On a personal note: My involvement with Newropeans (2005 – 2013)
It was in the autumn of 2005, a good twenty years ago, that I first met Franck Biancheri and the Newropeans. I had been interested in and enthusiastic about European integration for decades, in fact for as long as I can remember. That is why I had been concerned about the state of the EU since the late 1990s. I remember the fierce debates and slogans such as ‘Nice or death’ around the turn of the millennium. (1) On 29 May 2005, the French electorate rejected the EU Constitutional Treaty in a referendum, and the Dutch followed suit on 1 June. (2) (3) In Germany, the parliament had already approved the Constitutional Treaty on 12 May 2005 without any major public debate (!). National referendums were not provided for in the German constitution, the Grundgesetz (Basic Law), but there had also been no broad debate or information campaign. (4)
The outcome of the referendums in France and the Netherlands prompted Frenchman Franck Biancheri to become involved in European politics once again. (5) Together with his circle of friends from France, the Netherlands and Spain, he had already participated in the European elections in these three countries in 1989 with IDE, his ‘Initiative for European Democracy’ (Initiative pour une Démocratie Européenne). Prior to that, he had established a European student organisation called AEGEE (6) and, in a conversation with the French President Mitterand, given the ERASMUS programme a final, necessary push. (7)
In January 2005, Franck Biancheri had already founded Newropeans, a trans-European citizens' movement with the aim of promoting the democratisation of the EU. I believe it was in early autumn 2005 that, with the support of activists from Germany, he invited people to a public event in Berlin for the first time. A committed supporter from the very beginning, who knew Franck and his achievements in France, had included the news in a newsletter on the subject of civic engagement. (8) And since I had subscribed to it at my workplace in the administration of a small town in the Rhine-Main area, that's how I found out about it.
I travelled to Berlin, attended the event and got to know Franck, his partner and other committed (German) Europeans. (9) A few days later, I joined Newropeans. I was told that Franck was very pleased about this. He was the outstanding figure of Newropeans, their source of ideas and network hub. Professionally, he ran his European think tank, LEAP 2020, so he was an entrepreneur. (10) I still remember his words ‘compagnon de route’ (fellow traveller) and was pleased that I could understand them.At that time, I had been a member of the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) for almost three decades. In the SPD, the European idea played absolutely no role at that time.
(Nor, for that matter, did democracy itself and the challenges it faced.) Everything else (and every other election) was more important. There was zero understanding that Europe is, so to speak, the branch on which we sit. There was also little interest in what Turkey's accession would mean for the future of the EU (and whether it would even have a future then...). The concern was more about ‘helping Turkey’. If any thought was wasted on the EU, it was only to appease less important demands within the party by fielding candidates in the European elections. (11)
With Franck as its founding president, the Newropeans began their trans-European work. Through exchanges at member meetings in European cities from Amsterdam to Rome and via the internet, a programme for the 2009 European elections was developed. (I did not distinguish myself in this process). (12) We owed special thanks to the volunteer translators (also members of Newropeans) who maintained this service for hours during the meetings. My involvement was more focused on building up the organisation in Germany and promoting Newropeans through countless press releases, advertising materials and events. Together with others, I founded the Newropeans association in the Rhine-Main region in order to be able to act in the region. (13)
The 2009 European elections were approaching. In 2008, I left the SPD. In late autumn of that year, around a hundred Newropeans members met for a weekend at the Saalbau Gutleut in Frankfurt am Main. The topics were the upcoming elections and the drawing up of the lists. For the German list, we, the people affected, separated ourselves from the others and set up the team for Germany in a separate room. As far as I know, this was a first, as it was the first time that a trans-European movement was to appear on the ballot paper for the European elections in this country. But there was still a long way to go, because in order to overcome this hurdle, 4,000 signatures had to be collected – each certified by the citizens' bureau of the relevant local authority. But this was also achieved. And the Newropeans ended up on the ballot as ‘List 28’. Once again, a big thank you to everyone who contributed to this!
I found the legislation and procedures for admission to the European elections in Germany to be sensible and appropriate. We ultimately achieved almost 15,000 votes in Germany, which corresponded to 0.1 per cent. (14) The Newropeans also succeeded in participating in the 2009 European elections in France and the Netherlands; it should be noted that they did so with the same programme. Unfortunately, Frank fell seriously ill again shortly before the election. In the summer of 2011, I therefore became his successor. (15) I had decided to hold this position only until someone more suitable for the job than me was found. In other words, someone with more knowledge of foreign languages and European politics and a better network. However, despite my best efforts, this did not happen.
Franck passed away on 30 October 2012 and was laid to rest in Menton (16) at the beginning of November. Many of his political ‘compagnons de route’ paid their last respects. Obituaries were published in major newspapers in several European countries to honour ‘a great European, a combative democrat and a wonderful human being’. It is safe to say that Franck's partner did not have a lucky hand in winding up Newropeans. An association has been founded to commemorate Franck Biancheri. (17) His documents and works are archived at the Fondation Jean Monnet pour L'Europe in Lausanne. (18) Some of Franck's long-time campaign companions have developed in a completely different political direction after their time with Newropeans. (19)
For my part, I look back with a touch of melancholy and a great deal of gratitude. It was a wonderful experience that I would not have wanted to miss. I learned a lot and today I see some things differently. But more on that later, perhaps. From a purely physical point of view, I would not be able to do what I did back then today. I was privileged to be part of a trans-European political movement that sought to make citizens active participants in European politics in a critical and incisive manner, and to represent this on a ballot paper in Germany. (20) Today, I see the Newropeans as one of many pioneers who will have contributed to the great goal of a united, democratic and sovereign Europe.
Margit Reiser-Schober
Error in the content? Error in the translation? – eurolandpost (at) gmx.eu
Machine translated with deepl
- „Nizza oder der Tod“ – Interview im DLF Oktober 2003
https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/polen-kritisiert-weiter-die-geplante-eu-verfassung-100.html
- Mehrheit der Franzosen lehnt 2005 den EU-Verfassungsvertrag ab:
https://dgap.org/de/forschung/publikationen/vor-20-jahren-verloren-viele-franzosen-das-vertrauen-die-eu
- Ablehnung der EU-Verfassung in den Niederlanden wahrscheinlich:
https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/ablehnung-der-eu-verfassung-in-den-niederlanden-100.html
- Interview mit Peter Hinze, europapolitischer Sprecher der Unionsfraktion:
https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/keine-volksabstimmung-ueber-eu-verfassung-100.html
- Franck Biancheri, französische Wikipedia
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franck_Biancheri
- Webseite AEGEE
https://www.aegee.org/about-aegee/
- Treffen Biancheri – Mitterand
https://franck-biancheri.eu/erasmus-was-most-likely-never-to-exist-david-carayol-2007/
- Daniela Schwarzer
https://www.swp-berlin.org/publications/products/aktuell/aktuell2005_23_swd_ks.pdf
- Newropeans-Seite
https://web.archive.org/web/20090525084201/http://www.newropeans.eu/index.php?lang=de
- LEAP 2020
https://geab.eu/de/die-horizontaenderung-von-leap-von-2020-auf-2040/
- Infos dazu folgen
- Das Programm, Stand 21.Dezember 2008, liegt mir vor und umfasst ausgedruckt 42 Seiten.
- Newropeans in Rhein-Main
http://blogs.newropeans.eu/rhein-main
- Europawahl 2009 Ergebnis Newropeans in Deutschland: 14.708 Stimmen, 0,1 Prozent
https://www.bundeswahlleiterin.de/europawahlen/2009.html
- Newropeans in der deutschen Wikipedia (mit Aktualisierungsbedarf)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newropeans
- Stadt Menton an der italienischen Grenze
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menton
- Webseite des Vereins Freunde Franck Biancheris
https://franck-biancheri.eu/
- Fondation Jean Monnet pour L´EUROPE
https://jean-monnet.ch/en/archive/biancheri-fonds/
- Statement des Vereins vom September 2017
https://franck-biancheri.eu/aafb/not-in-the-name-of-franck-biancheri/
- https://www.abgeordnetenwatch.de/profile/margit-reiser-schober