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Andrew Duff

Official Launch of the Spinelli Group in the European Parliament

Spinelli Group In front of a large number of MEPs, the Spinelli Group in the European Parliament was officially launched today during a one-hour long event to which also EP President Buzek took part.

Born "over dinner" from a conversation between ALDE Group President and federalist Guy Verhofstadt and Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Co-President of the Greens Group, the Spinelli Group will act as a network of MEPs to promote action, reflection and intervention for a federal Europe inside and outside the European Parliament.

"We will organize twice a year a shadow European Council to voice a federal view of integration, we will have federalist lectures and generally defend the European interest: federalism shall not be a taboo any longer. We cannot accept an intergovernmental Europe where the European Council sets the pace of integration", Mr Verhofstadt said. "Our mission is simple: we shall put Europe first and defend the Community method", he added.

Andrew Duff and Sergio Cofferati have been appointed as co-chairmen of the Group. "Our priority shall be to enhance the democratic legitimacy of the Union by establishing since 2014 transnational electoral lists for the EP", said Duff, President of the UEF and author of a pamphlet on the subject which was distributed today to the MEPs present.

Other key issues that the Group and all other federalist forces in Europe shall work on are a federal budget, a real economic government for Europe, an effective European Citizens' Initiative, European defence, EU-centred education and school programmes.

The incoming Treaty revision will provide a window of opportunity that the Spinellians are eager to exploit in order to focus once again on institutional issues. Gianni Pittella, MEP and Spinelli Group member, went even further, proposing a new Convention.

A key challenge facing the newborn Group will be how to communicate with the "external world". As recalled by President Buzek, national capitals are still in many ways the guardians of the Treaties. The Group will have to dialogue with national governments and parliaments, with the European Commission as well as of course with the citizens, NGOs and think-tanks which want more Europe. "We need to close the gap with our citizens", Bas Eickhout Dutch MEP recommended, adding that "being from a country which votes down a Treaty is an experience I do not wish to anyone".

"We shall be Spinellians in everyday life and proud of being federalists!", concluded Sylvie Goulard MEP. Alea iacta est. The next meeting of the Group will take place in Strasbourg in mid December ahead of the last 2010 European Council. Treaty change will be the main item on the agenda.

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Wednesday, November 10 2010 By Laurencija

Andrew Duff calls on federalists to define 'European interest'

In his key note speech to the Union of European Federalists last Federal Committee, Andrew Duff MEP urged more attention to be paid to the definition of the common European interest. He said :

This is a dangerous moment for Europe when the collective leadership of the European Union is weak and demoralised. The Council presidency has virtually collapsed; the Commission and Parliament are in transition; and nobody has any idea what constitutional regime will apply to the EU in the future.

So the political parties must not fail -once again- to rise to the big occasion of the European Parliamentary election campaign. If politicians fail to campaign, the European dimension of democracy will be imperceptible and turnout will remain low.

Andrew Duff UEFAndrew Duff, who is President of the UEF, told the meeting of the federal committee that the federalist organisation was ready to combat the nationalist forces in the campaign.

Federalists have no reason to be intimidated by the rising tide of ultra-nationalist and europhobic opinion. The financial crisis, the economic crash, the problem of climate change, the international security situation all point to the need for more Europe more concerted leadership, more parliamentary control, and a greater capacity to act on behalf of the EU institutions.

Today, the case for a federal Europe has never been more evident. Nationalism must be defeated. We must get to work to define more clearly the common European interest.

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Wednesday, April 22 2009 By manajan

Federalists call on political parties to campaign on Europe

The Union of European Federalists, meeting in Brussels on 18-19 April, has appealed to the political parties to intensify their campaigns in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament.

UEF FC April 2009 Speaking at the conclusion of the meeting, UEF President Andrew Duff MEP said: People will only turn out to vote for the European Parliament if they are provoked to do so by a hard-hitting party political campaign with a clear European dimension. This campaign has got to connect the things which interest people in their daily lives - today notably, employment and savings- with the politics of the European Union.

Political parties should have the honesty to admit that narrow and disjointed national 'solutions' to economic recovery are at best insufficient and at worst counterproductive. Only a united European response to the economic crash will make a significant difference. This means, among other things, higher investment from the EU budget and European Investment Bank into productive, sustainable jobs.

Candidates should also have the wit to campaign for the expansion of the eurozone and a single EU policy for the international monetary reform negotiations. Stricter supervision of the financial sector at the EU level is now inevitable.

Turning to the UEF's Who's Your Candidate? campaign -in which political parties were asked to name their candidate for the new Commission President- Mr Duff said: Andrew Duff UEF The campaign for nomination of candidates for president of the European Commission seems to be over. Mr Barroso has certainly been campaigning for his own renomination and, in view of the results, he has been successful. No other political party decided to put up a candidate. UEF can be proud to have at least stimulated a debate about this issue. The big breakthrough for political parties will come once we have a pan-EU transnational constituency for the election of a proportion of MEPs. This reform must come by 2014.

On the role of the UEF, Mr Duff added: The UEF stands ready to combat the rising tide of nationalism and xenophobia. At a time when federal solutions to Europe's problems are more clearly needed than ever, candidates from whatever political party are welcome to use us as a resource in their election campaigns.

Monday, April 20 2009 By manajan

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