In occasione del 39mo anniversario della fondazione del "Club del Coccodrillo", avvenuta a Strasburgo il 9 luglio 1980 su iniziativa di nove deputati europei ispirati da Altiero Spinelli, il Movimento Europeo in Italia ha adottato la seguente dichiarazione poiché ritiene che il Parlamento europeo debba avviare un processo costituente, aperto al dialogo con la società civile europea, per costruire una Repubblica europea e opporsi al metodo intergovernativo.

Chiediamo a tutte e a tutti coloro che condividono la nostra idea di inviarla con urgenza ai parlamentari europei, così come abbiamo fatto noi.

 Remembering the foundation of the Crocodile Club, the 9th of July 1980:
Why the EP should start a constituent process to build a European Republic
and not marry the idea of an Intergovernmental Conference

The recent experiences on the EU top level decisions by the European Council, beyond how the election and the vote of confidence on the new Commission will end, confirm the need and the urgency of a deep reform of the European system both on the Institutional mechanisms and the division of competences following the federal principle of subsidiarity.

The EU shouldn’t wait the reform of its system living in a long situation of inactivity, but could follow two parallel ways:

- Within the treaties and in the first part of the legislature it’s at least necessary: to reform the Dublin rules assuring the European governance of the migration policy, to strength the European Prosecutor powers assuring the internal security, to implement the Social Pillar creating a social compact, to adopt common policies for the Ecological transition and the fight against the Climate change, to overcome the financial instruments leaving from 2011, to give an autonomous fiscal capacity to the Eurozone, to assure the respect of the rule of Law, to implement the bridging clause overcoming the veto right, to achieve the “banking”, “energy”, “digital” unions…

- Beyond the treaties and before the end of the legislature, it’s necessary to reform the European system. This reform could take three different ways knowing that the first two are destined to meet: an Intergovernmental Conference giving the priority to the apparent national sovereignties; the art. 48 TEU starting with a proposal of the Commission and/or the EP and/or one or more governments, continuing with an inter-institutional Convention and ending with an Intergovernmental Conference; the constituent method inspired by Altiero Spinelli to reach a global and coherent reform of the European system with a new Treaty/Constitution submitted directly to the national Parliaments or to a pan-European referendum and entering in force in the “willing countries”.

Many proposals will appear in the next months to “change Europe” and most of them will bow down obsequiously to the bullying of the Intergovernmental method even if they will hide chastely behind the art. 48 TEU.

A “scrum group” of MEPs should act in the EP, inspired by the success of the “Crocodile Club”, asking their colleagues to start a constituent process open to the dialogue with European civil society and explaining the democratic realism of this process and the inefficient unreality of the intergovernmental method.

That’s an urgent matter for the AFCO committee and for the pro-European political groups.

Remembering the foundation of the Crocodile Club, the 9th of July 1980.pdf