EUROPEAN MANIFESTO - 12.12.2005

Conclusion of the Citizens' assembly in Genoa - December 03-04
     

Today humanity faces a vital choice. Despite the end of the Cold War, conflicts and wars continue to take a heavy toll of lives. The proliferation of atomic arms and weapons of mass destruction has not at all stopped. International terrorism is a daily reality. The continuous appeals for international solidarity do not touch the divide between rich and poor. Nature is being devoured by a civilisation which threatens all forms of life on Earth if the problems of climate change, consumption of non-renewable resources, water pollution, deforestation and loss of biodiversity are not solved. Who governs globalisation?
The international organisations, which in the postwar period after the Second World War, starting from the UN, should have created a world order of peace and cooperation, still lack autonomous powers. Instead, they are just simple instruments serving the great and small powerful nations. They must be reformed radically. Never before have Kant's words rung so true: «The violation of rights occurring in one part of the Earth is felt everywhere.» No people, no minority, no human being should suffer the will of the stronger. Freedom, equality and fraternity must become the basis of the union of all peoples and of all the individuals on the planet. Thus, the rules of democracy should be applied not only within states, but also in relationships among states, starting with a democratic reform of the UN. The national governments already speak in the United Nations General Assembly. The citizens of the world should also have an assembly in which to make their voices heard.
Europe can make a specific contribution to the future of humanity. Among the ruins and wreckage of the old world order, the germs of a new world can be perceived. The European Community, founded in the postwar period among the nations that had shed blood across the continent and the world, succeeded to bring peace to Europe and to guarantee progressive wellbeing to its peoples, first, in the western part and, then in the eastern one, spreading democracy and the rule of law as far as the boundaries of Asia.
However, the European Union is an unfinished project. Democracy, curbed by the narrow boundaries of nation states, is in crisis. Populism and demagogy are finding increasing support. There is a return of nationalism in new forms in a Europe which is always on the verge of unity and division. It is necessary to transform the Union into a democratic community of democratic nations, therefore into a European Federation. European citizens are asking for a Constitution that will allow the Union to speak to the world with a single voice, especially in the UN Security Council, with its own government, responsible before the European Parliament. They are asking for a Constitution that will recognise peace as a founding value of the Union, that will advance social progress, and that will guarantee fundamental rights to all individuals, including a right of citizenship based on residence. We also ask for the development of the European civilian service in order to strengthen the identity of European citizens. The role of Europe in the world should be to promote a new world order, founded on peace, justice, cooperation with poor countries and sustainable development.
The governments have the democratic duty to conclude the national ratification processes. Should they fail to do so by the end of 2006, the European citizens' Convention asks the European Parliament to relaunch the constitutional process on a new basis. The European Parliament should demand a Constitutional Convention, made up of representatives of the European and national parliaments with the mandate to draft a new Constitution, and should organise meetings with the European citizens and fora with members of national parliaments. The new Constitution shall be subject to a European consultative ballot, on the occasion of the European elections in 2009, and only enter into force if a double majority of citizens and states approves it.
Another world is possible. Another Europe is possible. The European citizens' Convention shall not be dissolved until it will have reached its goals. In 2006, the appointments include Vienna and Paris.
            Union of European Federalists (UEF)