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Preface

This book is only available in the English language!

Publishing house Iustitia Scripta creates a product page on its website for each book. On this page you will find information about, from and based on the book. This increases the ease of use of our publications, by optimally utilising the advantages of paper and digital alongside each other. You can access the product page of this publication by scanning the QR code on the back of the cover of the book.

This product page contains a number of links to footnotes that cannot be opened in the paper back but can be opened digitally via this product page. One can also study those links by scanning the QR code at the back of the book.

Content

This book was written by members of the Citizens' Convention of the Federal Alliance of European Federalists (FAEF, www.faef.eu). It contains (1) a constitution of only ten articles for a federal Europe, (2) an extensive explanation of those articles and (3) a number of studies that explore aspects of federalism in greater depth.

It is a response to the identity crisis in which the European Union finds itself. A crisis that leads to the disintegration of the EU, with the risk of falling back to the situation of warring nation states of the 19th and 20th centuries. A relapse that can and must be prevented by piloting the European system of states safely into its next phase: that of a federal Europe.

Brexit, conflicts of principle between EU member states and the quarrels between member states and 'Brussels', give little hope for preservation of unity within the EU system. What was built up after WWII is in danger of being lost; even the absence of war on the eastern side of the EU can no longer be taken for granted. The EU is governed in a way where nobody knows who the boss is. Lack of democratic support affects the peace, security, prosperity and happiness of us all. Europe's position in the geopolitical arena is getting weaker. The EU consumes more energy than it stores for preservation and renewal. It has reached the end of its political life cycle.

But a different, federal Europe is within reach. That is a foundation for:

A European society, in which the sovereignty of the member states is guaranteed and different languages and cultures coexist,
in which a federal body takes care of common European interests,
a Europe that plays a strong role in world politics,
with a government that serves the European interest rather than national agendas,
a federal Europe with a succinct constitution that can count on the support of its citizens.

The book was compiled by Dr Leo Klinkers, President of FAEF. Since 1970, he has been occupied with the question of how government, policy and organisation can be designed from the basis of society, in accordance with the adage: 'All sovereignty rests with the people'.

About the authors of the in-depth studies

ABOUT FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS ON FEDERALIZING EUROPE

Herbert Tombeur graduated as a master’s in law (1972, University of Leuven, KUL, B) and as a master in European politics, cultures & societies (1998, Brussels University, VUB). Throughout his career he predominantly was a public officer in the function of legal adviser, counsel in lawsuits and negotiator, esp. in the fields of national public law and international law. Since 1996, he is an independent lecturer and a monitor of workshops about governance, federalism & federations, the EU and foreign policy, commissioned by institutes in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Leo Klinkers (PhD) is a public administration consultant. Since 1970, he has been concerned with the question of how government, policy and organisation can be designed from the basis of society, in accordance with the adage: 'All sovereignty rests with the people'. He is co-founder and President of FAEF.
Mauro Casarotto graduated in Political Sciences and International Relations at Padova University. He actually works as insurance consultant and freelancer. He has been active for several years in non-profit organisations involved in culture, civil rights, sports and politics. Mauro Casarotto is the co-founder and Secretary General of FAEF.

ABOUT FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL LAW MAKING

Giuseppe Martinico is Full Professor of Comparative Public law at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa. Previously he was García Pelayo Fellow at the Centro de Estudios Politicos y Constitucionales (CEPC), Madrid and Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence.
Frans Tonnaer is advisor, researcher, publicist, emeritus part-time professor of Environmental Law. Expert in administrative en constitutional law. Until his retirement (2016) he was owner of Tonnaer Counselors on Environmental Law (Maastricht/Eindhoven). In recent years, he has been particularly interested in the philosophy of law.

ABOUT NUMERICAL, PARTICIPATORY AND COMPETENT REPRESENTATION

Lars Christensen is civil servant (Denmark) and software developer in Copenhagen. A long time European federalists with an interest in constitutional law.
Ivan Gil Carretero is graduated in law and political science at Madrid Complutense University and master in European business for the ESCP-Paris. He has been working on digital communication mainly on the telco sector and active on different political associations related with human rights and decentralized federal administration.
Peter Hovens is consultant in public administration. He has studied at the university of Twente. After 17 years of working as a civil servant at the municipality of Maastricht he started his own consultancy office. In this period he also was several years employed as alderman in three different municipalities. Peter is co-founder and Treasurer of FAEF.

ABOUT COMMON INTERESTS

Ingo Piepers, founder of Global4cast. After a military career and close involvement in military planning and missions, Piepers conducted an in-depth study of war dynamics and its relationship to social development and evolution. His approach is based, among other things, on insights into the self-organization of complex systems.
Mozes Marinho Sanches Junior is a lecturer in private law at the Vrije Universiteit (Free University) in Amsterdam and supervisory specialist Governance Banks at De Nederlandsche Bank (The Netherlands Central Bank).

ABOUT EMERGING FEDERATIONS

Javier Giner has since the end of the 20th century been striving with the association "Union Europea de Mallorca" (UEM) for a Federal Europe. Now with the FAEF’s Citizens’ Convention we have the Federal Constitution for the Foundation of the Federated States of Europe. We are proud of the work done and now committed to the ratification of the constitution by European citizens. We will not give up on the effort until we achieve it. Javier Giner is executive member politics of the Board of FAEF.

ABOUT THE ALFA AND OMEGA OF FEDERALISM

Frans M. Vermeulen is emeritus pastoral worker in the Netherlands. Master’s in theology and Religion Sciences. Study items: personalism, federalism, politics.
Berend Willem Scheperboer is pharmacist turned lawyer; together with my wife co-owner of a law firm. Criminal law, administrative law, labor law; organization of trade unions and their centrals.
Glen T. Martin is Professor Emeritus at Radford University in Virginia and President of the World Constitution and Parliament Association (WCPA), a worldwide organization, founded in 1958, that supports ratification of the Constitution for the Federation of Earth (www.earthconstitution.world). He is recipient of many international peace awards, including the GUSI Peace Prize International, sometimes referred to as the Noble Prize of Asia. Martin is author of 12 books and hundreds of articles about democratic global government, our endangered human situation, and the need for a planetary paradigm-shift from self-destructive fragmentation to evolutionary holism.