The EU constitutional process has projected the union towards a certain structure, different from that of the USA, which is a unique experience, President Edward Fenech Adami said yesterday at the opening of a training course on European Citizenship.
The week long training course is being organised by Kunsill Nazzjonali taz-Zghazagh (KNZ) in collaboration with the Young European Federalists (JEF), within the framework of the YOUTH Programme, under the auspices of the European Commission and the European Movement International through the “Speak Up Europe” pan-European PLAN D Campaign.
The course is aimed at supporting the professional development of youth workers and youth leaders by extending their competencies to integrate elements of European citizenship within their projects.
As opposed to the US, the EU is made up of national independent states, said Dr Fenech Adami, and it is in progressive construction. In a similar way, he added, the type of federalism advocated by the EU is different from that of the USA, since countries have national identities and did not develop out of colonies, as happened across the Atlantic.
Dr Fenech Adami went over the major developments of the EU, from the early post-war days, “when men of vision like De Gasperi, Schumann and Adenauer saw a Europe which is not divided by wars but lives in peace.”
He also praised these “founding fathers of the EU” for setting up the European Coal and Steel Community in order to bring together European countries through economical channels. The president told his young audience that he is old enough to remember the horrors of World War II, and how these men of vision drew the framework of the long lasting peace within the Western Europe. He brought back his memories when as a fresher in 1951, the ongoing debate at University was whether a United Europe was possible. He also cited the former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill who in a speech delivered in 1946 at the University of Zurich mentioned the idea of a United States of Europe.
The former prime minister spoke about Malta’s accession process and said that the EU was courageous enough to admit 10 new member states at one go. He praised the then Commission President Romano Prodi for carrying on the difficult and far-reaching process. Dr Fenech Adami also commented about the common market, and said he advocated a “social market economy”, something which he described as contradictory, but something which Europe cannot afford to lose.
With regard to European citizenship, the Maltese president said it is still under construction, but the basis has already been set up: much like a house which has already been built but needs to be furnished.