EUtopia (2nd version, July 2022)        by Günther Tritschler, German, born 1941

In retrospect, it is hard to understand how little use was made of the initial momentum of the drive for European unity, even though the need for it had been stressed all these years. Politicians of every hierarchy prayed from their manifestos, in interviews, on talk shows and in their festive and Sunday speeches how important it was to "speak with one European voice" if one wanted to have influence in the world. Unfortunately, it remained essentially these empty phrases. While their statements revealed a certain yearning for strength, the accompanying mental flight from reality thwarted the emergence of any urge to take concrete steps towards actual political unification. Moreover, in some EU countries, national romanticism was once again stirring. And particularly deplorable : the last two decades of this long period were also marked by a lack of inspiration in Franco-German relations, which had previously always been emphasized and cultivated as "special".

Thus, towards the end of the seven decades, European citizens were, on the one hand, taken with the convenient travel possibilities without annoying border controls and the universally valid currency of the EURO. On the other hand, they were increasingly tired of the empty phrases of the perpetual announcements of more European unity. When there was also talk of a European army - an illusion with 30 states with veto power - they were even somewhat annoyed. Nevertheless, the great mass of the population remained politically indifferent and in a state of inertia.

In contrast to cultural history, in European politics the Enlightenment followed the Romantic era. The period of "European rationalism" began - how could it be otherwise - with a huge youth movement, starting in Germany and France, which then spread to other countries. With the climate protection movement, European youth had created awareness of the climate crisis and set in motion the actual implementation of a consistent climate policy by governments. Now they turned to the next policy field where they reproached the adults for only propagating intentions, promises, goals over decades without consistently acting: European political unification.

The starting point of the movement was a small group of young people in the south of Germany who got into conversation with a few of the still living contemporary witnesses of the post-war period of the Second World War. Based on the stories of the seniors, the young people could relate to their strong sense of "never again war". They also understood the reconciliation and rapprochement between France and Germany after the war as an essential basis for a united Europe. They asked themselves why the decades of "talking about it" on the one hand and the reality on the other were so far apart. They called for swift, consistent action and gave new relevance to Robert Schuman's proclamation on the occasion of the ECSC's announcement:

« Messieurs, il n'est plus question de vaines paroles, mais d'un acte, d'un acte hardi, d'un acte constructif. » Freely translated: "Gentlemen, no more empty words, action must be taken now, boldly and constructively."    They started demonstrations and loudly demanded action instead of words for a politically united Europe. The movement quickly gained momentum and spread across Germany and into parts of France. They gave themselves the name EfEu - Engagement for Europe. The unification of France and Germany under one government was defined as the goal. This was to be the first step towards a truly united Europe. Other countries remained invited to join or follow suit.

EfEu called for the convening of a convention consisting of historians, constitutional lawyers, entrepreneurs, trade unionists, non-party citizens and a few politicians. The convention was to examine the possible merger of the two countries and point out the building elements of implementation: the structure of the new state, the chronologically necessary intermediate steps for the foundation of the new state, the participation of the citizens, obtaining their consent and the time windows and preconditions for including other countries.

Unlike other movements, such as Pulse of Europe, EfEu wanted to enter the European Parliament as an Other Political Association in order to speak up with a strong voice. A successful crowd funding was launched. In addition, some large donations were received from wealthy private individuals in Germany. Thus, before the 2024 European elections, a campaign with a large reach that was almost on a par with the parties could be conducted. The design was very imaginative and achieved great attention. In France, the hurdle set for admission to the election of raising 800,000 EURO had only been cleared a few weeks before the election. This left fewer days and resources to prepare the election campaign. Nevertheless, the 5 percent threshold clause was exceeded in the election.

The French campaign was also supported by the media coverage of EfEu's brilliant performance in Germany. In Germany, the sensational result of more than 10% of the vote was achieved at the first attempt. The "normal" parties were visibly shocked by this success. The electorate was also surprised. More and more people were gripped by the Engagement for Europe, as now a concrete and consistent answer to the decades-long wishful thinking of a united Europe was given. Thus, the support for EfEu, as measured by opinion polls, continued to grow in both countries. The pressure on the parties was enormous and some of the pro-European parties joined the call for the Convention to be convened. More and more of the parliamentarians in both countries expressed their support for the idea. The governments of France and Germany met again for regular consultations after the 2024 European elections. Common positions were consistently developed and advocated on foreign policy issues. Domestic and economic policies were increasingly coordinated. And in meetings of the EU, previously agreed common positions were advocated. Finally, both governments supported the convening of the Convention after a majority of the parliaments had voted in favour. In 2027, it was done: the Convention could convene.

The Convention met intensively for a whole year. 30 members each were sent to the body from France and Germany, including 3 representatives each from EfEu. In addition, there were 9 associate members from Belgium and Luxembourg. The populations of these two countries had approved this in votes after the King of Belgium and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg had offered their willingness to abdicate at a time yet to be determined during the transition to a new state. The movement EfEu - Engagement for Europe had meanwhile spread to other EU countries under country-specific names. National associations were formed in Austria, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and in Italy. The affected royal houses became increasingly nervous, because in the new state system they would no longer have a place as heads of state.

In July 2028, the Convention presented the results of its deliberations. It was proposed to unite the states of Belgium, Germany, France and Luxembourg in a federal state (comparable to the state structure of Germany), but with a directly elected president (comparable to the Fifth Republic of France). The number of Länder in this federal republic should not be too large. It was also recommended that Länder be formed across previous state borders. Two examples:  Merging Lorraine, Luxembourg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland into one (new) Land and Baden-Württemberg, Alsace and Franche-Comté into one (new) Land. This suggestion was put forward mainly by young representatives in the Convention with the argument of giving expression to a new way of thinking. The previous nations should be a thing of the past, the new "Europe" should make inroads into the general consciousness from the outset.

The results of the Convention also included the claim to ensure and strengthen the ability of the Federal Republic of Europe to defend itself in order to really stand on its own feet in security and foreign policy. This also included the proposal that France's preliminary efforts in building up the "dissuasion nucléaire", the nuclear deterrence, be rewarded by the other candidate countries and that financial compensation be sought in return. This could not happen in one fell swoop. But a transitional period before the establishment of the FRE was inevitable anyway. The administrative structures, the tax system and much more had to be carefully changed and gradually aligned.

Thus, the Convention proposed that the Project “Federal Republic of Europe" be tackled in stages. In 2028, the support of the parliaments should first be sought and then the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Europe should be written. To this end, the consent of the populations should be requested in 2029. Once this was achieved, the foundation of the FRE could be prepared in an eight-year transitional phase starting in 2030. The formal foundation in 2038 was to be decided by the parliaments of the accession nations in final votes.

This roadmap has then been swiftly launched by the national governments and parliaments.

The political supporters clearly pointed out to the voters that this was the very last chance to achieve a truly united Europe. The nationalists, on the other hand, stressed that our historically grown nation state would be lost and that we would be exposed to the arbitrariness of other ethnic groups. It could be countered that the universal principle of subsidiarity, which was to be laid down in the constitution, granted each ethnic group broad freedom to cultivate the special characteristics of its closer homeland.

The youth in their vast majority and the few remaining "old people" who had experienced the post-war period were fiery or wise supporters of the Federal Republic of Europe. The other fellow citizens, who saw their priorities less in questions of politics but as a rule in family, work, leisure, property formation, etc., were moved by the overpowering, omnipresent discussion to deal mentally with the important topic. In this way, on this concrete political issue. it was widely possible to shake off the - often widespread - inertia of people. The members of EfEu, in particular, were tireless in their campaign for the founding of the Federal Republic of Europe.

For good reason, the referendums had been scheduled for Sunday, 27 May 2029, before the holiday season. In Belgium, France and Luxembourg, approval was close to 60, in Germany even a whopping 64 percent. This cleared the way for the creation of the preconditions for the founding of the Federal Republic of Europe.

Immediately after the referenda, the governments prepared to convene the Constitutional Convention and worked out a schedule for the necessary further negotiations. The mandate for agreement was clear. The Constitutional Convention was essentially composed of the members of the 2027 Convention. After nine months, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Europe was in place. Its structure and content were based on the tried and tested guidelines of the constitutions of the accession states, applied to the new state to be founded.

The eight-year transition period before the foundation was mastered despite difficulties that arose from time to time. All actors were willing to responsibly fulfill the mandate of the electorate with verve and goodwill.

In spring 2038, the time had come. The votes in the parliaments of the accession nations on the formal establishment of the Federal Republic of Europe could be held. Clear approval was achieved in all four accession countries. How could there be any backsliding now since the joyful expectations were already high everywhere. The good example of the founding countries had already set a precedent. In Italy, Austria, Portugal and Spain, applications to join the FRE had already been made and preparations were well advanced.

After all, the founding countries had been able to agree on the metropolitan region of Strasbourg-Kehl, which spans the Rhine, as the capital. Thus, nothing stood in the way of the founding of the Federal Republic of Europe on 1 July 2038, which attracted attention throughout the world. A competition of composers had been launched to compose a great anthem. And as a national holiday, the French national holiday was adopted in memory of the storming of the Bastille.

So now we can celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the Federal Republic of Europe - and that will not be the end of the story of the real political unification of Europe.

The Federal Republic of Europe will grow and prosper as the home of Europeans.

PS:   In view of the founding of the Federal Republic of Europe, the European Union underwent a treaty and name change at the request of a majority of its members. The European Economic Union no longer claims to represent common positions of the members in foreign and security policy or in questions of international migration. Rather, it defines itself as an economic community with rules for a common market. This bracket is intended to continue the peacemaking tradition of the original European economic unification.

And it is a "springboard" into the FRE.