ABSTRACT: The Ventotene Manifesto, written by Ernesto Rossi and Altiero Spinelli in 1941, from political exile imposed on them by the Fascist regime, resulted in the dream of a European Union becoming an active political struggle.

Fifty years later, the European Community - the only European body in existence - finds itself hampered in its political development by the absence of any real supranational institutions. After a number of failed attempts on the part of governments and diplomatic bodies, it is now necessary to issue a mandate to the European Parliament to draw up a new Constitutional charter, supported by national parliaments and Europeans themselves.

The Radical Party is giving top priority to transforming the EC into a federation; to de facto federations becoming lawful, even changing their geographical structure if necessary; to the creation of new federations, not only in Europe, but also in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

(The Party New, n.3, August 1991)

Twenty-five years after its foundation, the European Community has become less and less capable of realizing the objectives and ideals set down in its Constitutional treaties: namely, to strengthen its defences; to uphold peace and freedom; to improve living and working conditions; to integrate the various economies and ensure their well-balanced development.

The EC, however, is not a joint political force that speaks with one voice, and it is therefore not able to play a part in resolving the political and military crises that erupt, even in neighbouring countries.

On an economic level, the EC's inability to formulate joint polices, and create a home market, especially in the area of research, industry, energy, technology and the environment, results in wasted resources and the duplication of products, which, on the one hand, causes direct and indirect costs to multiply and on the other hand reduces profits in that it does not benefit from an expanding economy; it does not enjoy the greater efficiency deriving from a joint politico-economic programme; and production is not geared to the market as a whole.

On a social level, the lack of a joint labour and employment policy not only increases the territorial imbalances, but also creates millions of underemployed and unemployed. This makes it even more difficult to integrate the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who pour in from countries where hunger and underdevelopment are rife.

More generally speaking, the re-nationalization of all EC policies prevents the realization of a large-scale programme to bring about real collaboration between north and south, east and west, which could eliminate the worst of the problems by applying a modern-day Marshall Plan.

In the light of what the EC has achieved so far, it does not look as if they will come up with a truly democratic solution to the above situation.

The attempt to create a United States of Europe, along the lines of the European Union treaty drawn up by Altiero Spinelli, and approved by the European Parliament in February 1984, has failed. And the single European Market, which was the main objective of the Single Act, is in danger of either becoming sectorial and technocratic - certainly not democratic - or failing miserably in all its objectives. This is because the level of economic integration, however high, does not automatically bring about political integration, and the repeated crises are proof of this.

In fact, an economic programme, particularly if conceived at a supranational level, has to be administered at a political level: i.e., by institutions capable of functioning at a supernational level, and defining and guaranteeing the democratic realization of said programme; a European Parliament that posseses the necessary legislative and supervisory powers; and a Committee that is given real executive power. In order to have made this political advance, it would have been necessary to replace the Treaty of Rome and the Single Act with a new treaty drawn up by the European Parliament acting under an official mandate. The issuing of this mandate would have acquired greater democratic and political force, had it been decided by a referendum, similar to the one jointly realized in Italy by the combined action of the Radical Party and the European Federalist Movement, at the time of the European elections in 1989.

It is therefore necessary that the democratic federalists and, above all, the members of the European Parliament, and the national parliaments, support and strengthen the New Party, a federalist, transnational, cross-party political force which is giving top priority to the creation, and subsequent ratification, of the new Constitutional charter of a United States of Europe.

The New Party is for innovators, whose task it is to contest the diehard conservatives, and allow us to emerge from the morass of traditionalist parties. It is not going to be easy. Nevertheless, the more support the New Party receives, the more quickly a United States of Europe will be created. It is a project that welcomes the support and collaboration of all the countries who want to be part of this great undertaking and lay the foundations for the United States of the World.