"World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it”
It is impressive to look at the actuality of the world of the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman on the 9th of May 1950 when announced the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community.
Back after WWII, the foundation of the integration process was based on the economical needs of a continent-wide reconstruction.
Today - after once again we have celebrated Europe Day - it is essential to continue the strengthening of the European Union, and its enlargement starting from Ukraine and the Balkans, with a foundation in the rule of law and democracy.
The Conference on the Future of Europe that just ended on the 9th of May 2022 in Strasbourg gives an unprecedented opportunity for a process of reforms - in the merit and in the method - because it is the very first experiment of Deliberative Democracy run by the European institutions. For the first time in European history, new political proposals are formally in the hand of the EU institutions with the contribution of citizens drawn by lot in the Citizens Panels which contributed to the determination of the Recommendations of the Plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe which are now in the hands of the EU Institutions.
As EUMANS we took part in two key civil society moments that led to the celebration of this very special Europe Day: we were among the speakers of the State of the Union organized by the European University Institute in Florence, where we had the chance to present the importance of participatory democracy instruments (starting from the European Citizens Initiatives) in the context of guaranteeing voting rights to EU mobile citizens. We then went to Strasbourg where the Federalists organisations organized the Strasbourg Summit and in particular the European Civil Society Assembly, which discussed the urgency of a European Convention. Alongside our partners of the coalition Citizens Take Over Europe we presented ideas on how a people-centered European Convention should work, coupled with the institutionalization of citizens assemblies, to ensure that the proposals of the Conference on the Future of Europe have a rule of law based process of follow up, accountable and transparent.
This is not “wishful thinking”. Both President Macron (currently France holds the Presidency of the European Council) and the President of the European Commission Ursual Von der Leyen said during the ceremony in Strasbourg that the EU is ready for Treaty Changes. It is - as usual - a matter of how the member state will follow up now, in particular during the Counil meeting in June.
As a movement of popular and nonviolent initiative, we will do our best to give EU (and not EU) citizens the chance to fight for these reforms, which are much needed to improve our life and guarantee Europe a Sustainable Future.
We will discuss this in more detail on Thursday 12th of May at 7 PM During the EUMANS weekly meeting on Zoom with Marco Cappato (EUMANS co-president) and other activists and experts.
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- EUMANS holds its weekly meeting every Thursday from 7 pm to 8 pm. The meetings are open to everyone and you don’t need to be a member to join. Register here to receive the agenda of the meetings in advance.
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