Spinelli Group
The Spinelli Group (English Spinelli Group) is an initiative by members of the European Parliament, working for the European federalism founded on 15 September 2010. Its objectives include, among others, to achieve the European Parliament cross-party majority for federalist proposals and to build on the Parliament, a pro-European network. The group is named after Spinelli (1907-1986), a historic pioneer of European integration.
Among the founders of the Spinelli Group include, in particular Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the liberal ALDE group, as well as Daniel Cohn -Bendit, co-chairman of the Greens / EFA group. The Spinelli Group is also supported by the Union of European Federalists ( UEF).
Organization
The core of the Spinelli Group forms the Steering Group, which is composed of 33 members, some of the members of the European Parliament are partially used in a manner other than politicians or intellectuals for European federalism. One of the founding members, Tommaso Padoa -Schioppa, passed away in late 2010.
Within the European Parliament, the Spinelli Group forms the so-called MEP Spinelli Group, which includes all MEPs who have joined the online manifesto. Currently, these are around 100 members of parliament. Outside of the European Parliament finally there is the Spinelli Network Group, which includes all other citizens who have signed the online manifesto of the initiative and come together each year on Europe at a meeting in Brussels. Currently, this network includes about 2,000 people (as of March 2011).
The following table lists the members of the Steering Group on:
Positions
In an article published on the homepage of the initiative Spinelli Group Manifesto calls for closer European integration as nationalism and intergovernmentalism lead in a globalized world only to political impotence. She criticizes the current trend, increasing their own interests recognized in the nation-states as a whole before those of the European Union, and calls for a " federal and post-national Europe, a Europe of citizens".
Specifically, the Spinelli Group disclaims about in the budget negotiations on the multiannual financial framework of the EU for the period 2013-2020 from the proposed reduction of different Member States of the EU budget. It strives for a better European economic government and for the introduction of transnational lists for European elections.
Mode of action
Within the European Parliament, the Spinelli group trying to organize majorities for federal positions at important votes. In addition, it takes about Written statements of the European Parliament influence on decisions of other institutions of the European Union. In addition, the Spinelli Group is organizing a Day of Europe held annually meeting of all signatories of the online manifesto and other conferences and panel discussions on European issues. Before each of the summits of the European Council is the so-called " Shadow Council " instead, present federalist positions to the proceedings on the top issues for the members of the Spinelli Group.
Spinelli
The Group operates in a number of ways, influenced by its namesake Spinelli, one of the architects of the European integration and founder of the Union of European Federalists. So has the form as a cross-party organization within the European Parliament a precursor in an initiative Spinelli, of a similar organization, the Crocodile Club founded on 9 July 1980 to collect supporters for his project of a Constitutional Treaty for the European Union. Even the manifesto of the Spinelli Group takes through a quote on Spinelli's 1941 manifesto authored by Ventotene respect in which he had first called for the establishment of a European federal state. Two of the founding members of the group are finally connected the same time familiar with Spinelli: Tommaso Padoa -Schioppa was the life companion of Spinelli's daughter Barbara Spinelli, Amartya Sen was married to Spinelli's stepdaughter Eva Colorni.