For a Europe of the Citizens - Against a Europe of the Banks and Governments
We - citizens from all the Member States of the EU - are concerned. We are concerned about Europe. We don’t want a Europe in which the governments and the financial markets have more influence over our future than the citizens themselves. We don’t want a Europe in which the sovereign citizens are reduced to the role of spectators.
We want a democratic European Union - one in which the major decisions are made by the citizens after adequate time has been allowed for open discussion of the issues, with a full expression of all points of view. We want a European Union in which the power of the state derives from the people and from their elected parliaments - not from agencies, governors, chancellors, presidents and commissioners. We want a modern democratic Europe - no administrative technocracy, no centralised bureaucracy, no financial dictatorship. We EU citizens want to have our say and be co-deciders of the big decisions which determine the future for all of us.
Patronising top-down treaty revisions - as are being prepared right now on behalf of the governments by the presidents of the Euro group, the European Central Bank, the Council and the Commission - not only violate the procedures for treaty amendment set out in the EU Treaty itself, but also the principle of democracy which the Treaty incorporates. Instead we need an open debate about the future of the EU which involves all levels of society and all political standpoints. And we need a European Convention which would bring together, debate and advise on all the best ideas for the future of the EU.
For these reasons we call upon the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the governments of the Member States to convene a Convention - according to Article 48 of the EU Treaty - to take charge of the further development of the EU treaties. The Convention is to be tasked with advising on the best suggestions designed to ensure solidarity and economic sustainability, as well as the improvement of democracy and citizen participation in the EU.
The Convention must
- have the greatest possible democratic legitimacy
- reach its decisions in plenum according to full democratic rules
- have adequate time for serious and thorough deliberation
- operate with full transparency, have all its meetings open to the public, and include in its deliberations proposals from civil society
- submit its proposals to approval by the citizens of the EU and the EU member states and not merely to the heads of state and government.
In a Europe of the citizens, it is the citizens themselves who must have the last word on important treaty decisions. Therefore it is necessary that at the end of the work of the Convention all EU citizens decide directly on the proposals for the future shape of our shared European Union.
Translations:
Flyers of our call are available in German, Spanish, Hungarian and English so far:
Aufruf für ein demokratisches Europa (pdf)
Llamamiento por una Europa democrática (pdf)
Felhívás egy demokratikus Európáért (pdf)
For a more democratic European Union (pdf)
3а по-демократичен Европейски съюз (pdf)
Please contact Cora Pfafferott at pfafferott@democracy-international.org. We will be happy to get our call translated into as many languages as possible with your help.
