4 11, 2021

A Definition of the EU as Farewell Present for Chancellor Merkel

By |2021-11-04T12:34:44+00:00November 4th, 2021|Categories: Citizens’ rights, EU Policies & Institutions, Federalism, Future of Europe, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , , |

During the last meeting of the European Council, which she attended, Angela Merkel raised the perennial question as to what the European Union is. Reflecting on the debate in the Council about the objections of some member states against the introduction of the conditionality mechanism, she asked whether we are [...]

28 09, 2021

The German elections and the future of the euro

By |2021-09-28T15:03:32+00:00September 28th, 2021|Categories: EU Policies & Institutions, Europe, Future of Europe|Tags: , , , , , |

The extraordinarily tight outcome of the German elections has created the danger for the European Union of prolonged negotiations before the next federal government can be formed, lasting even as long as until Christmas. However, it also contains a most significant opportunity. This is not merely due to the defection [...]

21 09, 2021

Is citizen-led democracy here to stay?

By |2021-09-21T10:49:25+00:00September 21st, 2021|Categories: Citizens’ rights, EU Policies & Institutions, Future of Europe, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , , |

This article was first published by The Brussels Times. Tourists are flying into space and life on Mars seems a less distant possibility. Meanwhile Europeans are busy trying to create a buzz about our future here on earth. With the first Europe-wide transnational panels taking place in Strasbourg (17-19 September), [...]

6 09, 2021

Democratic Citizenship Education in the Light of the Lisbon Treaty

By |2021-09-06T13:58:07+00:00September 6th, 2021|Categories: Brexit, Citizens’ rights, EU Policies & Institutions, Future of Europe, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , , |

The Treaty of Lisbon sheds fresh light on the purposes of EU citizenship education. The hallmark of the 2007 Lisbon Treaty is that it construes the EU as a dual democracy. The EU is not merely a Union of democratic States, but also functions as a democracy of its own.[1] [...]

24 06, 2021

The Identity of the EU

By |2021-06-24T12:14:31+00:00June 24th, 2021|Categories: Europe, Future of Europe|Tags: , , , , , |

From Unidentified Political Object to European Democracy Thirty years after the foundation of the European Union by virtue of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty the nature of the Union has been established at last. At the time of its creation as successor of the European Communities the EU used to be [...]

26 05, 2021

E-Book: The Future of Europe and the Future of the Planet

By |2022-04-05T08:17:39+00:00May 26th, 2021|Categories: Future of Europe, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , , |

A collection of papers on the occasion of the Conference on the Future of Europe Edited by Guido Montani and published under the auspices of The Altiero Spinelli Institute for Federalist Studies The launch of the Conference on the Future of Europe comes in the year in which federalists are [...]

4 05, 2021

Building Bridges in times of Divergence

By |2021-05-04T15:10:19+00:00May 4th, 2021|Categories: Brexit, EU Policies & Institutions, Europe, Future of Europe|Tags: , , , , , , |

Within ten days after the finalisation of the UK withdrawal from the EU, the European Union is to start an ambitious Conference on the Future of Europe. The aim of the Conference is to discuss the place of the citizens in the construction of the Union and to underpin European [...]

23 03, 2021

Six ways to make the Conference on the Future of Europe a success

By |2021-03-23T12:51:17+00:00March 23rd, 2021|Categories: Future of Europe, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

By Bent Noerby Bonde and Roger Casale Bent Noerby Bonde is Secretary General of Europe’s People’s Forum. Roger Casale is president of Europe’s People’s Forum and the founder of New Europeans. This article was first published by The Parliament Magazine.   Europeans want to talk about the future. That was the [...]

26 02, 2021

The European Union: From organisation ‘sui generis’ to democratic regional organisation

By |2021-02-26T12:08:00+00:00February 26th, 2021|Categories: EU Policies & Institutions, Europe, Future of Europe, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , |

The author wishes to dedicate the present essay to the memory of the ever inspiring Michael Burgess, in live Founder and Director of the Centre for Federal Studies at the University of Kent.   For decades, it has been common practice in academic circles to refer to the EU as [...]

22 12, 2020

Freedom, equality and solidarity – what’s not to like?

By |2020-12-23T14:18:22+00:00December 22nd, 2020|Categories: Blog, Brexit, Citizens’ rights, EU Policies & Institutions, Europe, Future of Europe|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

In 2001, the late, great former Labour Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, was President of the Party of European Socialists. The start of his period of office coincided with the heyday of British influence in Europe, a time when strong alliances were being built by Labour at every level - inter-governmental [...]

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