Europa moet verder
An Appeal from Florence
On behalf of Europeans who aspire to a Europe more forceful in affirming fundamental rights, more efficient in its handling of Common Policies, better equipped to address the challenges of globalisation and more assertive as a global actor, we call for a revival of the reform process of the Union, including the reform of the Institutions.
Institutions are not an end in themselves: they have to provide and ensure the good and effective running of the Union. Institutions originally created for 15 Member States cannot work for 27 countries. Changes are necessary if citizens’ expectations are to be met. Moreover, remaining static in a mobile environment would mean losing ground and to be perceived as incapable of facing present and future
challenges.
Without reform, not only would we be unable to welcome new countries who aspire to join us, and the necessary further developments would remain unfulfilled, but the very functioning of a Union made up of 27 countries would become more and more difficult, Common Policies less and less efficient and the citizens more sceptical vis à vis the Union’s ability to identify the appropriate solution to their problems. We ask that, after this period of reflection which has followed the failure of the French and Dutch referendums, the thinking and action on reforms be reconsidered in a decisive manner.
The objective should be to retain all the indispensable improvements made to the existing Treaties, as they were adopted by all governments of the Union, whilst introducing the clarifications needed to dissipate the doubts which were expressed.
– We propose that Parts I and II , which were not object of major criticism and which are vital to the good functioning of the Union, remain unchanged in their entirety.
– We propose to clarify the elements of Part III, if needed, by including the necessary additional declarations or protocols.
– Finally we call for decisive political action by all parties concerned, so that this process be finalised before the election of the new European Parliament in spring 2009.
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing
Joschka Fischer
Jorge Sampaio
Costas Simitis
Helmut Schmidt
Enrique Barón Crespo
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