TimetoshouttheFwordinEuropeanpolitics?

Verhofstadt, G., Cohn-Bendit, D. “For Europe!: Manifesto for a Postnational

RevolutioninEurope” CreateSpace,2012-ISBN 1479261882,9781479261888

152pages

Anger inEuropehasnotbeenvoiced solely throughpublicdemonstrationsas

epitomised by the Greek protests. Unrest and dissatisfaction seem to bemountingeveninthesocalled‘elite’.Thisbookiswritteninangerinresponseto

theinability(unwillingness)ofEuropeanpoliticianstodealwiththeeconomiccrisisbut also as a ‘wakeup’ call fornational hierarchies that has chosen to

dismissthepoliticalimpassethatEuropeisexperiencing.

In thisbook co-president of the Greens/European FreeAllianceDanielCohn-

BenditandPresidentoftheALDEgroupintheEuropeanParliamentandformer

PrimeMinisterofBelgiumGuyVerhofstadthave joined forces (and somewhatconvergedpoliticalstances)toarguethatFederalismisthewayoutofthecrisis

andtocallforactiontowardsthecreationofafederalEurope.

Released in six languages (Dutch, English, German,Italian, and Spanish) “For

Europe”isa90-pagemanifestothatambitiouslyandprovocativelyaimstostarta“post-nationalrevolutioninEurope,abandoningthe“navelgazingofitsnation-

states”.Init,thetwoauthorsproposeaconstituentassemblyfor2014thattheyenvisage will lay down theprinciples of a federalEurope andwill be put to

approvalbyreferendainallmemberstates.Followingtheresultsmemberswill

havetheoptiontojoinorwithdrawfromthefederation.

FollowingthemanifestothereisasectioninwhichJeanQuatremer,ajournalist

ofLibérationandblogauthor,interviewstheco-authorsofthisbook.Somepartof this interview and of the manifesto are available for downloading from

www.andreversailleediteur.com/upload/args/cbveuropeconsult.pdf

ItmustbegiventotheauthorsthatutteringtheFwordnowinEuropesoundsquite refreshing amongst the worrying resurgenceofpopulistand nationalist

movements.Italsotakesalotofpoliticalbraveryastheyareeffectivelycallingfor doingawaywithnation-statesonce for all and goingdown the avenue of

post-national politics. In this respect Cohn-Bendit and Verhofstadt’s proposal

comesacrossas farmorerevolutionarythananyrevivingreformspresentedinthepast (forexampleDelors)and,assuch, itwillnot godowneasilywellon

most MEPs’ ears. However, it’s often through crises that things can change

radically.MaybeforallEuropeansitisthetimetoshouttheFwordalongwiththeauthorsofthisbookiftheycareaboutthefutureofEurope.