Declaration of Berlin 2004

Declaration of Berlin

Adopted on 16.10.2004 by the European Association of former members of parliament of the member states of the Council of Europe or the European Union

POLITICAL INTEGRATION IN THE FACE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGES

PART I. ENSURING THE CONSOLIDATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POLITICAL INTEGRATION IN EUROPE

THE ASSOCIATION OF FORMER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT OF THIRTEEN NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS,

A. Noting with great satisfaction that after having surmounted multiple obstacles, the last European Council of 17 June in Brussels approved the Constitution, which corresponds to a large extent to the project drafted by the European Convention,

B. Whereas, despite the shortcomings of the draft Constitution so often denounced in particular amongst the founding States, the adoption of the Constitution and the accession of ten new Member States will make the construction of the European Union take major steps,

C. Expressing its concern regarding the insufficient participation of citizens in the European Parliament elections and supporting the referenda in different European countries as a chance for more European democracy and identity,

D. Noting with satisfaction that the Constitution states that "The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, liberty, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights",

E. Stressing the fact that these values are common to all Member States advocating pluralism, tolerance, justice, solidarity and non-discrimination,

F. Condemning the terrible terrorist attacks and threats of these last years towards various European countries which are aimed at these values and believing that Europe has a duty, in order to remain faithful to its values, to put pressure on the international politics and to make public opinion aware of the causes of terrorism,

G. Welcoming today in Berlin the German unification which, after the fall of the Wall of shame, constituted the first step of change towards the current European enlargement, which made it possible to realise this European Union of twenty-five Member States, with the perspectives of membership of other candidates, turning into a reality the dream of the Founding Fathers : the democratic unification of Europe, divided since World War II, in a common area of peace, democracy and socio-economic prosperity,

REQUESTS THAT,

1. the European Constitution be ratified as quickly as possible by the Member States of the EU, leading to a new stage of European political integration,

2. a procedure of revision of the Constitution be drawn up as soon as possible;

 3. the process of strengthening the European Parliament continue and citizens be allowed to take part in the development of the process of the European unification and that they be properly informed so as to avoid a democratic deficit which would paralyse the construction of the European Union;

 4. the member states while carrying out the rules and procedures of the Constitution (meant to codify and to protect the fundamental rights), strive for harmony with the actions of the Council of Europe;

6. In accordance with the framework Convention of the Council of Europe and Recommendation number 1623 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of 29 September 2003, national minorities be respected and protected in order to avoid exclusion and the use of violence;

7. the Parliaments contribute to a balanced development of European political integration;

8. this European political integration be preserved on the basis of common values, taking into account the principles and standards of subsidiarity, of proportionality and of reinforced cooperation as well as the clauses of flexibility and solidarity established in the Constitution;

9. internal challenges brought about by the economic development inequalities within some of the new Member States of the European Union in relation to most of the former fifteen Member States be faced, thus preventing the common political integration from being a mere change from a divided Europe into an unequal Europe;

10. development asymmetries be resolved thanks to the flexible application of the safeguard clauses which can leave some chapters of Community legislation temporarily suspended for the new Member States, while adhering to the principles of solidarity which guarantee social cohesion;

11. good governance, accountability of all institutions and democratic transparency be enhanced incl. the fight against corruption and mafias as well as the improvement of terror prevention;

12. be opened the big yard of the century which would prepare the social evolution of the people, whose political and civil adhesion is indispensable for the Union's cohesion: the security of the European countries is at that prize. If alignment to the top of the social systems of the member states of the Union may appear to be an illusion, it is also true that the aim must be a better economical balance, stopping non controlled east-west immigration and, reverse, delocalisations encouraged by illegal work and lower labour costs;

13. in order to tackle the serious danger that terrorism poses to the very heart of our common values and the fabric of our society, mentioned in paragraphs D and E of part I of this declaration, the European Union implement a common strategy and actively develop the solidarity clause provided for in the Constitution by providing the European counter-terrorism co-ordinator with the necessary means. This common strategy should not only imply matters of security, defence and foreign policy, but also measures to be taken in order to protect and strengthen our common values and the quality of our democratic society, mentioned in paragraphs D and E of part I of this declaration.

PART II. PROMOTING A EUROPE THAT PLAYS AN ACTIVE ROLE IN DEMOCRATIC AND FAIR GLOBALISATION

A. Whereas the Constitution, constitutes a major step forward, by endowing the European Union with its own legal personality which allows it to speak with a single voice within the international Community,

B. Reaffirming the primacy of the UN to prevent, resolve and repress international conflicts,

C. Whereas the universal declaration on the democracy of the interparliamentary Union of 1997 stipulates that democracy must be recognised as an international principle and must be implemented as such in conflict management on an international level,

D. Denouncing the refusal of impunity, the violation of international law, racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia,

E. Whereas one of the best means of avoiding wars and conflicts and of encouraging democracy, consists in co-operating in the eradication of world poverty and illiteracy and allowing all human beings, holders of universal fundamental rights, to have access to a decent living,

F. Whereas it behoves Europe to defend the tokens of the European cultural values by preserving the creative strength of its people's culture, and to promote the respect for the cultures of all its people within the framework of a world cultural pluralism by encouraging "interculturality",

G. Whereas in the current information society, based on convergence between audio-visual telecommunications and Internet, the audio-visual media and most importantly television, because of its influence, constitute key engines of culture and of education which makes it possible to preserve informative pluralism avoiding world monopolies or duopolies, thus guaranteeing freedom of expression as a basis for independent and responsible media,

H. Considering that from the middle ages, European universities have contributed to the free circulation of scholars and to the diffusion of their novel works, and that after the Bologna agreement, they may further develop their contribution to culture, education, science, as well as the mobility of lecturers, researchers and students,

I. Considering that it is advisable to encourage a social and ecological world market economy which assures the liveability and the harmonious and sustainable development of the planet. Effective multilateralism should be the guiding principle in ensuring harmonisation of efforts of the international community,

REQUESTS THAT 

1. international conflicts be resolved, once the peaceful means have been exhausted, by applying international legal standards within the framework of the competent international multilateral institutions and mainly by the decision-making of the UN; 

2. using the IPU, a parliamentary dimension of the UN be developed with competencies similar to that of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe;

3. sanctions against States and against persons be implemented within the framework of international courts, such as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court;

4. the Member States of the Council of Europe endeavour to implement the European Convention of Human Rights inside their borders, thus making the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights more effective and harmonising the actions of the Council of Europe with the European Union in this field, in accordance with paragraphs 4 and 5 of part I of this declaration. Decisive efforts have to be made to abolish still existing discrimination of women and promote gender equality;

5. the European Union undertake new efforts for a worldwide disarmament, co-operate in the fight against illegal arms trafficking and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as well as of small arms, and stand firmly against terrorism, organised crime, torture, trafficking in human beings, slavery and drugs trafficking, which constitute a threat to peace, security and the peaceful life of its citizens. In that respect, protection of the rights of women and children is a priority;

6. Europe, within the framework of international law, is a land that welcomes those persecuted for their ideas or their beliefs;

7. the European Union adopt a common immigration policy allowing the integration of immigrants within the European constitutional legal framework, thus guaranteeing for all its citizens their fundamental rights and the quality of our democratic society and the European Union consider to extend the financial and technical support to the origin and transit countries concerning the control of illegal migration within a burden-sharing approach;

8. the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ensure that the European Commission and the national governments to contribute to the realisation of the Johannesburg "Plan of Implementation" and the eight Millennium Development Goals based on the broad concept of sustainable human development;

9. the Kyoto Protocol be ratified by all the States so as to guarantee sustainable development;

10. the European Union reinforce economic and technological aid aiming at facilitating economic and social cohesion in developing countries, while respecting the balance of internal development of an enlarged European Union;

11. a fair, democratic and human globalisation take as orientation the IPU Universal Declaration on Democracy, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the revised Social Charter of the Council of Europe and the respective ILO conventions;

12. the stabilisation of regions undergoing conflict be followed as much as possible by aid for reconstruction after the conflict and the UN resolutions in this regard be respected;

13. the audio-visual media, including cinema, be regarded as vehicles of culture and not only as simple market instruments depending on the economic strategies or the power of major multimedia groups in particular, in accordance with the resolutions of the European Parliament of 4/09/2003 and of 22/04/2004 and with Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, to adopt the necessary measures, which prevent restrictions on the freedom of expression and the monopolistic concentration of audio-visual media, such as to ensure full political and cultural pluralism in the countries of the European Union;

14. Europe encourage the use of the Internet as an instrument for culture and education, mainly in schools of developing countries, so as to avoid the emergence of a new inequality;

15. the conclusions of the World Summit on the information society, organised in Geneva in December 2003 be put into practice;

16. the agreement of the Council of Europe of 2003 on cyber-criminality relating to acts of racist and xenophobic nature by digital means, included in Directive 98/48 of the European Union, be implemented;

17. European institutions support European universities in becoming important vehicles of co-operation in the fields of education and sustainable development together with the rest of the world (incl. the creation of knowledge based societies, the promotion of sustainable human development, the combat of poverty and diseases, the enhancement of democracy and human rights);

18. the European Union strengthen the forms of cooperation with international organisations and regional organisations, its international representation at the main global partners and its international role by concluding agreements with one or more other states ;

PART III. USING THE MAIN INSTRUMENTS FOR PURSUING A COMMON EUROPEAN POLICY IN THE WORLD

A. Whereas the Constitution states that the goals of its relations with the world "will be pursued using suitable means in accordance with the powers granted to the Union in this constitution",

B. Whereas the Constitution represents an important evolution in the process of clarifying these means since it gives them concrete expression through "a common foreign and security policy" and defines the general guidelines: "The Union's competence in matters of common foreign and security policy shall cover all areas of foreign policy and all questions relating to the Union's security, including the progressive defining of a common defence policy, which might lead to a common defence''

C. Whereas the European security strategy, adopted by the European Council in autumn 2003, contains a clause stipulating that "Regional organisations also strengthen global governance »,

D. Whereas Europe has contributed in the past to the strengthening of democracy in the world and to peaceful co-operation, the contribution of the Council of Europe and the European Union in this process being recognised by the General Assembly of the UN,

REQUESTS THAT

1. the member states of the European Union adopt a coherent, effective and visible foreign policy;

2. Member States actively and without restraint support the Union's common foreign and security respect the decisions adopted by the Union in this field and refrain from taking actions contrary to the interests of the Union or likely to harm its effectiveness, with the exception of constructive abstention;

3. the process of European emancipation and the desire to set up a genuine common foreign, security and defence policy, which are undeniably emerging, may not exclude the development of a liveable strategic partnership with the US, based on the equality of both partners : this may not confuse the message about Europe as a global actor;

4. the rapid reaction force created by the France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, with the aim of having an autonomous force for prevention, peacekeeping or crisis management missions compatible with Nato's rapid reaction force, be harmonised;

5. the European Union strengthen the forms of co-operation with NGOs.

CONCLUSION

By this declaration adopted in the formerly divided and renewed city of Berlin, the former members of Parliament wish to contribute, with their reflections and experience, to the strengthening of European political integration, in order for Europe to be a key player in the democratic globalisation, thus guaranteeing peace, freedom and development for all people. They are willing to co-operate actively with the main European institutions, in particular the Council of Europe and the European Union, and with the governments and Parliaments of the Member States as well as with an enlarged and even stronger European Parliament, in particular in the ratification process of the European Constitution.

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