XVIth CONGRESS OF THE UEF

Bocholt, 21-23 October 1994

The XVIth Congress of the UEF, meeting at Bocholt, 21-23 October 1994,

I. THE ROLE OF EUROPE IN THE WORLD

finds

- that the present world balance has been destabilised by numerous points of tension and war, which daily witness atrocities that revile the conscience of every civilised person;

- that this situation has been brought about by the end of the cold war, which, while freeing the world from the spectre of nuclear holocaust, has ended the ideological confrontation between communism and democracy that legitimised the previous balance and guaranteed the world order (however imperfect and precarious) for forty-five years;

- that, following the break-up of the Soviet Union, and in the absence of other states able to conduct a responsible foreign policy, the United States alone has taken on the role of guarantor of the world order, even though it lacks the necessary force, will, or legitimacy;

- that the increasingly strong demands made on the United Nations to intervene in the various crisis hot spots are a sign of the widespread need for a world power that can guarantee order, not so as to establish hegemony, but rather to guarantee the peaceful co-habitation of all the peoples of the world, which is a pre-condition of their development and emancipation;

- that the UN is unable to carry out this role effectively since it lacks powers and democratic backing, and because it is not backed up by co-operation among great states interested in maintaining world peace.

II. THE ENLARGEMENT

observes

- that following the end of the cold war and despite its weakness the European Union has been the only actor in world politics that has been capable of expressing a foreign policy plan; having passed from six to twelve members in previous decades, it will soon enlarge itself to Austria, Finland, Sweden and Norway (if the referendums still to be held are successful), and which is in the process of negotiating for a further enlargement to certain countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean area;

- that in so doing, the Union has demonstrated that union among peoples is the only project for the future that can make the aim of pursuing peace seem achievable, and gain the active support of citizens;

- however, that the European Union, demonstrating its inability to bring to fruition the federal goal then propounded by the founding fathers, is unable to express an effective capacity for action in the world arena, as demonstrated by the devastating effects of its divisions over the ex-Yugoslavia;

- that the European Union's impotence and democratic deficit will be further accentuated by enlargement, if radical institutional reform does not take place;

welcomes

the entrance of Austria, Finland, Sweden and Norway into the European Union;

III. FOR A EUROPE CAPABLE OF ACTING

asserts

- that it is necessary and urgent to provide the European Union with a real common, foreign and security policy, based on the democratic support of Europeans, that will allow it to give weight to UN action for the prevention and resolution of conflicts, to make the European citizens' desire for peace count, and to strengthen through their own example the ideal of unity among peoples;

- the importance of empowering the Eurocorps speedily and with the deployment of all means necessary, as the embryo of European army, promoting participation by all the Union's members states, and placing it at the disposal of the UN's peace missions;

IV. FOR A DEMOCRATIC AND FEDERAL UNION

maintains

- that this goal should be realised in the framework of wider reform of the Union's institutions, to be effected through the passing of a real federal constitution for Europe;

- that the occasion for passing this constitution will be the planned 1996 intergovernmental conference for the revision of the Maastricht treaty;

- that it is crucial that the constitution contains :

a) a declaration of fundamental rights;

b) a clear division of competences to achieve a democratic division of powers among:

1/ a European government;

2/ a bicameral parliamentary system in which the European parliament as a chamber of the people, and the council of ministers as a chamber of the states are given equal rights;

3/ a supreme court that any person or organisation can call on to adjudicate constitutional matters relating to the Union;

c) the clear division of competences among the European Union, member states, regions or Länder, and municipal governments, such that the various components of the Union are granted the right of self-government, and that they as a group are obliged to assume joint responsibility for governing the whole;

- that only through a grand plan that permits Europeans to see clearly their own future will it be possible to mobilise the pro-European sentiments of citizens, that do exist and are strong, but that are frequently not manifested, or else are converted into Euro-scepticism, caused by the insufficiently democratic nature of the Union's present institutions, and their inability to cope effectively with the problems of European and world security, of employment and economic growth;

V. THE CORE

brings to the attention

of the Union's heads of state and government, the decisive nature of the 1996 intergovernmental conference, and urgently calls on them to face up to their historical responsibilities by endowing the Union with democratic institutions and effective mechanisms;

strongly asserts

that should it prove impossible to win the support of all the Union's member states for a constitution that contains these requirements, those governments willing to adopt it should proceed alone, coming to an agreement with the others, if possible, over measures that would allow the thus-created federal nucleus to operate alongside the Union in its current form;

VI. THE MONETARY UNION AND A POLICY FOR DEVELOPMENT, COMPETITIVENESS

confirms

- the unavoidable need, for the goal of constructing the single market and the realisation of conditions for the balanced development of the European economy that would allow the union to hold its own against the United States, Japan and the South-East Asian states that are emerging with increasing force in the global marketplace, to create a European currency, along the lines set down in the Maastricht Treaty, among countries that satisfy the requirements, with the prospect of extending it as soon as possible to all the Union's member countries;

- the importance of the social dimension as an indispensable part of the European social model and the urgency of achieving, by providing the necessary financial means, the measures foreseen in the white paper for growth, competitiveness and employment in order to promote the ordered growth of the European economy and to combat the scourge of unemployment in a co-ordinated fashion through a European framework, without giving rise to inflationary pressures;

VII. THE ACTION

stresses

- the decisive role that falls to the European Parliament for the realisation of these objectives, in its capacity as the legitimate representative of European citizens;

- the importance of the powers that have been attributed to the parliament under the Maastricht treaty, in particular those of voting confidence in the Commission, of exercising co-decision in the policy areas of the internal market, the freedom of movement, the right to reside, and the protection of health, consumers and the environment, and to express a binding opinion on international treaties drawn up by the Union (in addition to the budgetary powers which it already has);

therefore invites

the European Parliament to undertake a decisive initiative, employing its powers to the full and concentrating on the 1996 intergovernmental conference (whose preparation moreover it is already involved in), by drawing up from the middle of 1995 onward a constitutional text that can serve as the basis for the work of the conference, based on the project already prepared in this essential features by the parliament's institutional commission (the Herman report);

reminds the political parties

- that the Maastricht treaty has introduced into the Union's structure the institution of European citizenship, thus recognizing the existence of subjects to whom the rights that citizenship bestows must be attributed;

- that it falls to them to promote the recognition of these rights by giving weight in their internal debate to the European theme, transferring (while respecting the subsidiarity principle) the framework of political contest from the nations to Europe, and committing themselves to the Union becoming an ever more democratic reality, transparent and close to the everyday concerns of its citizens;

commits

its national, regional and local sections to continuing, in constant dialogue with the democratic political forces but fully autonomous of them, and in collaboration with the JEF, to put unrelenting pressure on European and national institutions, and to mobilise European citizens through the campaign for European democracy, in support of the realisation of the goal of a European federation;

reminds

the Chiefs of State and Government of the Union of the decisive character of the intergovernmental conference of 1996, and insistently asks them to face up to their historical responsibilities by deciding to provide the Union with democratic institutions an effective instruments of government, even if these should be limited, in a first time, only to a part of the Union's members.

commits

the next Federal Committee to elaborate, in collaboration with JEF, all appropriate instruments to implement the campaign and, in particular, a short text with our key proposals for the 1996 IGC, to be used for an endorsement campaign.