European federalism

One indicates by European federalism the political current aiming at the construction of federal Europe . It is distinguished from the currents known as unionistic, in favor of a simple inter-official co-operation, in that which it considers that the union of Europe has direction only by the joint exercise of the Souveraineté at the European level and by the creation of a European political authority resulting from a process Démocratique.

The organizations claiming European federalism had a significant between 1945 and the creation of the European Communities, and less influence since.

Origins

First initiatives

1922 : Richard Nikolaus de Coudenhove-Kalergi publishes PanEurope
1929: Aristide Briand makes proposals with the Société of the Nations
1930: Alexandre Marc founds New Ordre
1935: Publication of the book pacifism is not enough to Lord Lothian (Philip Kerr)
1938: foundation of Federal Union in the United Kingdom.

See also the article History of the European Union

European federalism in Resistance

1941 : Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi writes with Ventotene the Manifeste for free and plain Europe where they allot to the national State the cause of the war and rather declare like strategic priority for the Après-guerre the fight for the European Federation than the transformation of the national State.
In Germany, in Munich, the students of the movement “the white Rose” give an opinion for an European Federation after the war. Its leaders will be carried out.
1943 : foundation of the European federalistic Movement in Milan. It adopts proclamation of Ventotene like program.
1944 : foundation in Lyon of the French Committee for the European Federation.
spring 1944: meeting in Geneva of delegated resistance movements of several European countries to discuss the project of European federalism.
July 7th 1944: Declaration of European resistances resulting from this project.

Foundation of the federalistic movements in the post-war period

September 1946: speech of Zurich of Winston Churchill and meets of Hertenstein
December 1946: Foundation of the European Union of the federalists (UEF) in Paris.
Other movements created: United Europe Movement (Winston Churchill), Movement for the socialist United States of Europe, New international teams.
November 1947: creation of a coordination committee.
May 1948: Organization of the Congress of $the Hague, cleavage between federalists and unionistic.
October 1948: foundation of the European Movement with the participation of the federalists.

History

Birth of the European Communities and battles of the CED

the birth of ECSC following the Déclaration Schuman then in 1957 the creation of the EEC will cause within the federalists a cleavage between constitutionalists and functionalist. The first wish the creation of an European Federation following a democratic process where an elected assembly would write a constitution for Europe. The seconds accept that progress towards the federalism is done gradually through the existing supranational institutions, by initially making sure of the success of the European Communities, even if those are limited to economic aspects.
the " bataille" for the European Community of defense lets foresee the possibility of seeing the two approaches succeeding since integration in a limited field, defense, implies the creation of an political authority. A draft treaty of the European political Community will be besides worked out by an ad hoc assembly but will share the failure of project CED.

The division of the federalists

1956 : scission of the Netherlanders and the Germans of Europa Union and creation of the center of European Action federalistic (AEF). In France: The Federation (French federalistic Movement) is attached to it.
the UEF take the name of European federalistic Movement in 1959.
the Congress of the European people: the UEF then takes this action which aims to the dispute of the Community process and the claim of a constituent assembly. It is a question of making elect by the citizens solicited at the time of actions of street a semi-official constituent assembly. The action continues 1957 (72 000 voters) with 1960 (500 000 voters) but will cease fault of means.
Three orientations divide the MFE (ex-UEF) in the years 1960, marked by the come to power in France of the very hostile mode Gaulliste with the federalistic theses. Mario Albertini founds the federalistic Autonomie current which refuses any external partnership. A second current preaches the co-operation with the other pro-European forces in particular the Movement European. Lastly, Altiero Spinelli wishes the end of neutrality and turn on the left, orientation which will prove to be majority.

Reunification of the federalists

The two organizations continue in spite of the scission to carry out united actions. The members of the AEF will thus take part in the preparation of a “federalistic Charter” which will be adopted at the time of the Congress of Montreux of 1964 of the MFE. This text is clearly influenced by the integral Fédéralisme of Alexandre Marc (the federalists oppose, with the integral federalism or “total” which is interested in the unit of the political questions and social, the federalism says “Hamiltonian” which is interested only in the organization of the political institutions).

Mario Albertini, minority, lance out of the MFE an action entitled the “Census of the European federal people” on a principle close to the Congress of the European people.

AEF and MFE amalgamate in the Union of the European federalists in 1972-1973. The Young Federalistic Europeans, youth organization autonomous is founded at the same time. The UEF is reorientated on the reform of the EEC and the election by the universal direct suffrage of the the European Parliament.

Campaigns

This countryside had been launched in February 1967 by the MFE. It consisted in particular of petitions near the members of Parliament. The project is constant in France with a private bill of François Mitterrand in 1968. A popular law of initiative is initiated by it in Italy in 1969. The decision is made in December 1974 at the time of a top of the heads of state and government which creates also the European Council and the legal document signed on September 20th 1976. The UEF then takes an action near the parties for a European program. The federalists hope whereas the new legitimacy given to the the European Parliament will enable him to start again European construction. This hope is also the fear of their adversaries expressed in particular in the Appel of Cochin. In fact, the the European Parliament will adopt the Projet Spinelli in 1984.

The following campaigns carried out by the federalistic movements will relate on the one hand to the adoption of a single currency, which will be retained with the Traité of Maastricht and will become the Euro then a campaign for a European constitution marked by a great demonstration at the time of the European Council of Nice in December 2000.

Adversaries and debates

Nationalism, euroscepticism and souverainism

The European federalists are defined above all in opposition to the Nationalisme, i.e. the ideology of the partisans of the State-nation. The most radical federalists regard unionism or the intergouvernementalism as forms of nationalism. The federalism implies also an opposition to the Centralisme.

With regard to more specifically the European Construction, the federalists opposed the movement of the Euroscepticisme which is made today call Souverainisme, name that the federalists dispute who oppose the theoretical Souveraineté exerted within the framework of the State-nation, whose impact is limited by the Mondialisation and the possibility of finding a concrete Souveraineté by dividing it at the European level (one speaks d'" joint exercise " Sovereignty).

European federalists and the European Constitutional treaty

The organizations claiming federalism give a critical support for the constitutional treaty. Even if this one is not the Constitution which they call their wishes, they consider that institutional progress of the text is significant and that the use of the term of constitution gives a visibility to the European political power existing and thus constitutes a big step in the recognition of a democratic political community of Europeans.

Certain federalists however opposed the treaty while retaining before all its insufficiencies and the maintenance on the one hand important of intergouvernementalism in the European institutions. The leader of this internal opposition is Claudio d' Alelio, member of the Committee of arbitration and Co-secretary of the Europe Group (the section of the UEF in the European institutions, chaired by Jacques Santer), which animated the debate among the European civils servant and the European deputies with an aim of drawing their attention to parts of the constitutional treaty whose anomalies could not escape to them.

The federalistic criticism of the treaty was also often used by some of the adversaries of the treaty at the time of the French Débat on the European constitutional treaty.

European federalism and political parties

Many elected officials decided in favor of the European federalism without necessarily taking part in the movements which are claimed some. The UEF is however directed generally by an elected official. The European Movement, nearer to the political world, decides also today in favor of the federalism, though in a less marked way. The federalistic organizations generally try to maintain a certain neutrality in order to be able to influence the right elected members like left. The European Parliament often counts in its rows a federalistic joint committee which gathers eurodéputés beyond cleavages in favor.

In front of the slowness of European construction and disappointed by the weak adhesion of the governments to their theses, of the federalists however wished to engage in policy and to try to influence the course of the things while presenting itself to the elections. In 1974, two candidates claiming federalism present themselves: Jean-Claude Sebag (42 007 votes) and Guy Héraud (19 255 votes).

There exists in France a federalistic Parti.

In Italy, Alliance for the United States of Europe is the federalistic European political group which was founded in 1996, at the time of the Italian legislative elections, whose president is Claudio d' Alelio.

Among the policies who decided in favor of the European federalism one can note Joschka Fischer then Foreign Minister of Germany and Guy Verhofstadt, Prime Minister for the Belgium.

European federalism and mondialism

The prospect in the long term for a world federal government is sometimes evoked in the federalistic writings. It was already evoked in certain speeches of the Congrès of $the Hague. The criticism of the State-national and the values which found the European federalism cannot be indeed limited at the continental level. In that one can bring the federalistic thought closer to the Mondialisme. There exists thus a World Federalist Movement (world federalistic movement) to which certain organizations of European federalists are attached. A partnership also exists with the African federalistic Mouvement. If the relative questions with the world governorship are sometimes mentioned, they are however generally not perceived like a strategic priority. Specific mobilizations could be observed, for example by a participation of the European federalists in the countryside for the installation of the International penal court.

See too

Bond interns

External bonds

European NAvigator, '' All History of plain Europe and its institutions since 1945 ''
the federal idea in the history of European construction
Exposed on the European federalism, presentation of organizations and personalities

Random links: