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The European Union is on the move
There have been numerous demonstrations dur-
ing 2014 and 2015 that have shown that
Europe is still full of life. As an example, we
could cite the demonstrations in Paris and other
major cities on 11 January 2015, in which mil-
lions of citizens marched in defence of the
European model of freedom, democracy and
coexistence, in one of the clearest assertions of
European identity in recent years.
One of the major challenges facing the EU is
how to give political and constitutional expres-
sion to this maturing European identity in the
current legislature. This would reduce the feeling
of disaffection that some sectors of society have
towards the Union, it would encourage greater
participation and, above all, it would bolster the
belief that through the construction of a federal
European Union it is possible to reconquer the
rights lost during the last six years of crisis.
The aim of this chapter is to analyse progress
in the European Union with respect to demo-
cratic legitimacy since the European elections of
May 2014, and the effect this is having on the
configuration of its fundamental institutions:
not only the Parliament and the Commission,
but also the Council, which should be config-
ured as a second chamber or Senate. We also
consider the demand from citizens for more vis-
ible, more effective participation in the European
political system, taking into account the short-
comings of this system and seeking to develop
its potential, which would justify far-reaching
reform of a federal nature through a 3rd
European Convention, with full citizens’ partici-
pation and with an explicitly federalist logic that
would embody the dual legitimacy of a union of
citizens and a union of states.
Our aim is to examine the capacity of a re-
formed European political system to satisfy the
demands raised by European citizens in response
to the crisis that began in 2008 and which has
threatened the European social model, a model
based on striking a balance between the market,
society and the state, a model that has differen-
tiated European capitalism from capitalist sys-
tems elsewhere in the world. To do this, it will be
necessary to strengthen European democracy, to
promote policies for growth, to develop and
consolidate the social model, and to strengthen
the role of the Union as a global actor striving to
transform global governance in order to defend
human rights and fight poverty and inequality
through policies that are increasingly subject to
mandatory international regulation.
We also consider the need for the capacity
to reform the Treaties through the European
Convention, avoiding the requirement for una-
nimity among member states, perhaps by
means of a European referendum. Given the
publicly stated decision not to expand the Union
Towards a federal Europe
Francisco Aldecoa, José Candela, Carlos Carnero