ABSTRACT: Enlargement of the European Community to include countries that have liberated themselves from Communist regimes is an historic opportunity for a positive evolution of the democratic process in that part of the continent, as well as a chance for the Community to become institutionally stronger.

Indeed, the huge financial resources required to support the development of countries in Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union require the Community to have autonomous power to impose taxes, and this will only come about if the EC has a federal rather than inter-governmental structure.

Moreover, the only way for Europe to become a pole of stability and development in a new international order is for it to become a federation. The Radical Party wishes to build a Europe in which rights and freedoms are alive.

(THE PARTY new - n. 6 - march 1992)

The first federal state in history was born in America in 1787, following the work of the Philadelphia Convention, masterminded by federalists Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. They were aware that the previous constitution of the 13 former English colonies, established by Congress in 1776, had given rise to a Confederation of States each of which retained its own full sovereignty and independence, not to mention a veto. This meant that each important decision was postponed or even blocked, and the Confederation risked breaking up.

The new federal constitution that they drew up was no longer an accord between independent governments, between sovereign states; it sprang from an act of will of a whole people, and set up a new juridical structure above that of the states the Federation to which federated states transferred some of their functions and authority, on foreign policy, trade policy, economic and monetary policy. Aside from these areas the states remained completely autonomous.

Since then, historical and political experience has shown that all types of union which are not based on common supernational institutions a federal parliament, government, court of justice are little more than alliances, doomed in time to fall apart or to achieve very little. Of course, until recently there were federations, such as the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, where relations between the states and the federation were not founded on rights and democracy, but on political regimes which suffocated all aspects of the life of the states belonging to the federation.

With the fall of Communist regimes, these states have been turning to the European Community, which has the duty to create strong political and economic relations with them in order to rectify what until now has been its shameful policy. But to be able to operate seriously, the Community, like the United States of America, must become a true federation, a United States of Europe, and the means to do this is the same as two hundred years ago: delegates of the European people must write a new constitution. Any other way ahead, including the inter-governmental and diplomatic method, as adopted at Maastricht, is doomed to failure. This is why the Radical Party intends to promote a concerted initiative in the parliament of each the twelve EC members to entrust the mandate of drawing up a new constitution to the European parliament, the legitimate representative of the people.