On Thursday 7 March 2024, at the Spinelli Room 5G305 of the European Parliament in Brussels, the press conference of the Europa porta Europa netwokr took place.
The Network, made up of 16 of the main Italian non-party associations will present the Pact for Europe signed on October 2, 2024 in Lampedusa to call for a more democratic, just and sustainable Europe in view of the next European elections.
In Europe, with the European Green Deal and the Next Generation EU plan, progress has been made on both ambitious investments that look to the future of the Union and the creation of a common debt, a sign of the desire for greater and more structured integration.
However, this is not enough. Urgent action is needed to establish a true democratic European political union, an objective that can necessarily be achieved by reforming the current institutional framework, a draft of which was approved last November by the European Parliament.
The upcoming European elections must represent a moment of renewal, because the debate on the future of Europe cannot remain hostage to election campaigns focused on national issues. To respond to the migration phenomenon, to achieve a fair and sustainable transition, to defend peace and the values on which the European project is based, small reforms will not be enough, but a clear choice of field, towards a true federal Europe, is needed.
A PACT FOR EUROPE
16 of the main non-partisan Italian associations sign a common commitment in view of the next European elections. To effectively face the structural crises of our time, a more democratic, fair, and sustainable European Union is needed: a new Europe that looks back to the project of the founding fathers and mothers.
THE CRISIS OF THE CURRENT EUROPEAN UNION
Today's Europe, born amidst the frontiers of states in perpetual conflict, began to dismantle those barriers only after the last world war, confronting its past and historical responsibilities to look forward with new trust. Paraphrasing sociologist Abdelamek Sayad, what happens at the borders of a community reflects the deepest contradictions of a society, its political organization, and its relations with other societies. The frontiers that once lay through Verdun and the Somme now exist elsewhere: in Lampedusa, Pylos, Cutro, Kiev, and between the winners and losers of globalization, increasingly defined by the divide between socio-economic centers and peripheries. The living contradictions defining these new "frontiers" must be addressed to rediscover the original aim and spirit of the European project.
On the tenth anniversary of the Lampedusa shipwreck, our reflection begins with the EU and governments' responses to migration. A structural phenomenon in human history, not a contingent crisis, forces us to choose who we are as Europeans facing what the UN has called "the world's deadliest border," a border our society is complicitly witnessing while human rights are trampled, and the "stateless of the twenty-first century" are left to drown. Migration is just one of the main phenomena towards which the EU and member states are unable to offer structural solutions, where they are needed the most. This is due to fundamental flaws in the current European institutional setup, dominated by intergovernmentalism, which responds only in an emergency manner, often too late. This applies to migrations, but also to other crises, past and ongoing: from the economic and financial crisis to violations of democracy and the rule of law; from climate change to the return of war on the European continent.
THE REASON OF A COMMON COMMITMENT
Politics is the specific field of human activity where everyone can contribute to the definition of large societal transformation projects and fight for their realization. Therefore, a new narrative of the struggle for tomorrow is needed, capturing this desire for commitment beyond the crisis of intermediary bodies and ideologies characterizing the contemporary era. As a civil society attentive to the younger generation, we cannot but think about the future we desire for Europe, our Community.
Our task is to provide an answer to nationalist "retrotopias," to those preaching the return of a sweetened past by scapegoating the European Union, migrants, or minorities. The European project is a fundamental piece in the construction of a democratic governance of globalization. It's a hope for a possible future and an alternative to returning to the past and disillusionment. A future that is not passively to be discovered, but to be realized through our actions.
A NEW EUROPE FOR A CHANGING SOCIETY
We, the young Europeans, believe that it is necessary to complete the project of political unity in Europe to face the decisive challenges ahead, which current European and national institutions are incapable of managing. We indeed believe that the European project will only have a future if certain fundamental objectives are completed: European management of migration phenomena, protecting the life and dignity of individuals, countering human trafficking managed by organized crime, and implementing proper recognition measures for immigration victims;
1. European institutions that guarantee and strengthen democracy, the rule of law, and human rights on both national and supranational levels;
2. The creation of a political community equipped with adequate financial resources and a democratically decided federal budget, fueled by own resourcesresources, to fully realize the principle of subsidiarity, along with territorial and intergenerational solidarity;
3. The introduction of new political and legislative tools at the European level to decisively counter the international activities of criminal organizations;
4. The introduction of new political and legislative tools at the European level to decisively counter the international activities of criminal organizations;
5. A single foreign policy and a common European defence, to create a strengthened political community and able to promote, in cooperation with other world players, peace and multilateralism, through the reform and revitalisation of international institutions, starting with the UN;
6. A truly common foreign policy and common European defense to create a strengthened political community capable of promoting peace and multilateralism in cooperation with other global actors, starting with the reform and relaunch of international institutions, beginning with the UN;
7. The implementation and consolidation of the participatory experience initiated with the Conference on the Future of Europe, establishing increasingly continuous and structured dialogue forms within democratic processes with civil society, youth, and beyond;
8. European institutions capable of addressing the climate crisis and its consequences on the environment and human life, managing the economic and social consequences of a necessary and fair green transition, through a European fiscal capacity protecting the social pillar and individual self-determination.
In Europe, with the European Green Deal and the Next Generation EU plan, progress has been made towards forming the first clear example of a cosmopolitan civilization. However, we believe urgent action is required to establish a true European democratic political union. This necessarily involves reforming the current treaties, as supported by the ambitious project currently under discussion in the European Parliament.
The European Union is to be understood as a promise for the world, and integration represents the only global alternative to the violent and hegemonic concept of "empire." It also reveals that supranational citizenship is possible and that building common institutions does not oppress national, regional, and local identities but instead protects and enhances them on multiple levels.
The upcoming European elections must represent a moment of renewal, for sterile national debate is insufficient to face and manage tomorrow's challenges. Responding to migration, achieving a just and sustainable transition, and defending the peace and values upon which the European project is founded will require more than minor reforms, but a clear choice towards a true federal Europe.
Signed by: Gioventù Federalista Europea, Comitato 3 Ottobre, Associazione Piero Capone, Base Italia, ESN, Eumans!, Europiamo, Fridays for Future Italia, Giovani delle ACLI, Giovani di Azione Cattolica, Legambiente, Movimento Europeo Giovani, Natura Comune, One Hour for Europe, Studi Centro e Youthmed,
