FOR THE EUROPEAN FEDERAL PACT | 1949-1950

This period focused the federalists campaigning on the transformation of the Advisory Assembly of the Council of Europe into the Constituent Assembly of a European Federation. Their fundamental tool was a petition, which was signed by thousands of citizens and a large number of eminent politicians, which asked the Advisory Assembly to draw up a proposal for a federal pact among key European countries.

FOR A EUROPEAN DEFENSE COMMUNITY | 1950-1954

The federalist movements inspired and then supported plans for a pan-European defence organisation, to be set-up by France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and Netherlands, and complemented by a “European Political Community”. The plan was not ratified by the French Parliament and it took until the ‘90s to resume progress towards European Foreign and Security Policy.

FOR A UNITED EUROPE WITHOUT BORDERS | 1950-1954  

During the 1950s, federalists rallied for a Europe without borders.  During the first action, on 24 August 1950, French and German students met at the Weiler and Zollamt border crossing, breaking off the barriers separating their countries.  It took until 1985 for the Schengen agreement to scrap border controls.

THE CONGRESS OF THE EUROPEAN PEOPLE | 1956-1962  

Unhappy that European ambitions had narrowed to a “Common Market”, federalists called on European citizens to vote.  Federalists demanded a European constituent assembly to draw up a draft federal constitution, ratified by a Europe-wide referendum.  Hundreds of meetings and “polling stations” for citizens to vote where organized across Europe.

ACTION EUROPE! | 1965-1984

The work on campaigning for open borders in the early 1950s was continued through the next two decades. European federalists organised numerous actions on the border crossings within Europe. On 21 May 1983, leaflets were distributed on the border between Strasbourg and Kehl and symbolic border bars were burnt to call for the abolishment of borders. The Schengen agreement was signed on 14 June 1985.

FOR DIRECT ELECTIONS TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT | 1967-1972  

The campaign for the direct election to the European Parliament started in the mid-nineteen sixties. The most notable initiative was a popular petition, signed by 65,000 signatories, for the direct election of Italian representatives in the European Parliament. The first direct election of the European Parliament eventually took place in 1979.

CAMPAIGN FOR A SINGLE EUROPEAN CURRENCY | 1977 - 1990

In June 1977, demonstrators in Brussels showed their support of the single currency and the election of the European Parliament through universal suffrage.  Thereafter federalists consistently campaigned for a European currency, until a decision was eventually taken by the member states in Rome in 1990.

CAMPAIGN FOR EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY | 1980-1996

For two decades federalists petitioned the European authorities and held demonstrations during the most important European Councils’ meetings.  Federalists demanded a transformation of the European Communities into a political union.  An important achievement was the approval of the Spinelli Treaty by the European Parliament in 1984. In 1985, 100,000 citizens gathered in Milan when the Single Market was adopted.  In 1989, with 120,000 petition signatures, federalists initiated a consultative referendum in Italy on the constituent role of the European Parliament, which obtained 90% of citizens’ support.

FOR A EUROPEAN UNION | 1992  

On 8 December 1991, while the heads of member states’ governments negotiated the Treaty on European Union, Maastricht was crowded with federalists.  A meeting, addressed by the Commission President Jacques Delors was followed by a march back to the town centre. The popular decision to create the European currency and to move from the European Communities to the European Union was taken there.

CAMPAIGN FOR A EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION | 1997-2006  

This campaign enjoyed particular strength, with a demonstration involving 10,000 participants occurred in Nice on 7 December 2000.  The governments summoned a European Convention, chaired by Giscard d’Estaing, which prepared a draft European Constitution.  Despite its positive features, it was diluted by member states and eventually defeated by referendum in France and in The Netherlands.

WHO IS YOUR CANDIDATE? | 2009  

The “Who is your candidate?” campaign fought for a transparently and democratically elected President of the European Commission and challenged European political parties to nominate their candidate before the elections. This campaign was spurred by the belief that the President of the European Commission should be chosen by the European Parliament and, by implication, by the voters of the European member states. It was not until the 2014 elections that this process developed.

FEDERAL UNION NOW! | 2011

Federalists campaigned to re-open the debate on European political union and for a decisive move towards a federal Europe, in the conviction that only a strong European government could tackle the economic crisis. 

TOWARDS FEDERAL EUROPE | 2014

With the campaign "Towards Federal Europe" federalists invited citizens to vote in the European elections for those candidates and political parties that supported further European economic and political integration. We urged the European parties and candidates to support federalist proposals to make the election truly European, work for a democratic union, restore the European economy and strengthen Europe's role in the world.