Supporting JEF's Federalist Manifesto
Dear Visitor,
Welcome on the page where we gather support for the federalist ideals of young Europeans. We would like to invite you to read our short, balanced and powerful 
Federalist Manifesto (DE, EN, ES, FI, FR, IT, NL, RO versions in Word) that we adopted at our Federal Committee meeting in Bratislava, on 26-28 March 2010, on the basis of our Political Programme adopted at our XX. Congress in Florence in 2009. We put forward a number of important issues which are close to the hearts of young people and which we hope you would be willing to promote in the years to come. The ideas are more concrete than those of the recently created Spinelli Group in the European Parliament and we sincerely hope their signatories will pick up on them as well!
Policy-makers who wish to express their support will figure below and can send a profile picture, personal description, political message and/or website link(s) to manifesto(at)jef.eu. We would also be happy to do an interview on request. The information will be displayed until the person in question decides to withdraw his/her support in written.
Supporters:
Andrew Duff
Andrew Duff is Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament for the East of England and Spokesman on Constitutional Affairs for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). He has been the Chairman of the Federalist Intergroup of the European Parliament since 2004 and is the President of the Union of European Federalists.
andrew.duff(at)europarl.europa.eu
http://www.andrewduffmep.org.uk/
"Federalists offer new thinking for a new age of European integration. JEF is once again in the vanguard."
Bart Staes
Bart Staes has been a Belgian Member of the European Parliament for Groen! since 1999. In this capacity he is sitting in the fraction of the Greens | European Free Alliance. He is Vice-Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Control and of the Delegation for relations with countries in Central Asia. He is also substitute on the Committee on Development and the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Security.
bart.staes(at)europarl.europa.eu
Evelyn Regner
Evelyn Regner is member of the Austrian Social-Democratic Party (SPÖ). She joined the European Parliament in 2009 and is Vice-Chair of the Committee on Legal Affairs and substitute of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.
evelyn.regner(at)europarl.europa.eu
Gianni Pittella
Gianni Pittella is a Member of the European Parliament since 1999. He was entrusted with the function of the First Vice President of the European Parliament in 2009 and is also member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. He represents the Italian Democratic Party and is a member of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) parliamentary group
gianni.pittella(at)europarl.europa.eu
http://www.giannipittella.org/
Jo Leinen
Jo Leinen is a German MEP from Saarland. He was elected since 1999 on the SPD ticket and sits with the S&D Group. He is currently Chair of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. Between 1997 and 2005 he was President of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and he has been Vice-President of the European Movement International since 2003.
jo.leinen(at)europarl.europa.eu
Michael Gahler
Michael Gahler joined the European Parliament back in 1999. As a German CDU member for Hessen, he is member of the EPP. He sits in the TRAN, AFET and SEDE committees and is the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the Pan-African Parliament.
michael.gahler(at)europarl.europa.eu.
http://www.michael-gahler.eu/
Nessa Childers
Nessa Childers is an MEP for Ireland East. She is member of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and is working on areas such as mental health, a better food labeling system for consumers, climate change and public health issues such as improved cancer screening. She represents the Irish Labour Party and is member of the S&D Group.
nessa.childers(at)europarl.europa.eu
http://www.nessachilders.ie/
Saïd El Khadraoui
Saïd El Khadraoui is a member of the S&D Group, being a Belgian active in the Flemish Socialist Party (SP-A). Having been Member of the European Parliament since 2003, he is now Vice-Chair of the Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries and is member of the Committee on Transport and Tourism.
said.elkhadraoui(at)europarl.europa.eu
Text of the Federalist Manifesto
(as adopted by the FC in Bratislava, 26-28 March 2010 ; pdf here ; Word here)
In the face of Europe’s current triple challenge – of euro-scepticism, nationalism and global crises – it is now, more than ever, up to those who believe in a democratic and efficient supranational model for the EU to insist on various institutional and policy proposals that improve the daily lives of European citizens.
Mindful of the low turn-out at the European Parliament elections in June 2009, we believe that a weak Europe is no valid alternative since our European societies are all interconnected and the complicated, cross-border challenges inevitably require sophisticated and multi-dimensional solutions at the international level.
Therefore, we are willing to engage ourselves and strive to:
1. Contribute to the creation of a democratic European Federation as the logical final stage of building an ‘ever closer Union’ that is based on the following five pillars:
• Democracy and Participation
• The principle of Subsidiarity
• Autonomy and Division of competences between all levels of governance
• Peace, the Rule of Law and Human Rights
• Unity in Diversity
2. Keep the necessity of a European Constitution high on the agenda while stressing the need for the following institutional improvements:
• A Commission able to collect its own fiscal resources;
• A single European diplomacy and European peacekeeping forces that combine the much needed blend of civilian and military means in support of UN missions promoting peace, democratic values, human rights and the rule of law worldwide and to be deployed only after the consent of the European Parliament.
• Treaty changes that extend the current European Parliament competences and the ordinary legislative procedure to new policy areas in the effort to establish a truly democratic bicameral system, where the EP and the Council are two fully equal chambers;
3. Demand concrete measures and policies during the next five years that make the EU more visible and tangible for the citizens of Europe:
• Giving European symbols (flag, anthem, motto, currency, common identity cards and Europe Day) increased prominence all over the continent. In particular, European flags should be flying on every public institution in the Union and the 9th of May should become a public holiday;
• A higher ceiling for the Community budget than the current 1.27% of GDP;
• The promotion of EU citizenship among young people, by creating a European civilian service.
• A coordinated electoral system with transnational sections on the European electoral lists on which the candidates for the Commission should run;
• Combating climate change and global warming by phasing out fossil fuels and promoting alternative energy sources;
• Establishing a common health care system with equal basic standards and creating a harmonised Labour Code with the same minimum conditions and rules for all Citizens;
• The provision of independent financial supervision, the avoidance of protectionism, the ending to tax havens and the harmonisation of fiscal and accounting standards;
• Coordinating the European Energy policy for the sake of diversifying the production of energy and negotiating as a united bloc with foreign suppliers;
• Creating a European humanitarian response team to provide coordinated and sufficient solidarity in the event of natural catastrophes;
We thus commit ourselves to be bridge-builders by:
• Closing 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;
• Reconnecting the Citizens and the EU decision-makers by actively communicating about Europe and by engaging in a wide debate on European challenges and opportunities.
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