User:Congress of Europe
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The Hague 2008
The Congress of Europe
60 years ago the model for the European Union as we know it now was conceived at the Congress of Europe in The Hague. 60 years later and Europe finds itself confronted by different challenges and needs new ideas to define its future. The European Movement will take up this challenge again and propose ideas suited to a 21st century Europe.
This unique event will bring together the heads of the EU Institutions & European Political Parties and representatives of European Civil Society, allowing them to directly address these key EU politicians with their concerns and recommendations about Europe’s future.
Europe’s civil society has proposed ideas through a dedicated online discussion platform (http://speakup-europe.blogactiv.eu/)and the most popular 60 of these will be discussed through three themes (Political, Economic & Social and Education & Culture), and debated with Europe’s political leaders in two TV debates on the 24th of May in Hague. These debates will be broadcast live on the Europe by Satellite.
This event is organized by European Movement (www.europeanmovement.eu).
You can read more about this event on: www.thehague2008.eu.
HISTORY - Congress of Europe 1948
The Congress of Europe in The Hague was held from the 7th to the 11th of May 1948 with 750 delegates from 26 European countries participating as well as observers from Canada and the United States. Organised by the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity and presided by Winston Churchill, the Congress brought together representatives from a broad political spectrum, providing them with the opportunity to discuss ideas about the development of the European Union. Important political figures such as Konrad Adenauer, Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan, François Mitterrand, Paul-Henri Spaak, Albert Coppé and Altiero Spinelli played an active role in the Congress and a call was launched for a political, economic and monetary Union of Europe. This landmark conference was to have a profound influence on the shape of the European Union, based on the principle of subsidiarity, shared sovereignty rights, democracy, the rule of law and solidarity.
The Resolutions
Talks were held in 3 committees: political; economic & social; cultural. Each considered resolutions based on reports submitted by the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity.They were submitted to 3 plenary sessions & then adopted.
Cultural Resolution http://www.europeanmovement.org/downloads/Cultural_Resolution_1948.doc
Economic and Social Resolution http://www.europeanmovement.org/downloads/Economic___Social_Resolution_1948.doc
Political Resolution http://www.europeanmovement.org/downloads/Political_Resolution_1948.doc
50th Anniversary of Congress of Europe in 1998
Fifty years later: The Hague Congress of May 1998
As early as 1988, on the initiative of a number of veterans from 1948, 40th anniversary celebrations were organized in The Hague. A great many veterans such as Mitterand, von Weizsäcker, etc., attended the celebrations. Given the success of this anniversary meeting, the European Movement organized the 50th anniversary of The Hague Congress in May 1998. The meeting focused on the future of Europe, with the participation of 3,500 European militants, representatives from civil society and European and national institutions. It relied on cooperation from a high number of NGOs, particularly the Permanent Forum of Civil Society, in partnership with public or other institutions such as the European Commission and Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee, the Council of Europe, the European Trade Union Confederation, the European Foundation for Culture and the European League for Economic Cooperation. This time, the Congress focused on the future and this is why the European Movement prepared it for 12 months with the help of three committees, without evading problems or repeating old slogans, but offering instead a real vision of the future in constitutional, economic, social and cultural matters. The Congress issued a strong message on the necessity and urgency, after introducing the euro, of opening a broad public debate on the future and ultimate purpose of the "Greater European Union":
“The European construction is far from complete. It is still unbalanced and needs to be strengthened. We have made significant progress in the economic and monetary fields, but progress is also necessary in the political, social and cultural dimensions of European construction.”
“To counter selfish impulses, a European model of society should be built that guarantees - for all citizens - freedom, security, work and social solidarity, cultural fulfilment, protection of the environment and the quality of life. Separately, states are powerless against insecurity, unemployment, poverty and social exclusion.”
“A European system of government must be established without delay, democratic, effective, and guaranteeing the participation of the citizens and civil society. The system must enable the Union to fulfil its responsibilities in the world, through a truly common foreign and defence policy, as well as to respect the competences of the member states and of local and regional authorities.”
“Within the framework of this system, it is necessary to ensure the success of the single currency serving the ends of employment and growth, to strengthen economic and social cohesion among our states and regions, to enhance the international competitiveness of the Union and give it the means to enable us to confront together the challenge of globalisation.”
“We must make a success of the progressive enlargement of the Union, without impairing its unity and cohesion, and through strengthening in advance its effectiveness and democratic character.”
“These are no small tasks. We believe that the Amsterdam Treaty does not itself guarantee the achievement of such objectives and that a new impulse is now needed towards a Union that is ever closer in its shared destiny.”
“The time has come to move to a new phase and to strengthen the bonds that unite us for good, with a clear and public statement of the Union's federal nature as an indispensable condition for building an area of solidarity, freedom, peace and citizenship.”
“But the destiny of Europe is no longer the affair of governments or institutions alone: it is now that of all citizens. We call on them to demonstrate their will to live better together in unity and in freedom.”
In the follow-up to the Nice European Council, these words have never been as fitting. • On the occasion of its 50th anniversary in 1998, the European Movement set itself four objectives: • giving Europe a new political vision so that it can meet the challenges of the 21st century, going further than mere institutional adjustments when revising the Treaties; • redefining the place of the European Movement and of the idea of a united Europe within European society; • helping a multicultural Europe to function as a force of peace, tolerance and democracy; • giving an image of Europe as close to citizens, in which everyone can identify through the adoption of a Constitutional Pact linking citizens to the Union and open to the support of all the citizens and democratic States in Europe.
