Today Luisa Trumellini, the Secretary General of the UEF was interviewed by the Twitter influncer, Quentin Deschandelliers aka @Mepassistant, the Eurobubble's inner voice.

The interview is dedicated about who we are, what we do, what is european federalism, our objectives, our goals, our partners, actual political campaign.

Watch the full interview here: LINK

Quentin Luisa 20122023 - UEF

UEF and MFE return to participate in Focus Europa, a series of interviews on tomorrow's Europe organised by UEF and MFE with the Italian Twitch channel, Ivan Grieco's La Miniera.

In the final episode for the year 2023 will be interviewed:

1) Giulia Rossolillo, UEF Vice President, Professor of EU Law at the University of Pavia
2) Luisa Trumellini, Secretary General of the UEF
3) Luca Lionello, UEF Federal Committee Member and researcher at the Catholic University of Milan
3) Carlo Maria Palermo, UEF Federal Committee Member, CESPI Scientific Committee Member

The interview is conducted in Italian.

You can watch the episode on Twitch by subscription, soon it will also be on YouTube.

The full series can be reviewed here: LINK
Or by going to Media Library

Brussels, 18 December 2023

As the Conference on the Future of Europe concluded in May 2022, all the European institutions agreed to give the citizens recommendations for proper implementation. The European Parliament was the first to take action with its June 2022 and November 2023 resolutions calling for a Convention to reform the Treaties and activate Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

Today, the Council of the EU played its part, thanks to Spain’s leadership, and transmitted the European Parliament’s request for activation of Article 48 TEU to the European Council. Europe now turns to Charles Michel and EU national leaders to immediately include the EP‘s request on the agenda of the next EUCO meeting.

The request for Treaty change has to be considered by the European Council first of all because it is urgent and necessary. The European Union lacks the indispensable tools to act in the face of the challenges of security and economic competition that we are undergoing. The Russian war against Ukraine and interference, migration flows, ecological and digital transition, and enlargement force us to take action. More than ever, we need to reform our institutional framework, and the report offers several solutions.

Earlier this month, the Union of European Federalists sent a letter to Charles Michel, President of the European Council, requesting to put a decision point on the call for a Convention at the agenda of the next European leaders’ summit in Brussels. Today, the UEF reiterates this call.

Domènec Ruiz Devesa, President of the UEF said: "Of course, there is still a long way to go. First of all, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, must put the issue on the agenda of the next European Council meeting in January or March 2024 at the latest. Secondly, a majority [...] will have to be sought. All this before the European elections in June. What is certain is that the Spanish government, during its rotating presidency of the Council, has done its job in this area, and with distinction.”

The UEF also urges Charles Michel to start working towards a majority to agree to the establishment of a Convention, with the help of the Belgian rotating presidency of the EU, to start in January 2024.

The UEF, through its sections, will be pressing national governments to support the call for a Convention; and in parallel will closely follow the developments at the European Council, and will continuously advocate for this crucial reform in the interest of European citizens. Should you wish to participate in this activity, you can join the UEF or one of its sections in Europe. 

Deadline: 15th January 2024

The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is recruiting a Policy Officer to work in the Secretariat based in Brussels.

Main Tasks:

Essential qualifications and qualities:

Desiderable:

Contract conditions and remuneration:

Application procedure and agenda:

Deadline: 15th January 2024

Union of European Federalists - UEF is recruiting a Grant Management Officer to work in the Secretariat based in Brussels.

Main Tasks:

Essential qualifications and qualities:

Desiderable:

Contract conditions and remuneration:

Application procedure and agenda

Brussels, 13 December 2023

The Plenary of the European Parliament has adopted the report Ruiz Devesa - Simon on the European Elections 2024, which includes the proposals of the European Parliament on how to organize the European elections of June next year. The text provides for recommendations to be submitted to European and national political parties to strengthen the European dimension of the electoral process and increase the participation and electoral rights of the EU citizens.
 
"The next elections to the European Parliament must aim to evaluate the last five years of activity of the EU institutions, in a real exercise of democracy and European politics", has underlined the co- rapporteur and President of UEF, Domènec Ruiz Devesa. We should avoid "a collection of 27 parallel national elections that depend on domestic issues, but we must Europeanize this discussion and thus stimulate participation in the European elections, putting European issues on the agenda of the media".
 
"We call to the European political parties, and especially national parties, to commit to a series of recommendations, such as including the logos of European political forces on their ballot papers," says Ruiz Devesa. It also urges European political parties to ensure that the content of their campaigns is conducted in line with the values of Article 2 of the EU Treaty and that the process for nominating their candidates for election is carried out democratically.

AFCO report on EU elections 2 - UEF

The report calls for a binding agreement between the European Parliament and the European Council on the "lead candidate" process for the election of the president of the European Commission. "It is important that, contrary to what happened in 2019, this time we can indeed ensure that the head of the list principle is complied with," defends Ruiz Devesa. "We propose that the candidate of the political group that obtains the most seats in the elections has the opportunity to start negotiations with the rest of the groups to try to form a sufficient majority and, if not, that the turn passes to the second most voted and so on until the Parliament can have a common candidate."
 
The Union of European Federalists (UEF) welcomes this important decision and calls on the European political parties to quickly adopt this set of recommendations, and—in addition—to provide voters with clear indications of their position on the crucial issue of treaty change.
 
Domènec Ruiz Devesa, President of the UEF said: "The next elections to the European Parliament must aim to evaluate the last five years of activity of the EU institutions, in a real exercise of democracy and European politics,". We cannot have "a collection of 27 parallel national elections that depend on domestic issues, but we must Europeanise this discussion and thus stimulate participation in the European elections, putting European issues on the agenda of the media".
 
It is possible to rewatch the Press Conference after the vote here.
 
In the coming months, the UEF will roll out its campaigning activities, encouraging citizens to vote from 6 to 9 June 2024, reminding candidates of the importance of a federal Europe, and debating the future of our Continent.

European Letter logo UEF - UEF

The European Letter is back.

The European Letter is published in 5 languages under the auspices of the Luciano Bolis European Foundation in cooperation with the Union of European Federalists, whose activities are co-financed by the European Union.

The European Letter is a periodical publication started in 1997 with the aim of stimulating political debate in national parliaments and governments, and in the European Parliament.

The European Letter 76 entitled "European Parliament activates the treaty revision procedure: the significance of the vote and Europe’s priorities", is sent to parliamentarians in the following legislative bodies:

The European Letter 76 publishes the note written by Luca Lionello after the 22 November vote in the European Parliament on the proposals of the European Parliament's for the Amendment of the Treaties (2022/2051(INL)). This report proposes a profound institutional reform to make the European Union more democratic and capable of action, and thus adequate to face political challenges and enlargement. This vote also formally opens the procedure for Treaty revision, and in this respect calls on national governments and parliaments to take sides.

Precisely with this in mind - in view of the EU Council's transmission to the European Council (hopefully as early as December, so that a decision can be taken at the March meeting) - the European Letter publishes this note explaining the content and value of this Report and invites national parliaments to discuss it with their governments.

The European Letter has also pointed out this draft resolution (LINK) for national parliaments to discuss and adopt.

Here below the four translated version of the European Letter:

We publish here the letter signed by the UEF President MEP Domenec Ruiz Devesa and the Chair of the Spinelli Group Sandro Gozi sent after the UEF Congress held in Brussels on 25-26 November 2023 on 29 November 2023 to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, requesting to include in the Agenda of the European Council of 14-15 December 2023 the discussion on the European Parliament position on proposals for the amendment to the Treaties in order to reach a political agreement for the calling of the Convention.

In the letter is include also as attachament the "Manifesto For a Federal Europe: The urgency of overcoming the current treaties" adopted during the UEF Congress.

20231130-Letter to Charles MichelDownload

The UEF would like to thank the distinguished guests who took the time to participate in the Congress.
For the greetings: Hans-Gert Pöttering (LINK VIDEO) Former President of the European Parliament (2007-2009), President of the House of European History, Petros Fassoulas Secretary General of the European Movement International, Christelle Savall, President of Young European Federalists and Fernando Iglesias President of the World of Federalist Movement. In particular, we thank  Josep Borrell High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, that have taken a time to follow the works of the first session of the Congress.

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Then during the political debate the interventions of Raúl Santiago Fuentes (Representative of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU), and the MEPs Brando Benifei, Rainer Wieland, Alin Mituta, Cyrus Engerer, Mercedes Bresso, Pietro Bartolo, and Thijs Reuten and the former European Parliament President Enrique Barón Crespo.

The five co-rapporteurs of the Report for the amendment of the treaties sent a pre-recorded video:

  • Guy Verhofstadt LINK
  • Sven Simon LINK
  • Gabriele Bischoff LINK
  • Daniel Freund LINK
  • Helmut Scholz LINK

The delegates debated the challenges for the future of the European Union and exchanged opinions and ideas on the way forward for the Federalist movement and the European project.
 
The UEF Secretariat presented its activities for the 2021-2023 period (LINK HERE for report political activities), and Roland Hühn, Treasurer ad interim, presented the financial situation of the association LINK HERE. Giulia Rossolillo introduced the statutory changes required to transform the UEF from a Netherlands-based NGO to a Belgian-based Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif (AISBL). These changes were approved by the Congress. You can find the new statutes here (in English and French).
For more information on the change of seat of the UEF, please refer to the web page of the Congress.
 
The Secretariat hosted a workshop on the UEF strategy for the 2024 European elections. Here the presentation of the workshop (LINK). Due to time constraints, it was decided to postpone the discussions at a later meeting.
Therefore, the UEF invites all the delegates and the representatives of its sections to a meeting on 14 December (link to participate here).
 
Meena Fernandes, Policy analyst at the European Parliament Research Service, presented the results of the study on the costs of non-Europe. You can find the research paper here and the slide deck here.
Finally, it was announced that an extraordinary Federal Committee meeting (20 January, online) would call for an extraordinary Congress meeting for the Spring 2024 to revise the statutes of the association to draw new rules for the Secretary-General and make it a full-time professional. More information will follow.
If you wish to review the Congress, here is the collaborative photo album.

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Political Documents approved by the Congress

The Congress approved several documents. You can find them below:

Other documents

Result of the Elections

All bodies of the UEF found their members, all elected unanimously in an open ballot. Congratulations to newly elected and returning members of the following bodies:

20231126 114434 - UEF

Political message by the UEF President, Domènec Ruiz Devesa

Dear Federalist friends,

Just a few words from me before I leave you with this communication on the Congress that has just taken place.
First of all, let me thank you for the trust you have shown me by electing me as UEF President. It is an honour for me, as well as a great responsibility, because I am and feel first and foremost a federalist activist, who is currently in the institutions, but who lives the federalist commitment as his own priority, and in this sense also feels the relationship with the UEF.

These two years ahead of us will be important years to consolidate our organisation and find the right financial and administrative balance. They will be even more important politically, because they can be decisive for our Europe in taking the crucial steps towards a federal Union.

Our congress took place just three days after the approval by the European Parliament of the proposal to reform the treaties, the first one since the adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007, the first attempt at reforming the treaty in more than 15 years. We know the process that made it possible to arrive at this vote, through the Conference on the Future of Europe in which we participated directly; and we also know that it is a great opportunity, the only one today, and the first after 40 years since Altiero Spinelli's Draft Treaty, to realise the federal Europe.

Today, therefore, while we are committed to building a broad and widespread campaign in view of the European elections, we urgently need to mobilise ourselves for the success of the next step, i.e. the decision of the European Council in favour of launching a Convention to elaborate the reform of the Treaties. We have urged the Spanish Presidency to immediately transmit the European Parliament resolution to the European Council and asked to President Charles Michel to put it in the agenda of the European Council of the 15th of December, although resistance from national governments will probably force a postponement. Here it is very important the role of the national sections to involve their national parliaments and urge the governments to be in favour of the opening of the Convention. The letter signed by me as UEF President and Sandro Gozi as Chair of the Spinelli Group has just been sent (LINK), together with the Manifesto we approved in our Congress; and here (LINK) you can find a draft resolution to propose to your national parliaments, to launch the mobilization.

We have a very important job to do. I thank you once more very much for all your work, commitment and dedication in federalism. I am convinced that we will work together with confidence and commitment over the next two years, and that together we can make a positive difference in order to meet the challenge of federal Europe. And since it's a long process, by definition the best has always yet to come.

A long road begins to meet citizens' demands and build a more solid future of the EU.
The Union of European Federalists, who strongly supports these proposals of the European Parliament to amend the Treaties, launched a massive and successful outreach campaign encouraging citizen engagement and pressuring MEPs ahead of a crucial vote at the European Parliament.

Brussels, 22 November 2023

On Wednesday 22 November, the European Parliament approved the Report on the proposals of the European Parliament for the amendment of the Treaties drafted by Spinelli Group members Guy Verhofstadt, Sven Simon, Gabriele Bischoff, Daniel Freund, and Helmut Scholz.

This was a historic vote, which sees the European Parliament once again playing a leading role after forty years, since the draft Treaty inspired by Altiero Spinelli, in an attempt to strengthen the political and decision-making architecture of Europe to make it a protagonist of the challenges of its time.

Today the vote falls at a time of serious international crisis and during a process of profound transformation of our societies that requires us to act united as Europeans, to strengthen our common house so that it is more effective and at the same time more capable of providing answers to the needs of citizens.

In support of this courageous initiative by the European Parliament, which is in line with the commitments made by the European institutions at the end of the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and its sections all over Europe met citizens in more than 30 European cities and online to inform them about the crucial vote of Wednesday.

From 6 to 19 November 2023, Federalist activists organised demonstrations and debates, in the streets and on social media. To know more about our actions, visit the UEF website and watch the livestream of Monday 20 November, featuring the organisers of these local actions. See here also the photo action inside the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday 21 November.

UEF President Domènec Ruiz Devesa in view of the upcoming plenary sent a letter together with Spinelli Group Chair MEP Sandro Gozi to their colleagues of the European Parliament, stating: “An affirmative vote on Wednesday 22 November on the Report on proposals of the European Parliament for the amendment of the Treaties is exactly the answer that our Union and citizens need. I hope that together, as the European citizens’ representatives, we will show a wide majority in the Plenary vote, sending a clear message to the Council and urging its transmission to the European Council under the Spanish Presidency. Thus, we will have the opportunity to discuss the citizens' priorities for a more effective European Union already in the European Council meeting of 15 December 2023” 

The UEF urges the Spanish Presidency of the European Union to immediately transmit the file to the Council of the European Union and asks Charles Michel, in his capacity as President of the European Council to put the decision on the call for a Convention on the agenda of its 15 December meeting.
 

Context
The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is a pan-European, non-governmental political organisation dedicated to the promotion of European political unity.
The draft report on the amendment of the treaties is the European Parliament’s answer to the Conference on the Future of Europe, an unprecedented democratic exercise that gathered 800 European citizens. These citizens gave out recommendations for institutional reforms of the European Union, and several of them found their way into the report voted today.
Today's vote is the last step to formally call for a Convention to reform the treaty, but only the start of the reform process.

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