European Peace Project
1. Beacon for democracy, peace, freedom and human rights
1.1 The objective
All European peoples want a good neighbourhood and
peace! Nobody wants wars (as in the 19th and 20th cent.), that brought nothing but suffering, hunger and misery. All European countries want a prosperous, diverse and peaceful cooperation in as many areas as possible.
But does this require a European superstate, an ever closer, more centralized, more powerful Union, whose citizens are called to the ballot box once only every 5 years to vote at the "European elections"?
The EU has time and again been shaken by crises and threatened by its opponents and EU critical political parties. The Union is seriously split between its Northern and Southern, Eastern and Western countries. Badly needed reforms often failed at internal quarrels and at a lack of willingness to compromise of "Brussels".
The EU has only one answer to all these crises: More power! - To take on a leading role in the world, as soon as possible, as the United States of Europe (USE)! In this context, empowered citizens and referenda are a nightmare, since they can block the EU's "unavoidabe" integration, above all however, since you really can't trust us citizens!
So if we really want a new, democratic, diverse and prosperous Europe, in which we empowered citizens have the last word in referenda, we have to create it ourselves - bottom-up, using the means of the 21st century for the 21st century, in a viral-democratic citizens' revolt online - now!
1.2 The path
We millions of convinced and dedicated Europeans are calling throughout Europe - with our democratic manifesto - for a new, diverse, democratic Europe for the 21st century:
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First, we are launching a large public debate on Europe's future. You too are invidet to vote for your new Europe and to mobilize at
least 2 friends, now and here, so
that, after a few weeks, a huge viral, exponentially
growing choir with millions of voices will call more and more vehemently and persistently for our new Europe of the citizens, for and with us citizens - throughout Europe, especially in
"Brussels".
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In order to prevent the EU's disintegration, "Brussels" decides to create
such a new, democratic, diverse, cooperating, prosperous Europe immediately and democratically, together with us citizens!
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With our ever-growing army of millions of committed, responsible citizens, who can be easily mobilized online at any time, we ensure that our
new Europe - our peace project and our European community of values - will be implemented democratically, within a few years, by means of constantly
threatening referenda, and that il will continue to prosper and develop, sustainably and successfully, for the benefit of all
countries and peoples involved (scenario EU*)!
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2020
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I. Corona chance: Our new Europe now!
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2022
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II. Democratic implementation on- and
offline!
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2. Never waste a good crisis!
2.1 Crises
The EU's crisis repertoire is quite impressive:
- With Brexit, one of the most important EU countries has left the "community of values". Is there only the choice, now, between an ever closer, more powerful, centralized Union with Great Britain as its vassal state, if Brexit fails, or the collapse of the EU, if a successful Brexit leads to further exits from the EU?
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The refugee and euro crises continue to smolder - despite numerous efforts by the EU and, above all, Germany to find a permanent solution.
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Corona shows the priority of national interests and local and regional
action of self-conscious citizens - while the EU largely was condemned to look on!
ddd - In the climate crisis, the EU and the global pioneering role it wants to play with
its "Green Deal", the Paris Agreement and the annual UN climate conferences are fundamentally questioned: For the climate activists, all this is completely
inadequate; for skeptics regarding climate change, centralization and globalization, it is nothing but the inefficient continuation of
an outdated, doctrinaire top-down strategy that has failed dismally in the last more than 30 years!
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- In Eastern Europe, only little progress has been achieved in the Crimean conflict and in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, while
the ongoing protests in Belarus threaten to develop into serious new clashes between the EU and Russia.
ddd - Finally, there is much disagreement among member countries over the EU's common foreign, security and defense policy, on the admission of new
member states (Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, the Balkans), and on Europe's role in the Middle East, in Libya, China and Russia.
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To solve all these crises, Our New Europe invites all Europeans to choose between 3 strategies:
- Brussels: Business as usual, top-down!
- Brexit: National independence!
- The 3rd path: A new, diverse, democratic, prosperous and cooperating Europe for and with all citizens throughout Europe!
Our New Europe (ONE), with its politically integrated core, its common market and its free trade area, offers all European countries (in particular also to EU supporters, opponents and critics) a place which has to be defined by their citizens in the first pan-European referendum: - ONE for all - all for ONE!
2.2 Chances!
We citizens across Europe use the crises in the EU as chances to strengthen democracy, peace, freedom, security and welfare in Europe and in the world! - Together, bottom-up, with referendа:
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Brexit will mark the beginning of a prosperous, diverse European cooperation, that
will we be determined by us citizens for each country in the first pan-European referendum and will benefit all countries and peoples of Europe:
politically integrated or freely associated.
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The refugee crisis will be mastered with a successful, humanitarian, flexible common European refugee policy - by means of a new refugee union of
like-minded European countries, reinforced by voluntary agreements with other European countries and with countries of origin and transit of the refugees.
ddd - The euro crisis will be overcome on a sustainable basis by
creating a close economic, monetary and fiscal union (EMU) for the countries willing to politically integrate. All other European countries are invited to join the
European free trade area or the common market / economic area (EEA; free movement of goods, services and capital, but without free movement of people and without the euro). - The
resulting intensive economic cooperation and free trade in Europe will bring prosperity and stability to the entire continent.
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After Corona, we citizens are calling for the preparation of
flexible, efficient national pandemic programs, adapted to local and national circumstances and incorporating us in referenda, as well as for an
independent global monitoring and alarm system for future pandemics at the UN/WHO.
ddd - In our new Europe, we citizens shall create a global democratic citizens' alliance for the climate and commit ourselves at all political levels (municipality,
region, nation and world) for an efficient, subsidiary, global climate program showing maximum worldwide climate
impact! - bottom-up!
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Each country can participate in the common European foreign, security and defense policy by deciding to join our politically
integrated core Europe, in the first pan-European referendum (Art. 8 and 9 of the draft constitution).
ddd - The Eastern European crises will be resolved peacefully and
democratically, with the citizens of Ukraine, Crimea and Belarus deciding on their country's future in referenda controlled by UN and/or OSCE observers.
3. A democratic Constitution
Citizens' rights and duties - diversity - subsidiarity!
Our new, diverse, democratic Europe has to be created democratically, bottom-up - with us citizens. It has to be based on a new Constitution. This Constitution will be drafted and adopted by a Constitutional Council, elected by the citizens in all participating countries, who will then ratify it and put it into force in a referendum.
The new Constitution defines the concept of direct democracy in a flexible and subsidiary Community of free, sovereign European States (CES) with variable geometry, including: A politically integrated European economic, fiscal and monetary union (EEU); a European common market / new economic area (EEA); a vast free-trade union; an effective, efficient and humanitarian European refugee union; and a common European foreign, security and defence policy of the willing countries.
Decisive for this democratic, diverse Europe are constitutionally defined common values and objectives, the rights and duties of its citizens (fundamental and civil rights, incl. referenda and popular initiatives), as well as the principles of the separation of powers, subsidiarity and federalism (according to the German definition of a decentralized country, a confederation). In this regard, the draft at hand relies especially on the Swiss Constitution.
Compared to to-day’s Switzerland, the CES however will be:
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More diverse: The CES includes many more cultures and languages than Switzerland, and the Swiss cantons are today less autonomous than the countries of the (new)
EEA / common market and of the free trade zone.
xxxxxx - Less directly democratic: Member countries of the CES can keep their very different national political structures and institutions, in particular parliamentary democracy (even the countries in the politically integrated core Europe).
In comparison with today's EU, the CES is:
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Larger: All countries between Vladivostok and Reykjavik are invited to participate in the new Europe according to their citizens’ decision;
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More democratic: At the CES level, there are regular, constitutionally defined plebiscites, in particular the constitutional initiative and the legislative referendum, as
well as democratic elections of the CES parliament, government and court of justice;
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More diverse, less centralized: Apart from the integrated core Europe, member countries keep their political, economic, social and cultural independence. They
can nonetheless participate - by means of bilateral agreements – at common projects, programs and tasks (e.g. in the fields of refugees, research, education, transport and
communication);
xxx - More subsidiary: No task shall be transferred to the CES, that member countries can themselves deal with as well or even better than the CES. The citizens decide, which competences they want to delegate.
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Constitution for a new Europe - Preamble “To create a democratic and diverse, strong and peaceful, prospering, sustainable and subsidiary, free and fair Europe, open to all European countries, the citizens of the participating States adopt the following Constitution of a Community of European States (CES): ...” |
4. Referenda empower citizens!
Trust or frustration?
There is no true democracy without mutual trust between the state and its citizens - and there is no better way to create and reinforce such trust than referenda - since:
Nothing strengthens the interest of us citizens in Europe, our commitment to Europe, our sense of belonging together and our democratic responsibility for our new Europe, as well as our certainty to be taken seriously by this Europe, like regular constitutionally determined referenda, in which we citizens throughout Europe can decide (after open, fair, instructive, often fierce, yet always respectful campaigns) all essential European issues! - Switzerland shows this every quarter!
On the other hand, nothing frustrates, offends and hurts us citizens more than politicians who ignore, disregard, reject, launch - or misuse referenda for their own purposes and careers, or even repeat them, until the results suit them! - Unfortunately, this happens time and again - not only in the EU!
Top-down or bottom-up?
All attempts of "Brussels" and of our politicians to impose their increasingly powerful and centralized Europe top-down, without consultig us citizens in referenda (e.g. European Constitution 2003, Euro rescue 2010, refugee quotas 2015, Green Climate Deal 2019, Corona taxes and transfers 2020), or even against the citizens' decisions in national referenda (e.g. Denmark/Maastricht 1992, Ireland/Nice 2001, Ireland/Lisbon 2008, France and Netherlands / European Constitution 2005, Greece Bailout/Troika 2015) are doomed to failure because of Europe's vast cultural, political and historic diversity and the fierce resistance of us, empowered, sovereign citizens and convinced, critical Europeans!
Referenda will give each and every one of us a voice, make us politically accountable - and allow us to implement our new Europe bottom-up, to have the last word on all essential issues (e.g. constitution, crises, new members), to effectively control our politicians and our authorities and, if necessary, to sanction them as well - with the ballot sheet!
5. We can do it!
Millions of convinced Europeans!
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All EU advocates who want to avoid the Union's collapse, to strengthen Europe in all areas and to ensure their own country's participation in the
politically integrated core of our new Europe;
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All EU opponents, who want their own country to take advantage, too, from the diverse, successful and beneficial economic cooperation in our new Europe, especially in
its free trade area or in its common market;
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All the citizens frustrated by "Brussels", who, feeling for the first time to be taken seriously by our new, democratic, diverse Europem, begin trusting and
standing up for it;
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All the EU citizens who want to have the final say on European (and may be national) issues and crises by means of referenda and who want to vote
more than once every five years only (in "European elections")!
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All Europeans outside the EU who want to participate, too, at the creation of our Europe!
Our peace project!
We citizens shall ensure with the sword of Damocles of permanently threatening referenda, that our European peace project will be implemented quickly and democratically:
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A flexible and prospering Europe that uses its crises as a chance for a successful, vital and diverse cooperation that brings wealth and
benefits to all European countries and peoples!
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A subsidiary, decentralized, diverse Europe with and for us citizens, in which we citizens detect our European identity and values in the immense wealth
of our cultures, languages and traditions!
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- A strong, stable and sustainable Europe, resistant to crises, that shines as the European peace project in the whole world - for freedom, democracy, peace, human rights and human dignity!
