FAEF is the Federal Alliance of European Federalists. There are various movements and organizations that are somehow striving for a federally governed Europe. Each of them is a so-called single (decentralized) unitary organization. Europe lacks a federation of these movements. The FAEF aims to combine forces by creating a federation of these federalist movements under the adage: 'Federating the Federalists'. It goes without saying that the FAEF applies its own federal principles by promoting common interests - spearheaded by the pursuit of a federal Europe - while guaranteeing the sovereignty of participating organizations.

The ultimate goal is a federally governed Europe. To achieve this, FAEF wants to follow the same route that was taken in 1787 America: a convention that prepares a constitution and submits it to all citizens in Europe for ratification. A necessary condition is that knowledge about the meaning of a federation is disseminated to citizens.

The beginning

FEDERATE THE FEDERALISTS: ‘EUROPE WILL BE A FEDERATION, OR WILL NOT BE’

Following the unexpected ‘call to enter the field’ that marked the beginning of my commitment as a federalist activist, another, equally strong recent one has taken over: the call to federate the federalists!

An idea that has gradually transformed into a passion at the limit of obsession, for me and a mantra for others who, to my amazement, are starting to use it without, however, understanding the deep and almost ‘esoteric’ origin of the message that proposes a change in discontinuity, a ‘quantum leap’ compared to the linear and traditional approach followed until now by the movements that praise federalism, but without making any progress in its implementation, insisting on the concept of European unity in the confederal sense, based on intergovernmental negotiation and not on a Constitution of the Federal State, voted for by the people of Europe.

I therefore feel the need and the duty to clarify and explain this apparently simple formula in understandable terms.

It all began with a sudden idea, an enlightenment, born as a reaction to the observation of the dispersion of forces - already scarce and inappropriate to achieve the goal of creating a federal Europe - pursued by the pro-European friends with whom I was and I am in contact, the idea-project of: federate the federalists!

Behind the definition of Federalism one can understand different things, even opposite.

In recent Italian political experience, the term federalism has been used as a flag by the Northern League (today no longer regionalist but nationalist, declaring its sympathy for the extreme and sovereign right). At the beginning (Lega Nord) to divide Italy into macro-regions (Centre, North and South) and focusing on the detachment of the rich and productive North from the South, poorer and backward in the industrial field, poor finance and organization of public administration in the provision of public services. Today, after the turning point of the young Salvini who imposed a break with the Bossian past by launching the nationalistic slogan  ‘the Italians first’ focusing on the exclusion of the new derelicts, the immigrants, transforming the Lega movement from ‘federalist’ to ‘nationalist and sovereignist’, closely related to the nationalist and xenophobic movements of Le Pen (France) and Farage (Brexit) and sympathies for the ‘strong men’ like Putin or even like Trump (USA first!).

This improper use of the term ‘federalist’ has led to confusion and regression on the part of the European people towards a dangerous return to ‘nationalism’ which, as the French President, Mr. Macron, who is also a ‘federalist’ but who, in practice, is inclined to continue the intergovernmental administrating method, recently denounced to sound the alarm about possible scenarios for a return to civil war in Europe.

This is the state of the art in Europe today, where people are confused, frightened and inclined to close themselves up as hedgehogs against the threats of immigrants, Islamic terrorism, competition between European countries, etc. The road of the ‘disintegration of the European dream’, other than European unity, of which Brexit is the first clear sign of the new crazy trend, is being thoughtlessly taken.

So what is Federalism and the need to ‘federate the federalists’?

Federalism means in a nutshell to unite what is different, while respecting the diversity of one another, taking care of a handful of common interests, served by a common objective: the creation of a federalist state, a European Federation, based on a Constitution, democratically ratified by the European citizens, reflecting the best ideologies and values so far laboriously acquired by our western civilization.

The slogan ‘federate the federalists’, is the call for a new urgent political program to be implemented through the grass-roots pro-European movements in order to stop the current wretched course of history. And it is the first stage of a ‘non-traditional’ and complex route that aims:

• to make European citizens aware of what is at stake, focusing on correct information and direct knowledge, through person to person training and multimedia courses launched on the web in every European language, clarifying not only the ideal but also the concrete superiority of the new federal state structure with respect to the current hybrid situation and its potential catastrophic developments in the event of a return to the nationalisms of the past (40% of the world's population lives in federal states, with advantages in terms of internal administration, the ability to negotiate in foreign policy, taking care of common interests like European defence, border protection, the fight against international crime, etc.), but, above all, by ensuring lasting peace and peace within its internal borders...
• to develop a debate in every European country through federalist and federated movements under a single organization that leads to the shared definition of objectives to be achieved and implemented in a timely manner, through the awareness of national parliaments and governments and European institutions, speaking to them with one voice and also with ‘peremptory’ tones. These inalienable objectives are: the immediate definition and approval of a European Federal Constitution and the establishment of the Federal State followed by elections to its governing bodies and legislative and administrative bodies.

The first alliance of Federal Movements in Milan

Common declaration of intents for a federal Europe

Text of the Declaration:

We want a truly federal Europe, no more referrals and hesitations!

We appeal to the militants of our movements and our associations to mobilize through a common and coordinated action to:

• reaffirm the necessity and urgency of creating a federal Europe based on a Constitutional Charter and which goes beyond the current treaties or intergovernmental agreements that characterize the present hybrid confederalism of the EU and strongly limit its capacity to act for the wellbeing of citizens;

• raise awareness about the limits of the current European structure and the need for a federal model.

Our appeal is our response, as signatories, to the growing crisis of trust in liberal and social democracy and the European dream.

We want a Union that really knows how to protect its fellow citizens from the continuous challenges that the globalized world creates. A Europe that proves to be a political community and not an instrument at the service of national interests.

The representatives

This declaration was proposed by Lorenzo Sparviero, cofounder and member of the promoting committee of F.A.E.F. (Federation Alliance of European Federalists), then elaborated and prepared by the representatives of the following organizations: 

• Associazione radicale Enzo Tortora
• Associazione Uè
• Comitato Milano Europea (FE)
• Comitato Ventotene
• European City Teams
• Federal Alliance of European Federalists (FAEF)
• Forza Europa
• Giovani Democratici
• Radicali Italiani
• Volt
• MFE Sondrio
• GEF Sondrio
• Futuredem
• Gioventù federalista Europea
• Comitato Provinciale di Sondrio per l’Europa
• + Europa