It goes without saying that when you cross a border, it is impossible not to perceive the existence of the European Union. Programmes like Erasmus have been essential in developing a common European sentiment among participants. But though it is  a fundamental initiative that must be supported and promoted, it remains an opportunity that only a tiny minority of young people have access to.

So what stops young people from feeling European? We can summarize the answers provided in three main categories. Some respondents stated that the European Union does not really care about its citizens or does not care enough: some are sceptical about it being possible to bridge the gap between Brussels and their local area, and the third category comprises those who, while believing in the values expressed by the EU, find it hard to see actual results.

Despite these responses, even the doubters see the European Union as a source of hope: 81.3% of those surveyed see it as the organization best equipped to address the challenges and priorities of the present day. The remaining percentage ticked “I don’t know”. There is therefore hope, and a clear awareness that such issues can only be handled on a European level.

Our respondents also showed great interest in the policies that will affect their future. As is natural for this generation – destined by birth to take charge of the planet in the near future – the key issue, regardless of personal politics, remains what the future holds; how to achieve economic stability and how to respond to the major ecological, economic and social challenges we are currently facing.

In short, young people are calling for change. But the European Union is by no means unresponsive. Not incidentally, the goals that must be pursued by member states when using “Next Generation EU” funding are entirely in line with the priorities expressed by our respondents.

Young people’s differing stances towards the European Union are probably due to different constructions of meaning, contrary to what might be expected. For all under 30s, the EU is the container they live in, and create and live out their dreams and aspirations. More importantly, it is the container in which they will have to face the great challenges of the 21^st century. There can be no discussions about the future without considering the European Union, without a discussion on its role, and undoubtedly without an EU capable of living up to young people’s expectations. Initiatives like “Next Generation EU” are clear signals in this direction. The EU is doing everything in its power to place the younger generations at the centre of the political agenda.

At this point, maybe we should be asking ourselves what nation-states should be doing: sharing more of their sovereignty with the Union and endowing it with a broader scope for action, given that young people see it as the institution best equipped to tackle the challenges of the future, with the capacity and the tools to respond to them?

The EU’s problems remain, in any case. Programmes like Erasmus, for example, often feel like they are destined only for the privileged few: those who can afford to go to university, in the first place and, in addition, can afford to live abroad, considering that the grants offered are rarely enough to cover all of students’ living expenses.

On one hand, therefore, the European Union is seen as a potential resource for facing the challenges of the future, but on the other it is viewed as a distant world, part of a different  system. This gap needs to be bridged in order to capture the existing needs of the new generations; there are already some potential solutions on the table but these are yet to be implemented.

It is certainly not the first time that young people have represented both a challenge and an asset for the European integration process. Tools like the European Social Fund, Interreg, and the European Structural and Investment Funds, as well as NGEU, have directed community efforts toward some of these challenges, including young people in considerable investments of resources. This is surely promising, though shortcomings remain in terms of communication.

Tools and programmes like those mentioned above are a step in the right direction, but to ensure that young people feel European, they not only need to be able to see Europe as a major federal political community, but also to guarantee that European institutions become an ally to tackle unemployment, the generational socio-economic gap, the ecological and climate crisis, and the very question of political representation.

What emerged from these interviews was the idea that a common future exists for the European “community”. A common future which is also the solution to the lack of political credibility currently affecting many national institutions.

The Covid crisis has made us all too aware of both our precarity and our interdependent destinies.  

It has shown us the importance of Europe in this new multipolar world, and the need to unite against the immense ecological, economic, social, health and security challenges facing our societies. 

Today the Europeans have an opportunity to make the European Union the first democratic, multinational and multilingual power, built by citizens and open to the world. Let’s seize that opportunity.

Call to Citizens and leaders of the Union

The appeal can be signed here: https://forms.gle/iR75h4riKhv9DKpFA

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Today we Europeans have an opportunity to make the European Union the first democratic, multinational and multilingual power, built by citizens and open to the world.

Let’s seize that opportunity.

The Covid crisis has made us all too aware of both our precarity and our interdependent destinies.  

It has shown us the importance of Europe in this new multipolar world, and the need to unite against the immense ecological, economic, social, health and security challenges facing our societies. 

It has revealed the unique character of our economic and social model.

In these unprecedented times, and despite powerful though illusory temptations to turn inwards, the EU has chosen to face outward, and understands the utter vanity of every man for himself.

During the first wave of the pandemic, Europeans dared to invent new forms of solidarity, establishing  a collective support system for struggling enterprises and unemployed citizens, as well as conceiving a recovery plan unprecedented in its size, philosophy and respect for rule of law. A Union that takes stock from its crises to strengthen its resilience and better protect its citizens.

While we are pleased about all this, we are also aware that these actions and plans only make sense if they serve the lasting interests of the citizens of the Union and are part of a perspective of regeneration of the European project. 

There is a huge risk of having rules and lifestyles imposed on us that we do not want, especially in the digital domain dominated by a few systemic platforms.

What alternative?

First of all, giving us the means to succeed in the concrete implementation of the European recovery plan, while keeping, in the meantime, the economy. support systems; the extension of the coverage of employment and income support for all categories of workers, including those in precarious, atypical or self-employed work.

Its financial magnitude is major but a real reflection on the quality of the investments required to have a strong impact on sustainable and socially inclusive growth has not taken place.

As they stand, the national recovery plans that are currently being drafted and that will be notably financed by European money, take up old, outdated digital and ecological projects.

There is an urgent need to correct the situation and better involve the social partners and citizens in the choices to be made, while promoting investments with a truly European dimension, capable of forging a New European Deal, including an ambitious Green New Deal.

It is the success of this plan that will break the mistrust between frugal and spending  Member States and create the conditions for a real, long term European budget, the only one able to make Europe an economic, ecological and cultural power of the 21st century.  

Secondly, it is a question of making the Conference on the Future of Europe an experience of real democratic citizen participation.

Its ambition must be clear: to build a forward-looking, bold and shared vision of our future for the coming decades. 

The WeEuropeans experience, which has reached 38 million citizens in 27 countries and in 24 languages, shows a real appetite of European citizens to participate in defining our common future through a new form of continuous participatory and deliberative democracy, which complements our representative democracies.   

Only this new democratic impetus, which engenders genuine European citizenship, can lead to a Union of well-being, of peace and solidarity, providing opportunities for everyone. A Union which, by mobilising citizens, States, public authorities and social partners, will be able to provide concrete solutions to the rise in inequalities and unemployment; which contributes to the preservation of the planet; which guarantees and defends its fundamental values of unity, freedom, solidarity and democracy.

The urgency today is to give us the means to decide in a more legitimate, efficient and rapid way. This decision-making capacity is indispensable at a time when the technological transformations and the rebalancing of the world’s major powers are accelerating.

The current Treaties allow us to move from unanimity to qualified majority voting system in certain areas. 

Let us apply qualified majority voting to all the Union’s policies and actions as soon as possible.

Let us move from a system of weak cooperation to a project of common construction!

We regret the departure of our British friends and we are convinced that a special and extremely close relationship will be established with London. 

But if there is one lesson to be learned from their accession and departure, it is that the more exceptions are accepted for a Member State, the less it grows in European unity and solidarity.

The time has undoubtedly come to make the unity of our Union a real reality.

Let us be clear: this will only be possible if we truly value our diversity and the cultural, economic, social and historical contributions of each and every one of us.

Let us finally have the audacity to put culture at the heart of European software to once again become this major centre of world creation capable of attracting the best talent in the world.

But once again, this new European stage will only be possible if every citizen takes ownership of the European project through the institutionalisation of a process of deliberative democracy that is continuous, transparent, inclusive and guarantees concrete implementation of the decisions taken. This is an essential condition for making the Union everyone’s project!

The window of opportunity is narrow but the context is favourable at European and global level.

Our collective responsibility is immense. 

While there is still time, let us bring together the millions of citizens from the four corners of our Union who are ready to commit themselves.   

This appeal can be supported and signed here: https://forms.gle/iR75h4riKhv9DKpFA

* Signatories

On the initiative of the co-Presidents of CIVICO Europa, Guillaume Klossa, former sherpa for the reflection group on the future of Europe (European Council) and former Director of the European  Broadcasting Union, and Francesca Ratti, former Secretary general of the European Parliament : 

László Andor (HU),  Economist, former European Commissioner;

Lionel Baier (CH), film Director; 

Brando Benifei (IT), Member of the European Parliament, S&D group, President of the Spinelli Group;

Massimo Cacciari (IT), Philosopher, former Mayor of Venice, former Member of the European Parliament;

Jasmina Cibic (SI),  Artist;

Daniel Cohn-Bendit (FR/DE), former President of the Greens group in the European Parliament;

Jože P. Damijan (SI), Economist;

Axel Dauchez (FR), Founder of Make.org;

Philippe de Buck (BE), former Director General of Business Europe; 

Paul Dujardin (BE), Director General of BOZAR; 

Pascal Durand (FR), Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe group;

Anthony Ferreira (FR), Secretary General of CIVICO Europa;

Michele Fiorillo (IT), Philosopher, Coordinator of CIVICO Europa network;

Cynthia Fleury (FR), Philosopher;

Markus Gabriel (DE), Philosopher; 

Costa-Gavras (FR/GR), Film Director;

Felipe González (ES), former Prime Minister, former President of the Reflection Group on the Future of Europe;

Sandro Gozi (IT), Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe group, President of the Union of European Federalists (UEF), former European Affairs Minister;

Ulrike Guérot (DE), Political Scientist, Director of the European Democracy Lab;

Danuta Hübner (PL), former European Commissioner, Member of the European Parliament, EPP group ;

Aleksander Kwaśniewski (PL), former President of the Republic;

Philippe Lamberts (BE), Co-President of The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament;

Jernej Lorenci (SI), Theater Director;

Luisa Arezzo (IT), Director of “Scuole di Roma” Association;

Robert Menasse (AT), European Writer in German;

Jonathan Moskovic (BE), former Coordinator of G1000, Adviser for democratic innovation;

Stojan Pelko (SI), former Secretary of State for Culture;

Janez Pipan (SI) Theater Director;

Rossen Plevneliev (BG), former President of the Republic;

Janez Potočnik (SI), former European Commissioner;

Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović (NL/RS), Secretary General of Europa Nostra; 

Nina Rawal (SE), Founder of “Emerging Health Ventures”;

Maria João Rodrigues (PT), President of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), former Member of the European Parliament;

Petre Roman (RO), former Prime Minister;

Yvan Sagnet (CM), Writer, Founder of NoCap Association;

Fernando Savater (ES),  Philosopher; 

Roberto Saviano (IT), Writer; 

Elly Schlein (IT), Vice-President of the Emilia Romagna Region, former Member of the   European Parliament;

Andreas Schwab (DE), Member of the European Parliament, EPP group;

Gesine Schwan (DE), President of the Humboldt-Viadrina governance platform;

Daniela Schwarzer (DE), Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP);

Denis Simonneau (FR), President of EuropaNova;

Claus Haugaard Sørensen (DK), former Director General of the European Commission; 

Farid Tabarki (NL), Founder of Studio Zeitgeist; 

Danilo Türk (SI), former President of Republic, President of the World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid;

Guy Verhofstadt (BE), former Prime Minister, Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe group; 

Boštjan Videmšek (SI), Journalist, EU Climate Pact Ambassador;

Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga (LV), former President of the Republic;

Cédric Villani (FR), Mathematician, Fields Medal, Member of Parliament ;

Pietro Vimont (FR), Founder Member of CIVICO Europa;

Luca Visentini (IT), General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation;

Sasha Waltz & Jochen Sandig (DE), respectively Choreographer and Director of the Sasha Waltz Company;

Alenka Zupančič (SI), Philosopher;

Samuel Žbogar (SI), Head of EU Delegation in Skopje, former EU Special Representative in Kosovo, former Minister of Foreign Affairs;

Slavoj Žižek (SI), Philosopher.

This appeal can be supported and signed here: https://forms.gle/iR75h4riKhv9DKpFA

Contact: guillaume.klossa@civico.eu – francesca.ratti@civico.eu 

Link: https://civico.eu/news/for-a-democratic-european-power-call-to-citizens-and-leaders-of-the-union-1/

Join our event on Tuesday! Launching a citizen-led conference on the future of Europe.

Exciting news! We are happy to announce that we are organising a series of online events on the 15 December (starting at 17:30) & 14-15 January showcasing the vision for a dynamic, participatory and inclusive Conference on the Future of Europe.
During these sessions, decision-makers, opinion leaders, civil society activists, journalists, creators, influencers and artists, will come for a series of interactive workshops, and work together to tell the story of European democracy. There will also be a mock public hearing with MEPs that will tackle how citizens’ voices can be listened to on a more permanent basis to develop EU policy-making. Citizens are now setting the tone and agenda for the conversation about the future of Europe!

REGISTER NOW

The first event is next week, on Tuesday 15th December – 17:30 – 20:30, under the title “Better Participation: How do we get citizens to the centre of the Conference and European democracy?”
 

What will the programme be like?
We will start with a 15 mins introductory remarks in plenary, then, time to breakout in rooms: 

Breakout ROOM A: EU CAN DO IT: Saving lives with Participatory Democracy 

Speakers: Marco Cappato, President of EUMANS and co-founder of Science for Democracy, Violeta Bulc, Former EU Commissioner for Transport and co-promoter of Manifesto for European Health Union, Vytenis Andriukaitis, Former EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety and co-promoter of Manifesto for European Health Union, Roger Casale, Executive Director New Europeans, Julie Stendam, Committee of the Right to Cure European Citizens Initiative. Facilitator: Virginia Fiume, Coordinator of EUMANS.

Breakout ROOM B: MANIFESTO FOR A EUROPEAN CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY (18:30 CET) 

Speakers: Manuel Arriaga, Fórum dos Cidadãos – Fanette Bardin, Démocratie Ouverte/Convention Citoyenne Climat – Yago Bermejo Abati, Deliberativa – Angela Jain, Nexus Institut/Bürgerrat Demokratie – Jonathan Moskovic, G1000 – Magali Plovie, President of the Brussels French-speaking Parliament – Yves Sintomer (tbc), Universitè de Paris 8 – Philipp Verpoort, Sortition Foundation Coordination: Michele Fiorillo, Civico Europa and Lorenzo Mineo, Eumans

Breakout ROOM C: TAKING OVER VS TAKING COVER – THE NEXUS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, PANDEMIC OUTBREAKS AND THE CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY

Round-Table with: Maia Mazurkiewicz (Head of Intelligence, Alliance4Europe), Mogens Blicher Bjerregård (President, European Federation of Journalists) and Elias G. Carayannis (Professor of science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, George Washington University) Engagement of other participants with comments and then discussion within the panel and the audience as the time allows.

The conclusions of the day will be presented in a 30 mins plenary starting at 20:00.

Remember that participants must register to receive their login details! We hope to see you there 🙂

REGISTER NOW

During one year Italy will chair for the first time the G20 – the network of the more developed countries in the world for their global GNP (90%), the import/export (80%), the inhabitants (2/3 of the humanity), the cultivated lands (60%) and the agricultural products (80%) – and mainly the meeting of the leaders that will take place in Bari the 30^th and the 31^st of October after the G7 chaired by the United Kingdom and the COP26 of Glasgow from the 1^st to the 12^th of November.

The G20 is an intergovernmental network born in Washington in 2008, after the explosion of the biggest economic depression in 2008 eighty years after the Great Depression in 1929, with the aim or the illusion that the “Greats of the Planet” were able to assure the governance of the world on the way of an international cooperation founded on the principle: nobody left behind.

As we know – and that is its weakness, its no accountability and its no capacity to deliver – the G20 is a jumble of liberal democracies and totalitarian states, of free market systems and countries where the State capitalism prevails, of economies coming from years and years of industrial development and productive systems of new industrialisation, of countries engaged in the respect of the Sustainable Development Goals and States very far to the objective of a free carbon society.

All the debates made around the bedside of the international financial system have been without tangible results, the planet is paying the non-respect of the step-by-step implementation of the Agenda 2030 and between the Twenties (the permanent nineteen countries, the European Union as such and the permanent observers as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the OECD and UN) nobody has had the idea to put again on the agenda the question of the reform of the UN Security Council – stopped for years – following the initiative launched by the group Uniting for Consensus or, thinking big, supporting the campaign for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly. 

Between the very minimalist proposals, the group suggests to avoid the obstacle of the permanent seats enhancing the representativity of the regional groups, giving to Africa the largest number of temporary seats, acknowledging to Asia the highest percentage increase and doubling the seats of Latin America and Eastern Europe.

If we would relaunch a global governance founded on the principle of multilateralism – left during the four years of the Trumpism but not only by Donald Trump – by rotating it around the “three P” (People, Planet and Prosperity) it is necessary to start with the main objective: nobody left behind.

In view of the G20, the think-tank are diffusing a globe where the members of the network are indicated by different colours following their status as full members, permanent observers or special guests.

What strikes a geopolitical eye is the lack of the fifty-five States of the African Union – with the only exception of South Africa – in a Summit and in a great number of preparatory and parallel meetings where the participants will discuss about the social effect of digitalization, the climate change, the sustainable energy sources, the international trade, the transnational terrorism and last but not least the fight against pandemics “in view of a sustainable, fair and resilient recovery”.

Each point of the G20 Agenda contains a question, that will remain without answers from the leaders, concerning all the five continents and related to the epochal phenomenon of the migration movements bound to grow because of the effects of the climate change, the social consequences of the pandemics and the international trade more and more less fair and supportive.

The question of the world governance of the migration movements shouldn’t be separated to the human dignity right which is trampled in many countries of the G20, starting with Saudi Arabia that has hosted the meeting of the leaders last November.

We want remember thus right when a part of the world is celebrating the international day of the life in the cities dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty “legally” binding in at least one third of the G20 members.

All these arguments confirm the necessity and the urgency to invite the African Union as such because the participation of the South Africa leader, acting president of the African Union, isn’t enough.

Finally, we submit to the Italian government the proposal to offer, as an essential reading, to then leaders and the delegations a copy of the Manifesto of Ventotene written during the winter of 1941 in this Mediterranean Island.

The Manifesto exists in all the EU twenty-four official languages and also in Arabic but it could be easily translated in Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Turkish and in the main African languages.

It  could be useful to raise the attention of the participants to the fact that the recovery of the multilateralism implies a merciless battle against the absolute sovereignty, a debate on the modern crisis of our civilization which is the first chapter of the Manifesto and the acknowledge that the European Federation is the only warranty for a peaceful cooperation “in view of a far future when it could be possible the political unity of the planet”.

The European Union is at a crucial turning point.

The concrete implementation of the Recovery Plan, presented by the European Commission to save and relaunch a sustainable European economy, is bringing out conflicts on a decisive point. Should European financial resources allocated to national governments be linked to respect for the rule of law or not?

Some governments, such as those of Poland and Hungary, oppose this conditionality.

Important political values are at stake.

A trilogue has developed under the European Union procedure between the Parliament, the Commission and the Presidency of the European Council.  An interim agreement was reached on 5 November.

For the outcome of trilogue on the Rule of law conditionality pls. see

https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/it/outcome-of-rule-of-law-conditionality-trilogues_20201105-1130-SPECIAL-PRESSER_vd

On October 20. in the European Parliament, 100 members from 18 EU countries had launched a high-profile Appeal with concrete proposals.

Below you can find the full text of the call with the list of signatories.

Startseite

The Appeal

The European Union has insufficient resources to effectively combat misuse of EU funds and violations of the rule of law in the member states. The situation in countries like Hungary and Poland clearly shows that the EU must finally act. The EU Commission and the European Parliament have put forward good proposals for a rule of law mechanism. At the EU summit in July, the member states greatly weakened this mechanism, and the German government was finally gutted for the search for compromise between the EU Council, the EU Commission and the EU Parliament. A qualified majority is required for sanctions, the criteria were limited to serious corruption, all others were deleted. In addition, the Council, i.e. unanimity, should deal with sanctions. 

For the next round of the trialogue procedure today we have launched this appeal, which over 100 parliamentarians from 19 countries have signed.

The European Union is founded on the shared values of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental human rights. This is enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty of the EU.

The German Presidency of the Council of the European Union is currently facing a tremendous challenge: It must find a compromise on the next EU budget and the Next Generation EU recovery plan. Both dossiers would have a real added value for European citizens, since they will help to overcome the economic consequences of the Corona crisis and hopefully kick-start Europe’s transformation into an ecological and social market economy.

At the same time, negotiations are led to protect the European Budget and our financial interests against breaches of the Rule of Law.

We strongly regret the fact that the European Council significantly weakened the efforts of the Commission and Parliament to uphold the rule of law framework for the MFF and the Next Generation EU Fund. We therefore call on the German Presidency and all Member State governments to stand up for an EU conditionality on the rule of law that deserves this name and to agree to

• A clear and decisive process for determining adherence to the rule of law. This should take the form of a delegated decision by the Commission that can only be reversed by a qualified majority vote in the Council.     
• A scope that includes violations of the principles of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, at a bare minimum.
• Take out the option of Member countries being able to postpone an agreement to a future Council meeting.
• A system that allows European citizens, local authorities and companies to access EU funds directly, should their government’s behavior prevent them from receiving them through regular channels. No European citizen should be punished for their government’s failure to respect and uphold the founding principles of our Union.

This call to action is highly urgent. What we are facing is an unprecedented and escalating crisis of our shared values, which threatens the very survival of the EU as a project of democracy and peace. The rule of law is no matter of East versus West, no matter of frugals versus friends of cohesion. European democracy is a matter concerning all European citizens – let’s protect our shared values!

Dr. Franziska Brantner, European policy spokesperson of the Green Party in the Bundestag

Daniel Freund, negotiator in the Committee on Budgetary Control for the Green Group in the European

List of all signatories

Auken, Margrete	MEP	Denmark	Socialistisk Folkeparti
Nienass, Niklas	MEP	Germany	Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Peter-Hansen, Kira	MEP	Denmark	Socialistisk Folkeparti
Strik, Tineke	MEP	Netherlands	GroenLinks
Guerreiro, Francisco	MEP	Portugal	Independent
Ujhelyi, István	MEP	Hungary	Magyar Szocialista Párt
Nart, Javier	MEP	Spain	Independent
Vana, Monika	MEP	Austria	Die Grünen
Köster, Dietmar	MEP	Germany	SPD
Gozi, Sandro	MEP	France	Liste Renaissance
Profant, Ondřej	MP	Czech Republic	Piráti
Navrkal, František	MP	Czech Republic	Piráti
Martínek, Tomáš	MP	Czech Republic	Piráti
Lipavský, Jan	MP	Czech Republic	Piráti
Kopřiva, František	MP	Czech Republic	Piráti
Biteau, Benoit	MEP	France	Europe Écologie
Urtasun, Ernest	MEP	Spain	Catalunya en Comú
Spurek, Sylwia	MEP	Poland	Independant
Puigdemont, Carles	MEP	Spain	Junts per Catalunya – Lliures per Europa
Comín, Antoni	MEP	Spain	Junts per Catalunya – Lliures per Europa
Ponsatí, Clara	MEP	Spain	Junts per Catalunya – Lliures per Europa
Bricmont, Saskia	MEP	Belgium	Ecologistes Confédérés
Von Cramon-Taubadel	MEP	Germany	Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Furore, Mario	MEP	Italy	Movimento 5 Stelle
Schieder, Andreas	MEP	Austria	SPÖ
Heide, Hannes	MEP	Austria	SPÖ
Vollath, Bettina	MEP	Austria	SPÖ
Hautala, Heidi	MEP	Finland	Vihreä liitto
Piri, Kati	MEP	Netherlands	Partij van de Arbeid
Wagenknecht, Lukas	MP	Czech Republic	Piráti
Kaljurand, Marina	MEP	Estonia	Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Erakond
Anisko, Tomasz	MP	Poland	Partii Zieloni
Urszula, Zielinska	MP	Poland	Partii Zieloni
Malgorzata, Tracz	MP	Poland	Partii Zieloni
Toussaint, Marie	MEP	France	Europe Écologie
Cormand, David	MEP	France	Europe Écologie
Rivasi, Michèle	MEP	France	Europe Écologie
Delbos-Corfield, Gwendoline	MEP	France	Europe Écologie
Sartouri, Mounir	MEP	France	Europe Écologie
Jadot, Yannick	MEP	France	Europe Écologie
Yenbou, Salima	MEP	France	Europe Écologie
Roose, Caroline	MEP	France	Europe Écologie
Gruffat, Claude	MEP	France	Europe Écologie
Careme, Damien	MEP	France	Europe Écologie
Alfonsi, Francois	MEP	France	Europe Écologie
Dobrev, Klara	MEP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Molnár, Csaba	MEP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Ara-Kovács, Attila	MEP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Rónai, Sándor	MEP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Gyurcsány, Ferenc	MP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Vadai, Ágnes	MP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Arató, Gergely	MP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Hajdu, Lászlo	MP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Oláh, Lajos	MP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Sebián-Petrovszki, László	MP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Varju, László	MP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Bösz, Anett	MP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Varga, Zóltán	MP	Hungary	Demokratikus Koalíció
Sidl, Günther	MEP	Austria	SPÖ
Orel, Petr	MP	Czech Republic	Sz
Goláň, Tomáš	MP	Czech Republic	BEZPP
Tracz, Malgorzata	MP	Poland	Partia Zieloni
Anisko, Tomasz	MP	Poland	Koalicja Obywatelska
Jachira, Klaudia	MP	Poland	Koalicja Obywatelska
Sterczewski, Franciszek	MP	Poland	Koalicja Obywatelska
Ernst-Dziedzic, Ewa	MP	Austria	Die Grünen
Borràs, Laura	MP	Spain	Junts per Catalunya – Lliures per Europa
Nogueras, Míriam	MP	Spain	Junts per Catalunya – Lliures per Europa
Cuevillas, Jaume Alonso	MP	Spain	Junts per Catalunya – Lliures per Europa
Illamola, Mariona	MP	Spain	Junts per Catalunya – Lliures per Europa
Matamala, Jami	MP	Spain	Junts per Catalunya – Lliures per Europa
Cleries, Josep Lluís	MP	Spain	Junts per Catalunya – Lliures per Europa
Castellví, Assumpció	MP	Spain	Junts per Catalunya – Lliures per Europa
Rivero, Maite	MP	Spain	Junts per Catalunya – Lliures per Europa
Gonzalez, Monica Silvana	MEP	Spain	Partido Socialista Obrero Español
Delli, Karima	MEP	France	EELV
Mounir, Satouri	MEP	France	EELV
Benarroche, Guy	MP	France	EELV
Dantec, Ronan	MP	France	ESNT
Benbassa, Esther	MP	France	EELV
Dossus, Thomas	MP	France	EELV
Fernique, Jacques	MP	France	EELV
Kairidis, Dimitris	MP	Greece	New Democracy
Barna, Dan	MP	Romania	USR*
Drula, Catalin	MP	Romania	USR*
Mihail, Radu	MP	Romania	USR*
De Marco, Monique	MP	Fance	EELV
Tērauda, Vita Anda	MP	Latvia	Attistibai/Par!
Fusacchia, Alessandro	MP	Italy	Gruppo Misto
Giannakopoulou, Nantia	MP	Greece	PASOK
Barrena, Pernando	MEP	Spain	EH BILDU
Aguilar, Juan	MEP	Spain	Partido Socialista Obrero Español
Clement, Sven	MP	Luxembourg	Piraten
Gregorová, Markéta	MEP	Czech Republic	Piráti
Freund, Daniel	MEP	Germany	Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Brantner, Franziska	MP	Germany	Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Brugger, Agnieszka	MP	Germany	Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Hofreiter, Anton	MP	Germany	Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Kyuchyuk, Ilhan	MEP	Bulgaria	Movement for Rights and Freedoms
Mihaylova, Iskra	MEP	Bulgaria	Movement for Rights and Freedoms
Alieva-Veli, Atidzhe	MEP	Bulgaria	Movement for Rights and Freedoms
Muroni, Rossella	MP	Italy	Liberi e Uguali
Palazzotto, Erasmo	MP	Italy	Liberi e Uguali
Magi, Riccardo	MP	Italy	Plus Europa
Lagodinsky, Sergey	MEP	Germany	Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Geese, Alexandra	MEP	Germany	Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Giegold, Sven	MEP	Germany	Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Strugariu, Ramona	MEP	Romania	USR Plus
Klaver, Jesse	MP	Netherlands	GroenLinks

* on behalf of the USR group in the Romanian Parliament

For a say at UN

More than 200 civil society groups from over fifty countries, among them sixty that operate internationally, call on the United Nations and its member governments to establish the instrument of a World Citizens‘ Initiative that would allow citizens to put items on the UN’s agenda. Support of this proposal has thus doubled since an international campaign was launched seven months ago.

The campaign going under the slogan of “We the Peoples” was jointly initiated by Democracy Without Borders, Democracy International and CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. “The coronavirus pandemic, climate change and many other challenges underline the fact that all people on this planet are connected to each other but they have no say at the United Nations”, said Caroline Vernaillen, Program Manager at Democracy International. 

In the joint statement, the campaign’s supporters underline that collective responses of the international community are needed. “This year the UN celebrates its 75th anniversary. It’s time to give people a direct voice in the UN’s affairs”, said Andreas Bummel, Executive Director of Democracy Without Borders.

“A global governance system that is directly accountable to the lived experiences of citizens and communities is an idea whose time has come. The UN World Citizens’ Initiative helps us connect and upscale the efforts we need to achieve this outcome,” said Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS.

The list of supportive organizations includes Asia Democracy Network, Asia Development Alliance, Avaaz, Global Justice Now, Greenpeace, NGO Federation of Nepal, Nigerian Network of NGOs, Soroptimist International, Transnational Institute, Women Coalition for Agenda 2030, Women’s March Global, World Academy of Art and Science, and the World Roma Federation.

The UN’s Independent Expert on the Promotion of an Equitable and Democratic International Order, Livingstone Sewanyana, stated that a UN World Citizens’ Initiative represents “an innovative mechanism for citizen involvement in global affairs” which he “proudly associates with.”

According to Edward Mortimer, former Director of Communications at the UN, “the current pandemic cries out for a global response” not only to address public health issues but also to tackle other threats that are interconnected such as climate change, violent conflict and inequality. “It is vital that ordinary people from all continents mobilise to insist on such a response; and the World Citizens’ Initiative seems the perfect way to do it,” he said.

Patricia Lerner, a Senior Advisor at Greenpeace International, pointed out that “Greenpeace believes the public interest must be ensured by making sure the people are heard, not special interests. A World Citizens’ Initiative is an important mechanism to make ‘We the Peoples of the United Nations’ possible.”

The proposal is highlighted in CIVICUS’ new State of Civil Society Report 2020. According to the report, “if implemented, the UN World Citizens’ Initiative could provide a powerful focus for civil society engagement, enabling civil society organizations with strong country presences but limited international-level representation to become involved in international advocacy, by playing to their domestic strengths and mobilising their constituencies to demand global-level change.”

The idea of a UN World Citizens’ Initiative is that if a certain number of global citizens from across the world’s regions endorses a citizen-launched proposal, either the UN General Assembly or the UN Security Council have to put the item on their agenda and need to adopt resolutions as a response.

An Appeal to national leaders and international institutions

The coronavirus pandemic has caused a global health and economic crisis that requires global solutions. However, the national-international structure is unable to offer an adequate response to it. Thought leaders around the world – Saskia Sassen, Daniele Archibugi, Mary Burton, Garret Brown, Susan George,Richard Sennett, Erna Paris, Fernando Savater, Loris Zanatta, among others – have signed this documentdemanding to political leaders and international institutions to strengthen the UN system, the World Health Organizationand the international existing weak structure as well, applying the principles of federalism and democracy worldwide. It’s a crucial moment for democracy across the globe. We can’t be out of the field. 

Camila Lopez Badra

(for further information and for signing please go to https://globaldemocracy.wixsite.com/covid19)

A P P E A L

• The current coronavirus crisis requires global cooperation and solutions which the existing national/inter-national political system is incapable of delivering. Seven billion human beings are now living in a world globalized by the economy and technology but divided into almost 200 national states which adopt separate measures with scarce coordination and effectiveness. The Covid-19 pandemic shows each of them prioritizing their own vision and interests, which causes unnecessary damage to the world economy and the global society, and costs thousands of human lives.
• By definition, national states are unable to deal with global issues. Their failures don’t just affect their own citizens but have spill-over effects on all the inhabitants of this small hyper-connected planet, damaging global commons. Global coordination and policies are urgently needed to defend the global ecosystem and world public health, and to protect the economy and employment all over the planet. Of course, national sovereignty must continue to be respected for national affairs, but effective global decision making is also necessary to protect the welfare and survival of humanity as a whole.
• To effectively tackle pandemics such as Covid-19, we need concrete binding action at the global level, such as early warning systems, information sharing, delivery and enforcement of norms, management of transmission across borders and vaccine-treatment research. Yet, while the World Health Organization (WHO) is mandated to deliver these functions at the global level, it lacks funds and enforcement mechanisms. Nowadays, 127 UN member states have still not fully complied with them due to a lack of financing and political will, the WHO can’t tackle countries that do not comply with the International Health Regulations and existing global disease control measures -such as PEF, CEF and GHSA- constitute a globally fragmented strategy, with disjointed funding, disintegrated policies and weak authority. The crisis shows that all the current health national/inter-national system is unprepared to tackle global pandemics as Covid-19, as well as world issues such as antimicrobial resistance and global warming related emergencies.
• We the signatories of this document, some few of the seven billion world citizens, urgently ask national leaders and inter-national institutions to take lessons from the Coronavirus crisis. Let’s work together to enable a better integrated 21st Century political system, reinforcing regional institutions, reforming the United Nations and making each level of governance more representative and effective; for example, through the creation of a UN Parliamentary Assembly able to deliver world health norms, the empowerment of an International Criminal Court capable of sanctioning eventual violations, and the building of a World Health Organization equipped to respond to global health challenges.
• We the signatories don’t propose a world state or government. National states are needed to manage national problems, but an enhanced global governance system is needed to tackle global issues such as this pandemic. Otherwise, the panic generated by insufficient national responses to recurrent global crises will continue growing discontent and anger, eroding national democracies and strengthening nationalism and populism, with their simplistic “sovereigntist” responses to complex global affairs, and their threat to human survival.
• Humanity has become a real community of fate. Hopefully, the coronavirus pandemic has taught us how small the Earth is and how close we are to each other. The time of applying the principles of federalism and democracy to the global scale has come. Shared sovereignty, coordination and cooperation at the global level or national populism. A more federal and democratic political structure able to regulate globalization or further crises and chaos. That’s the question we face.

SIGNATORIES

Abdullahi A AnNaim, Universidad Emory
Andreas Bummel, Democracy Without Borders
Bertrand Badie, Universités à Sciences Po Paris
Clara Riveros, CPLATAM Colombia
Cristian Giménez Corte, professor
Daniel Innerarity, University of the Basque Country
European University Florence
Daniele Archibugi, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
University of London
Dena Freeman, London School of Economics and Political Science
Elver Hilal, UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Food
Erna Paris, La Sorbonne
Federico Andahazi, author
Fernando Dalla Chiesa, Universitá degli studi di Milano
Fernando Iglesias, World Federalist Movement
Fernando Savater, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Fernando Vilella, Universidad de Buenos Aires
Gabriel Palumbo, Universidad de Buenos Aires
Garrett Wallace Brown, University of Leeds
Guido Montani, University of Pavia

Gurutz Jáuregui, University of the Basque Country
Heikki Patomäki, University of Helsinki
Javier Ansuátegui Roig, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Jorge Castro, journalist specialising in international politics
Juan Campanella, Winner Oscar
Juan José Sebreli, author
Lorenzo Marsili, University of London
Loris Zanatta, Università di Bologna
Lucio Levi, Università di Torino
Luigi Ferrajoli, philosopher
Luis Alberto Romero, historian
Luis Cabrera, Griffith University
Luis Cevasco, prosecutor
Manu Bhagavan, Hunter College
Mary Burton, author
Michele Fiorillo, CIVICO Europa

Nathalie Tocci, Istitu
to Affari Internazionali
Nissim Otmazgin, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Raffaele Marchetti, Libera Università Guido Carli
Richard Falk, Princeton University
Queen Mary University
Richard Sennett, OBE FBA London School of Economics
Sabrina Ajmechet, Universidad de Buenos Aires
Santiago Kovadloff, Academia Argentina de Letras
Saskia Sassen, Columbia University
Sreemathi Seshadrinathan, Hearts for Hearts
Susan George, author
Teivo Teivainen, University of Helsinki
Theo van Boven, Maastricht University
Tim Murithi, University of Cape Town
Vicente Palermo, CONICET
Club Político Argentino