Key points:
– On the 71st anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, Europe is more united than ever, but still far from Schuman’s original vision.
– The European integration project is not yet finished, which threatens the continent’s stability and wellbeing.
– JEF, the umbrella organisation of JEF Finland, is pushing for the EU to develop into a democratic federation, both within the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe and beyond it.
On 9 May 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman laid, with his speech, the foundation for a united Europe representing the opposite of war. Schuman emphasised the need to find creative solutions to guarantee peace, and proposed establishing a supranational body to manage coal and steel production as a first step towards a European federation. 71 years later, Europe is no longer merely a coal and steel community, but at the same time it remains far from a genuine federation.
The past decades have brought Europe together in an unprecedented way, economically, politically and culturally. Achievements include the single market with its four freedoms, the common currency, cohesion funds and a directly elected European Parliament whose powers have grown over time. Europe-wide public debate is no longer merely the sum of separate national debates. Europeans have never before in history been as close to one another, and our continent serves as a model for integration efforts in other regions of the world.
The progress of integration nevertheless depends on the varying political situations of member states, and some countries lack the will and determination to realise Schuman’s vision. The EU’s constitutional treaty, which ended in fiasco in 2005, and the 2016 Brexit vote, prove that even in a continent scarred by the catastrophes caused by nationalism, integration can stall and take steps backward. Due to a lack of democracy and unity, Europe is unable to face internal and external challenges in the best possible way, and is therefore unable to guarantee citizens the stability and wellbeing that we have taken for granted for generations.
Europe Day is an annual opportunity to return to the EU’s roots, to Schuman’s federalist plan. This year, returning to the source is especially important, because the Conference on the Future of Europe, about to begin, offers momentum for advancing the integration project and responding to citizens’ needs. In the coming months we will demand a federation more loudly than ever, both within the framework of the conference and outside it. Especially if the conference does not turn out to be as democratic, ambitious and meaningful as hoped, demands should also be raised in arenas other than the conference.
In our political work, we demand that work begin on drafting a new constitution. The foundational pillars of a European federation, such as a fiscal union, a health union and a stronger European Parliament, must be present in public debate. Our “Next Chapter Europe” campaign brings the conference closer to young people, who, as the new European generation, bear responsibility for our continent’s future. As life gradually returns to a Europe tested by the coronavirus, JEF continues to fight for a united Europe.
JEF Europe (Young European Federalists) is a politically unaffiliated youth organisation with more than 10,000 members in over 30 countries. The organisation’s goal is a European federation founded on democracy, the principle of subsidiarity and human rights. JEF promotes European citizenship and supports young people’s active participation in democracy. The umbrella organisation JEF Europe was founded in 1972, but national organisations have operated continuously since the end of the Second World War, making JEF the oldest and only federalist youth organisation.
JEF Europe has submitted several ideas to the official online platform of the Conference on the Future of Europe, based on the organisation’s values and demands:
– Together We Are Strong: A Democratic European Federation
– A More Democratic and Effective EU: A Stronger European Parliament
– Genuinely European Elections: An EU-Wide Constituency
– A More Democratic European Commission: The Spitzenkandidaten Procedure
– Safeguarding Fundamental Values: A Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Mechanism
– An EU Budget That Serves Citizens: A Fiscal Union
– Protecting Our Savings and Economy: Completing the Banking Union
– Speaking with One Voice: The EU as a Global Actor
– Bringing Europe Together: Continuing EU Enlargement
– Amending the Treaties to Strengthen the EU’s Health Competence
Contact
Leonie Martin, President
Young European Federalists
Rue d’Arlon 53, 1040 Brussels
[email protected]