When putting a new issue of Fédéchoses - Pour le fédéralisme to press, it is always a moment of reflection. Everything we thought about during the 6 months prepation, the exchanges we had, the lively reactions. And all of this is smoothed out in two dimensions between the pages of the magazine. We would like to salute the contacts made with VoxEurop, Telos and the continuing partnerships with Il Federalista, The Federalist Debate or Agence Europe, all of which allow us to republish some excellent articles. We also welcome the meeting of Fawaz Hussein at the Rencontres Camus. And we salute our authors, who through their commitment open our eyes and minds.
In September, we protested against the decision of the Polish Supreme Court, and were about to thrust our sharpened pen into the term "polexit" that some journalists and politicians use. We wanted to remind that words have weight, that they structure our understanding of reality and that it is essential to avoid words that give the conclusion before the game is played.
In November, we wanted to write about the walls that are rising in Europe. Twenty-two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the EU is no longer tearing down walls, but helping to build them up. The epidemic engraved in the minds of the vast majority that danger comes from abroad and that one must shut oneself within the four walls of one’s flat or one’s borders. Then, why should we be surprised that other men and women find nothing but barbed wire and walls on their arrival. The construction of the new camp in Mavrovouni to replace the one in Moria, destroyed by fire, remains a camp where human beings are locked up. The Belarusian dictator has clearly understood how the inability of European leaders to assume a welcoming policy was a lever for him. If the European leaders said and assumed that "it’s not a big deal, we’re taking in people, we’re putting them in shelters", Lukashenko’s dehumanising manoeuvres would be completely ineffective.
And then the German coalition agreement was published. This is the first time in a long time that a member state commits itself to the establishment of a European federal state. This excellent news provoked reactions from federalists, and this issue provides a review of the situation and recalls some federalist proposals. The new coalition has made the federalist alternative to the European status quo credible. When asked whether they agree with the German position, 58% of those polled in France by Odoxa said they wanted a European federal state. Proof that activism pays off. And an invitation to commit more firmly to ensuring that these proposals are taken up by the other Member States as they still hold the reins of treaty change. It is up to us federalists to put the question of the European federal state and the constituent at the centre of the debates for the presidential and legislative elections.