Through this Political Platform, JEF formulates its key convictions and messages that provide inspiration to move away from the current political constellation in Europe and progress towards a true Federation. The Political Platform thus constitutes an entire reservoir of valuable ideas for federalist action. It was adopted by the XXI. European Congress in Helsinki, Finland, in October 2011 by a large majority of delegates.

The Political Programme is available in pdf-format in English. Soon will be avaliable in other languages.

JEF-Europe's Political Platform:

For European integration and democracy

as adopted by the XXI European Congress of JEF in Helsinki, Finland

A free and united Europe, governed according to the principles of democracy and the rule of law, striving to ensure peace and prosperity, security and justice in Europe and in the world, has been the objective of European Federalists ever since.

The European Union achieved to ensure freedom, peace, security and prosperity for its citizens. It has achieved much, but its performance still falls far short of what its citizens are entitled to expect. Neither the European states alone, nor the European Union as it is today, can meet the challenges that confront them any longer: the management of the European economy, mass unemployment, the challenges of globalisation and of ever increasing world disorder. Both nationalism and intergovernmentalism are not able to catch up with the elements needed in a globalised world. It is necessary to transform the European Union into a real European federation in order to face the challenges of the 21st century. Without stronger integration, the achievements of the last 60 years will vanish, the Union will break apart and its member states will not be safeguarded anymore by the unity and solidarity that the European Union provides.

Through this Political Platform, JEF formulates its key convictions and messages that provide inspiration to move away from the current political constellation in Europe and progress towards a true Federation.

‍‍I. Why European Federalism?

‍1. Historical rationale

European Federalism was born out of the necessity to halt the scourge of war that has plagued the European continent over many centuries. Both World Wars plunged Europe into an unprecedented spiral of horror and extremism that has caused an intolerable human tragedy for our societies. European integration was the only possible panacea to guarantee an everlasting peace among its long-term rivals who have not descended into armed conflict ever since. Firmly integrated into an economic community in which disputes are solved solely by the rule of law, European countries have learnt to cooperate through common institutions and embarked on an adventure that has no equivalent in the history of humankind. In the course of a few decades, stability, prosperity and democracy have spread progressively over the continent, rendering the dream of a united and peaceful Europe possible. Yet, the process of integration is far from being achieved…

What started as an economic project to develop a single market ensuring the freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital, has, on the one hand, still not been extended to the entire continent and, on the other, still not been followed by sufficient political and social integration. This inconsistency leads to several discrepancies in policies and gaps in institutional decision-making that can only be closed by the construction of a full-fledged democratic European federation, which is the logical final stage of the process of building an ‘ever closer Union’. Globalisation continues to erode national sovereignty and because states realize they are losing their grip on the many complex problems arising in their societies, they have started to pool some of their powers together. However, the transfer of certain competences has not been accompanied by a parallel transfer of democratic legitimacy to the European level. For this reason, Europe is still perceived to be too far away from the Citizens, who do not really know which decisions are taken at the European level because they neither feel democratically involved in the decision-making procedures nor do they realize how Europe influences their daily lives and could further improve their standard of living.

The performance of the current European Union thus falls short of what all Europeans are entitled to expect and many institutional and policy-making reforms still have to be implemented for Europe to become a beacon of international democracy for the world and achieve the Kantian idea of Universal Peace at global level. Hence, the rationale for European Federalists to advance their cause!


2. Urgency of the moment

Three decades after the Federalists finally succeeded in getting the representatives of the people of Europe directly elected to the European Parliament (EP), this institution suffers from a low degree of popular support with a very low and decreasing turn-out for its elections. Moreover, it should always be remembered that the decade-long struggle for a new Treaty revealed a disturbing degree of disinformation among the Citizens who do not feel appropriately engaged at the European level. Add to this that the enlarged Councils of 27 member states has lately been marked by an increase of nationalist reflexes and intergovernmental bargaining thus deflating the EU’s transparency and further undermining the power of the European Parliament and Commission. At a time when the financial crisis is ravaging our societies and tearing apart the bonds in the Euro zone, leaving countries open for speculation attacks, a stronger integration towards a monetary union is in sight but needs to be accompanied by a political union and a stronger democratic legitimization.

In the face of this triple challenge – of euro-scepticism, nationalism and global crises – it is now, more than ever, up to the European Federalists to reach out to the Citizens, governments, political parties and civil society and re-affirm their belief in a democratic supranational model, pooling national sovereignty in some defined areas and empowering supranational institutions to develop joint solutions to shared problems.


II. Federalist principles

The goal of European Federalists is the creation of a democratic European Federation. European Federalism implies the negation of all manifestations of nationalism and the avoidance of intergovernmentalism, yet, this by no means corresponds with an orthodox ideology that focuses solely on the creation of some kind of federal super-state.

European Federalism can be generally described as a new approach to governance that tries to guarantee the highest standards of democracy and transparency and takes effective decisions at the appropriate level in line with the principle of subsidiarity. The created unity does not seek to replace distinct identities but cultivate a vivid exchange of diverse mindsets and cultures.

Being always independent from any political colour or party ideology but supporting the progression of the federalist idea within the maximum of political parties, European Federalists do have in common their desire for a ‘stronger Europe’ as opposed to a ‘weaker Europe’, carried out by European political parties. They see Federalism as a strategy towards increasing political integration in various sectors of society, as a common tool for effective and democratic decision-making, as ever more transnational solidarity, coordination and harmonization and as the incremental shifting of competences towards a supranational level whenever necessary, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity wherever possible. They are convinced that cooperation at a higher level is in the enlightened self-interest of any federated unit because it avoids duplication of resources.

The federal process should be inclusive, transparent and accountable to citizens. European Federalism can be communicated as a message of European brotherhood that rests on the following five pillars:

1. Democracy and participation

Every law should result from the will of the people, expressed either through elected representatives or directly. Only a legitimate and representative Federal parliament can pass democratic laws that will benefit the highest number of people. All citizens and member states must have the right to participate in the decision-making process at the federal level. Laws must enjoy the support of a double majority of representatives: of Citizens and member states.

‍‍‍2. Subsidiarity

The Federal level must have the authority to carry out satisfactorily the functions it has been assigned to. However, power should never be exercised at a level higher than necessary. According to the principle of subsidiarity, decisions always have to be taken as close as possible to the Citizen while allowing for community any action when an objective cannot be satisfactorily achieved by a lower level acting independently and can only be effectively tackled at the supranational level in order to deliver optimally for the citizen.

3. Autonomy and Division of competences

Federal laws have primacy and are directly applicable. While all federated entities have the autonomous right to organise themselves within their competences in the most efficient way, they must not jeopardize the general interest and cohesion of the federation as a whole. The spheres of action of local, regional, national or European bodies should be clearly outlined. A clear division of competences between the different levels of decision-making can avoid the concentration of too much power at one level or with one body. The distribution of powers over different decision-making levels and accountability towards all the member states guarantees peace within the federation and this in turn leads to peaceful behaviour towards each other.

‍‍‍4. Peace, the Rule of Law and Human Rights

The aim of federalism is to ensure peace. Peace is not just the absence of war; it is the situation in which war is completely impossible as a mean to solve any conflict. The recognition and protection of Human Rights, including those of minorities, are not only vital in guaranteeing democracy, peace and justice, but also the process to ensure a unity of people as well as their diversity. The Rule of Law is contrary to the rule of the strongest and ensures fundamental rights of the citizens. The relations among member states of a federation must thus be firmly based on these three principles and fixated in a Federal Constitution. The principle of the separation of powers, both horizontally (between the legislative, executive and judicial branches) and vertically (between the federated and federal levels), should strictly apply to guarantee a checks and balances system.

‍‍‍5. United in Diversity

This motto conveys the idea that Europeans are united in working together for peace and prosperity, and that the many different cultures, traditions and languages in Europe are a positive asset for the continent and important for its dynamism. Europe in the world needs to be a role model for inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue and mutual respect for each other. After centuries of war, a deep understanding of each other needs to be part of the foundation to ensure lasting peace within a federation of equal.

Federalism refers to the idea of multi-layered identity reflecting the complexity of human life by taking into account multiple identifications of citizens, who may feel belonging to a local community, a region, a country without any incompatibility with the identification with and support of supranational and international entities. Each of these identifications supplements and mutually influences each other.

The creation of the European federation is the best guarantee to preserve democracy and peace in Europe and facing the challenges that national states and the EU in its current form are no longer able to manage. The European federation needs to be accountable in front of the citizens and will assure a new social-economic and political development for the continent, establishing equal social standards and social welfare on even level, overcoming the disparities between northern and southern Europe and closing the gap between eastern and western Europe. Only in this way, Europe will be a player on eye level with other global powers in the world institutions.

Upcoming reforms of the European Union must lead towards a truly European federation which shall entail the following features:

The federal constitution

The European Union will be provided with a written federal constitution. A constituent assembly or convention will be convened to write the federal constitution. This constituent assembly or convention will be composed by representatives elected by the citizens both at national and at European level, as well as representatives of the governments, national parliaments and the European Commission. The resulting federal constitution will be ratified subsequently through a pan-European referendum. Such a procedure will insure that the Europeans’ political unity is founded on the will of the people.

The Constitution will recognize rights and duties for the European citizens and establish the foreseen federal institutions and regulate the division of power between the different levels of government. In order to guarantee the division of powers between European and national level, this must not only be sanctioned by the constitution, but also protected by an autonomous power that is able to annul any legislative and administrative provisions which do not conform to the constitution, and that gives judgements in the final instance when conflicts over the division of powers arise. This power is the judiciary, which bases its own independence on the co-existence of the various levels of government and which can therefore guarantee the primacy of the constitution by imposing respect for it to all bodies of the Federation.

‍Different level of sovereignty

In addition to the functional division between legislative, executive and judicial powers, the European federation will be provided with a territorial division of powers between the several levels of government which will be simultaneously independent and coordinated. The distribution of the competences between all levels of sovereignty will follow the principle of subsidiarity.

Thanks to a political framework that will assure both unity of the political community and the independence of its parts, the European federation will be able to bring together the advantages of small size, which enables individuals and organisations to participate directly in the process of forming political decisions, with the advantages of large size, which is needed for security and economic development. Especially the small units are important in order to include and not alienate the citizens and guarantee a open democratic process. The European federation will possess only the minimum number of competencies and powers necessary to guarantee the political and economic unity of the federation, while the other levels will possess full capacity for self-government in all other fields. In its own sphere no government level must be subordinate to the level above.

‍‍Federal institutions

The constitutional balance of the federation will be reflected in the composition of legislative power that will be exercised by two chambers, one representing the people of the federation proportionally to the number of voters in a trans-national or trans-regional election procedure, the other representing the member states. In order to be passed, laws will need the support of the majority of both the representatives of the people of the federation and the representative of the member states.

Considering the present structure of the European Union, the current decision-making framework should be abandoned to become a true federal bicameral system:

The Council will need to be relieved of the concentration of legislative and executive powers that it currently holds and the body transformed into a purely legislative Second Chamber of the Union.

The European Parliament is to represent the citizens of the federation. European parties will present their candidates and their political program to the electorate before the elections for the European Parliament. Members of the Parliament will be elected on Europe-wide lists. Full legislative powers will need to be transferred to the European Parliament, to be exercised on an equal footing with the second chamber of the Union.

The Commission will become the government of the Federation, accountable to the European Parliament, and attributed with full executive powers. The parliament will be entrusted with the power to express confidence in the executive and to withdraw it. The European commission will report to each parliamentary plenary session. The composition of the Commission will be determined through political competition according to the results of the EP elections.

The President of the European executive will be elected by the people, either indirectly, on the occasion of the European Parliament election, with the European political parties making very clear during the campaign who will be their candidate for the Presidency or directly elected through a direct presidential elections. The President of the executive will chair the meetings of the heads of states or governments of the member states.

Decisions of both chambers will be taken by simple majority in all matters except those on constitutional reforms, the relation between the federation and the other level of sovereignty and the direct intervention of the electorate through recourse to referendum and citizens’ initiative.‍

The Citizens, the Parliament, the Council and the Government should have the right to initiate legislation.

Democratic participation and transparency can be ensured only by cross dialogue and cooperation between the bodies of the Federation.

‍European resources

In order to guarantee that no governing level is subordinate to the others in the sphere of its own competences, it is necessary that each level of the European federation has sufficient resources available to carry out the functions assigned to it by the constitution. All government levels must therefore have the power to levy taxes individually in order to finance their own services and policies.

The constitution will define the ways and means by which fiscal activity among the various levels of the federation will be coordinated. The federal level should be financed from own resources in order to avoid the member states interest to maximise the net return on their own contribution. That's why the EU budget should be restructured in a federal sense by establishing new EU-own financial resources and according to the following principles:

− Subsidiarity: the federation should only finance or tax what it can finance or tax more effectively than other levels of government.

− Democracy: The Parliament as the representation of the citizens should have a responsibility for managing taxpayers’ money.

− Solidarity: citizens should contribute according to their capability, and subsidies should be spent in a way that ensures that all citizens get equal opportunities and access in Europe, investing in a stronger harmonization within the union, instead of subsidies being linked to taxation pay in.

− Sustainability; maintaining a balanced budget should be a pillar of the fiscal union in order to avoid creating burdensome debt for future generations. Therefore, the constitution shall contain a debt brake mechanism for federal spending.

− Accountability; the Parliament, accountable to the electorate, should be the primary responsible for budgetary decision-making. Debates between EU-level political parties and the civil society on the level of taxes and their use will make MEPs more recognizable political actors.

− Transparency; The budget should have a transparent structure and the public should have the right to know who received how much funding. All revenues and expenditures should be included in the EU budget, including the European Development Fund and specific projects.

- Equality: Every person should be treated equally in front of the law. Legal duties and rights should be the same for all the European citizens and their states, without exceptions that are not justified by the general interest of the European Federation.

Regional and World federalism

Federalism does not only provide a new form of government but also establish a new international order, the only one which is fully capable of realising peace, because it removes from the states the power to make a war, by transforming international relations of force into relations based on law. By allowing citizens to participate democratically in forming the power which regulates relations between states, federal institutions realise international democracy. Only by achieving federal institutions at all levels, international conflicts will be brought to an end by transforming international relations into legal relations among equals; raison d’Etat will be abolished and politics will no longer be at the service of the power of the states, but at the service of the common good of the human being.

The world federation represents for sure a long term objective; however it is the only perspective in which it is conceivable to provide a positive and democratic response to growing global interdependence.

This explains why in all areas of the world integration processes are under way (such as NAFTA, the Arab League, Mercosur, the Andean Pact, ASEAN, the CIS, the African Regional Unions, etc.). The European federation will represent the first example in history of the postnational politics, and constitutes a one possible unification model for all other regions of the world. On the basis of great continental federal unions it will one day be possible radically to reform the UN, and to create a true democratic world government.

Regional integration is a two way process: to overcome the national predisposition, sovereignty needs to be passed on not only to a higher level in a federation with other states but also, within, to smaller entities, in order to fully realize the principle of subsidiarity. Whilst national states are traditionalist, historically grown, social constructs, they are not final solutions to power distribution, especially within modern fields of governance that came up longer after the creation of the nation states, such as environmental policy or the safeguarding of minority rights.


European people and citizenship

The establishment of a political union will only happen if a European people simultaneously emerges. The European civil society has the energy to enthuse a new institutional order with a new idea of the common good, as it has shown over the centuries. What is needed in Europe, therefore, is a new European public opinion, which has its roots in decades of cooperation and a growing capacity to bring collective causes to the European level.

The European federation will accept an inclusive concept of citizenship defined in the constitution. This citizenship should encompass the fundamental rights and freedoms granted equally to all citizens of the federation. The European federation will derive its legitimacy from a united will to form such a union and overcome conflict and socio-economic differences and preserve the various backgrounds in Europe. Such an union will reflect the values implicit to federalism: the rule of law, respect for human rights, democracy and solidarity.

1) Economic Governance

JEF believes the establishment of the European Federation would erase the persisting contradiction of a common currency without a government.

A true European executive is the only political actor able to perform a coherent economic governance through the setting up of a European Ministry of Economic and Financial affairs accountable, being part of the government, to the Federal Parliament. With this European ministry, the EU will have a single voice in the IMF, WTO, World Bank and all the financial fora.

A common economic policy should lay on a larger European budget based on own resources to and lead to a common economic plan for sustainable development and social welfare in Europe.

The economic strategy of the European Federation should rely both on big companies and on SMEs. This requires simplifying the legal environment of SME and reducing their administrative costs by offering them unified European regimes, be it on patents, on contract law or on the recognition of qualification. At the same time, the still ongoing integration of the European market needs to be accompanied with social and tax harmonization that ensures a level playing field in Europe.

The setting-up of a EU Debt Agency will provide a system based on incentives by pooling part of the stock of national debts together based on rational balance between the necessity and sustainability and converting it in a common bond that would lower interest payments and consequently give Member States some breathing space. Such an agency could also issue debt securities tied to investment projects at European level and thus attract much needed foreign and domestic capital to match the investment needs that the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy require.

The enforcement of fiscal policy and competitiveness policy should be set in the framework of binding EU law following the Community method, which implies a full delegation of the supervision and the enforcement of possible sanctions to the European Commission, submitted to the democratic control of the European Parliament and the judicial control of the European Court of Justice.

Monetary policy should remain an exclusive competence of the Union, with a full independent European Central Bank responsible for the single currency. The remaining outsiders should increase their efforts to join the Eurozone as soon as possible to overcome the different stages of EU member states in the EU integration process.

‍2) Social Policy

The reduction of social disparities between the EU Member States is vital for the development of a Europe which is more socially fair and stable; it is of core essence to stabilize the European Union and foster European citizenship. The motto of “United in diversity” can only be true if everyone is on eye level. Economic and social aims need to be balanced both between the member states and also on the different levels of governance.

The EU is characterized by its rich variation of socio-historical backgrounds, economic activities and subsequently a variation of welfare state types. Specifically with regard to social security levels, there are strong differences between the member states. European countries, however, face increasingly similar social welfare challenges. The EU can thus bring added value in order to further the well-being of European citizens by finding common solutions to these problems, while not preventing member states from providing more extensive social protection to their citizens. In line with the principle of subsidiarity, social policy should thus be subjected to the level of governance at which it is most effectively dealt with.

Nevertheless increased social security cooperation can prove to provide real added value with regard to economies of scale, efficiency and allocation of resources. The optimal protection of the well-being of European citizens is the main aim in this regard. Member states are to be supported by the EU institutions in their efforts to provide more extensive social protection, setting common minimum social security standards which are set at a high standard, and not at the least common denominator. The European social policy should reflect common values and be based on democratic practices. Increased debate about the future of the European welfare state model and social policy specifically, will advance the interest of citizens in EU-level politics.

Besides, the social-economic balance between the EU and other European countries should be seriously taken into account. An impact assessment on the way in which different types of EU welfare would affect the pan-European relations and the possible further enlargement process is to be advised.

‍3) European Foreign and Defence policy

Taking into consideration the current and the visible challenges of the international community as well as the globalisation pressures, JEF firmly considers the establishment of a common Ministry of Foreign Affairs belonging to a Federal Government and accountable to the Parliament.

This common line in external affairs will ensure the security of the member states and simultaneously will substantially help Europe in adapting into the constantly changing world balances. This will inevitably increase the special political weight of Europe on a global level and result in its more active role in the international chessboard. In terms of international organisations and fora, Europe should be represented with one voice, expressing the economic and political interests of the federation.

The EU external action service should develop an independent intelligence and a capacity to establish political strategies and priorities. The aim of the EU Foreign Policy should be to make sure that conflicts or oppression in any country or region do not arise and that full respect of human rights is ensured. It should contribute to the democratic transition in the EU’s neighbourhood and support democratic forces fighting against all breaches of human rights, like in Belarus.

In line with the common foreign policy JEF proposes the establishment of a common defence system as well. That leads to the creation of a European Force unifying national armies ready for intervention in case of threat or use of force against a state of the federation and for peacekeeping, humanitarian and reconstruction assistance outside the federation. In case of tensions or conflicts, all preventative means and diplomatic negotiations must be attempted first, and the European force should only be used as a last resort, after all peaceful resolution possibilities failed and needs to be linked to reconstruction measure.

The European force will also participate in the UN humanitarian forces, providing peacekeeping assistance and humanitarian aid whenever the Security Council of the UN decides. The European force should be deployed only with the consent mandate of the European Parliament.

‍4) Environment, energy, sustainable development and climate change

Europe needs to become the role model for the protection of the environment on a global level, by promoting clean energies, leading to a low carbon market and a reduction in greenhouse gases, and to unite behind a single negotiator during the forthcoming international conferences, especially the COP meetings, and promote a united approach towards climate change, overcoming single state interests and initiatives.

The EU should explore new initiatives to reach an ambitious international agreement ensuring a decent follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol and leading to the creation of a sound institutional framework for global environmental governance.

The renewable sources need to constitute the core energy supply of Europe, a fact that will help it to reduce its fossil fuel dependence and the disadvantages of nuclear energy use.
Without taking the subsidiarity principle for a synonym of passivity, the European Union should provide itself with a concrete common environment plan with measures on major cross-border environmental issues such as nanoparticles, waste prevention and management, biodiversity and natural spaces, soil protection, or water protection. The common agricultural policy should become an ecological policy ensuring a healthy food, a minimal impact on the environment, and satisfactory economic conditions for farmers. The EU should also ensure that current environmental rules are applied, if necessary through more control and new enforcement rules. Conflicts of interest should finally be prevented in all regulatory bodies competent on environmental, food, and health matters; and actions are still needed to prevent harmful food additives or medicines from flooding the European markets.

Due to the importance of energy in our economy, the emergence of a single European energy policy is a necessity. Europe needs to spearhead the fight against global warming, which is far from being fulfilled with a single climate package. Major initiatives are still urgently needed, from improving the energy efficiency of products, buildings, transports, and urban systems, to evolving towards an environmental taxation, and even adapting cities, agriculture, and critical infrastructure to future climate hazards. All policies eventually have to take climate change into account, not only the research or energy policies, but also the development policy and the asylum policy, which will have to take into account climate refugees.

5) A knowledge policy

Education and research are central to the EU's strategy to make Europe the most competitive and knowledge-based economy in the world.

The EU should improve exchange programs for secondary school pupils, trainees, students, researchers and teaching staff from all over Europe alike and avoid financial obstacles, the payout needs to be increased, especially for students from countries which do not offer any additional student funding for a year abroad.

In support of free movement of school pupils, students and “young” professionals, the acknowledgment and mutual recognition of educational and professional qualifications needs to be strengthened.

There is also a stronger need to include young people out of education better in such programs, to not exclude them from the knowledge-based society. In this respect lifelong learning programs should be fostered.

Cultural diversity in Europe is very present in the language variety, therefore language competency and general inter-cultural communication skills need to be fostered through educational programs.

To generate a common European people, an educational approach focusing stronger on pan-European ties needs to be introduced in the history and civic education subjects.

Some Research and Development national programs should be merged in favour of a pooled European effort, to avoid costly duplication and lead to a better scientific knowledge. This should also change the structure of research funding within the EU programmes.

6) Immigration

The European Federation needs a Single Immigration Policy implemented by the Federal Government and responsible in front of the European Parliament.

A Single Immigration Policy should be based on a comprehensive approach to the management of migratory flows to share the weight and overcome regional imbalances between member states, while respecting all relevant international Human Right clauses pertaining to immigration. Considering migration not a problem but on the contrary a fundamental resource vis à vis the aging rate of the European population, a stronger guiding system needs to be put in place.‍

7) Borders in Europe

JEF believes the abolishment of borders within the European Union and the establishment of the Schengen Agreement constitute one of the major achievements of the European integration process. In accordance with the spirit of a federation, as proposed by JEF, no reintroduction of borders checks will be accepted and this will be controlled strictly by the European Commission. In long term this should be set forth in a European Constitution so that the free circulation of people, the absence of borders and the territorial unity of the Federal State is guaranteed as a European citizens’ fundamental right.

8) Political life and citizen participation

One of the ways to generate greater legitimacy for a European Federation is to develop the European political life and thus a Europe-wide constituency. This is why JEF believes the development of a real European political party system, true European elections and participatory tools is of essential importance.

A European political party system should go beyond simple grouping of national political families. Such political parties should follow ideological, social and political lines rather than territorial ones. This way, they will be crucial for the creation of a European public space. The introduction of real party democracy in Europe (including Europe-wide political programs and candidates standing for election as representatives of political parties) will make the European political life more open and inclusive, as well as subject to greater transparency and public scrutiny. Such European political parties should run in European elections, presenting their visions and proposals on European issues and putting forward their candidates for the Presidency of the future European Government.

In order to promote the EU citizenship and the citizen participation, every European should have the opportunity to engage in an experience in another European country. The EU should thus promote and further develop more inclusive exchange programs, not only for students and pupils, but also older people, workers etc. A European Civilian Service should be created to make the European citizenship tangible, by complementing existing university and professional exchanges.

Furthermore a stronger involvement of the civil society needs to be established, as it’s the closest link between the political decision-makers and the citizens. Instead of tokenistic consultations, systematic public consultation procedures should be integrated in the decision making procedures.


9) No opt-out and enhanced cooperation

To maintain the integrity of the Federation, no opt-outs are allowed. No opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights is acceptable, since this would create differences among European citizens and their rights and obligations

In parallel, Member States wishing to pool sovereignty in areas where others may not wish to be involved should be encouraged to develop enhanced cooperation, which would be open, in that any Member State wishing to be involved in such a process be granted the automatic right to do so. This enhanced cooperation could start from the eurozone's countries.

JEF makes concrete contributions to achieving its vision of Europe by fighting against nationalism and isolationism, standing for more European integration and democracy as well as by proposing institutional and policy changes.

As a youth organisation, JEF gets in touch with young Europeans wherever and whenever possible and works as bridge-builders between the Citizens and European decision-makers through various ways. That Europe is still perceived to be too far away from the Citizens is a serious issue that needs to be tackled, if further integration steps are going to be successful.

JEF is on the front lines when it comes to education and information of the public. As members of a civil society movement, JEFers are on the streets to shape public opinion and combat Euro-scepticism. With its progressive ideas and strong network, JEF is very much involved in agenda setting processes and monitoring, putting federalism on the agenda, even in times when it’s not en vogue with the institutions.

Through active networking and partner structures, as the follow federalist networks UEF and EMI, JEF’s ideas reach a broad public and are easier heard by mandate holders and responsible, making JEF a true voice of the pro-European youth.

JEF makes young Europeans familiar with EU institutions and policies through seminars, discussions with EU politicians, study trips, simulations etc. Presenting and discussing its vision of a federal Europe is always part of this approach. JEF makes citizens aware of the many concrete advantages that Europe provides, especially to young people, and reminds at the same time the improvements that a stronger integration will provide. And JEF encourages young Europeans to shape their own opinions and visions of Europe.

JEF encourages debate on European affairs and EU policies while fostering youth mobility and exchanges throughout the continent. JEF thus advocates for a culture of active youth participation and volunteering in Europe and draws on methods of intercultural learning and understanding. Working towards bridging the democratic deficit in the EU, the organisation seeks to involve European Citizens, in particular young people, from all across the continent in the process of European integration.

Federalism and subsidiarity are principles that inspire the way JEF works as an organisation. Its activities are always as close to young Europeans as possible; the local level plays a key role, and every level supports the others to make the organisation more efficient. Within the organisation JEF strives for unity while acknowledging and accommodating diversity.

In order for its political messages to be heard, JEF strives towards growing as an organisation. As a bottom-up citizens' movement, JEF seeks to spread its activities and policies throughout the continent and get in touch with more and more young Europeans and involve into its actions a wide networks of partners.

In order to spread its ideas, JEF has to be based on a diverse and large enough membership base and use the following means:

- Campaigns to lobby over a longer period of time for federalist cause;

- Street actions mobilising the entire network to raise awareness of burning European issues among the general public;

- International events such as seminars and trainings on a wide range of topics in different EU and non-EU countries;

- A multilingual, interactive webzine thenewfederalist.eu where youth can voice its opinion in articles on current European affairs;

- Projects that implement a specific goal and for which specific funding was received;

- Press releases for the advocacy of our objectives towards both public and private organisations;

- Structural dialogue with other youth organisations, the European Youth Forum and the party-political youth organisations.

JEF as a European organisation promoting the ideas of federalism carries the values of cross- cultural cooperation among all its members. According to this principle, JEF- Europe and its section organize international projects and activities to strengthen the sense of multiculturalism of young Europeans.

Federalists understand that the complex international challenges of tomorrow cannot be tackled by the simplistic national means of today. Federalists are bridge-builders who want to close the gaps in democracy, transparency and efficiency in the current European constellation and equip it with the necessary institutions and policies to prepare for the future. At the same time, they are bridge-builders between the Citizens and the European decision-makers by striving to reconnect them. In their effort to bring Europe closer to the Citizens and by acting on their deep-rooted philosophy and principles, Federalists should thus insist on various institutional improvements and concentrate on policies precisely because this approach will arouse Citizens’ interest. This is why Federalists, first and foremost JEF members, have to actively reach out to the Citizens via presentations in schools, debates in universities, international seminars, public events, street actions, pan-European campaigns, on-line articles and various local, regional, national and European media, aiming to reverse European and political apathy and fight nationalism. Through their commitment to a supranational European destiny, Federalists thus breathe life into the concept of European Citizenship and add to the strengthening of the European consciousness and even the development of the European identity. In doing their job, they eventually contribute to the emergence of – paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln’s words – a European government of the people, by the people and for the people!

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