A FREE PADANIA IN A FREE EUROPE
I. THE REAWAKENING OF THE PEOPLES AND EUROPEAN FEDERALISM
These dates summarize the contemporary process of the reawakening of
identities. After having swept over what at one time was called the Third World
during the period of decolonization, it hit the countries suffering under
communist dictatorship. Today it has reached the heart of Western civilization,
from Québec to Catalonia, from Padania to Flanders. With the fall of communist
regimes and the twilight of the bipolar conflict, the peoples of Europe and the
West are affirming their right to choose with whom they want to live and with
whom they don't, with whom to unite and from whom to separate.
A look beyond the specific cases reveals a need developing in Europe for a
supra-national system of regulations for governing fundamental economic and
environmental choices. At the same time people feel the no less pressing need to
be closer to the political institutions which more accurately reflect their
spheres of identity. In addition such a system must be robust enough to meet the
challenges of preparing local and European-wide economies for the increasingly
interdependent and competitive global marketplace.
The re-emergence of historical regions and ethnic nationalities
Historical regions, and linguistic groups which have been part of single
would-be Nation-States, in some cases, for centuries and which centralist
authoritarianism succeeded in repressing only superficially, are re-emerging.
Padania's demands for autonomy confirm once again that our Peoples are among the
forerunners of fundamental movements in the most advanced parts of Europe. In
spite of what the regime-controlled Italian mass media would like to make people
believe, "localism" is not a sign of backwardness. On the contrary,
the evolution and forward development of our movement is unstoppable. It is a
European-wide phenomenon which the retarded and provincial Italian State,
culturally and economically mired in the backwaters of Europe, cannot and wishes
not to see for evident reasons.
The panorama of the revival of Western identities is vast: the different demands
ranging from full sovereignty to basic cultural autonomy correspond to the level
of self-awareness and identity achieved up till now by the respective groups.
The social and economic situations also vary considerably. But viewed as a whole,
the strength and depth of the phenomenon and its political meaning are clear.
The renaissance of identities is linked to the declining role of a form of
State
Politics and the State should not be confused. Politics is an essence, a
principle, a human activity corresponding to certain constants. Its general task
is to guarantee the internal harmony and the external security of the body
politic.
The nation-State, which emerged at the dawn of the modern era, is only one
historical example of a body politic. Its main characteristics are: the
centralization of power; the imposition of a cultural uniformity process among
the peoples and territories under its control; and the destruction of
middle-level bodies.
The nation-State mentality became widespread throughout the Nineteenth Century
and into the early Twentieth Century. This process occurred much after the
political construction of dynastic national States which had arisen in contrast
to the imperial authority on the one hand and the regional and local entities on
the other.
Indeed, this way of thinking seems destined to survive for still quite some time
- especially in the nation-States with the oldest traditions - in spite of the
evident atrophy of the ability of the current form of State to fulfill the tasks
which justify its raison d'être; principally, the efficient management of an
adequately-sized market and a credible system of defense.
It is possible that the resistance to integration, which today is expressed in
the debate on the future of the European Union fixed along the lines of
relations between nation-State governments versus the extension of so-called
"community rule", will become weaker over time.
Europe needs a truly federal integration
There are those who view political federalism as a mere aggregation process
which takes pre-existing sovereign entities and regroups them with the tendency
over time to give rise to a new single unitary State. The LEGA NORD has no
interest in passing from a group of classical nation-States to a new European
super-State. We are convinced that all those who more or less consciously
promote this historical development betray the principles of federalism. These
people are more than ever prisoners of the dogmas of the nation-State. They
limit themselves to simply wanting to produce the "modern"
institutions of a State - despite the fact that today it is already quite
outdated - on a larger scale. It is evident that this form of State is much too
unsuitable - and perhaps even dangerous - for the complex realities of Europe to
be extended to a Continental body politic.
The Intergovernmental Conference for review of the Maastricht Treaty is not even
facing the real cause of the European integration crisis. The cause can be
identified as follows: based as it is on the centralist model, the citizens, as
well as the ruling classes themselves, imagine the EU as a new centralist State
and they understandably fear it.
Europe of the Peoples and of the Regions
The peoples of Europe and Padania need something quite different: a Europe of
the Peoples and of the Regions. Make no mistake: we are not here to perpetuate
the current form of nation-State, neither in its current dimension, nor on a
continental scale, and hardly as a decomposition of the current States only to
be reproduced on the same model. The Padanian movement emerges as a main
catalyst in a general European mutation.
In the first place, there is the question of the identity of communities which
must be federated. Europe is on the eve of a peaceful separation-reaggregation
movement whose result will not be a conglomerate of the European States as we
know them.
A certain number of present-day States will experience the phenomenon of
separation which will change the territorial configurations of the Continent.
Others will be able to restructure themselves giving life to new federal forms
within their borders. The future constituent territories may be called the
Community of the Padanian Peoples, for example, or Scottish People, or Danish
People regardless of their internal structure or institutional forms. Certain
present-day States will therefore live side-by-side with the newly constituted
entities which express older traditional identities. This process will unfold of
its own.
And so we shall have the constituent bodies of a Europe which will be truly
built on federalist principles. A true equilibrium will be achieved between a
general Government, the Communities, and the Regions with the separation of
powers making obsolete the center-periphery dichotomy typical of the classical
nation-State.
Even the principle of subsidiarity, perhaps more preferably called "proximity"
and which the Treaties should explicitly attribute also to the Regions, will in
no way become a modern proposal of the gerarchy principle.
Centralist uniformity and non-European immigration
As Padanians and as Europeans we have to face the enormous but exhilarating task
of unloading the centralist way of thinking with all its heavy baggage. Among
these, perhaps the most burdensome and malignant is the imposition of cultural
uniformity perpetrated by the State among the Peoples.
Therefore, European integration is not, and should not be, only a response to
the recognized inadequacies of the traditional forms of sovereignty of small and
medium-sized States concentrated in one of the most developed parts of the
world. It also represents the natural environment in which to give a greater
voice to the values and rights of European populations. Integration means
seeking out all that is shared in common and appreciating all that is specific.
From the Mediterranean to the North Sea, Nations without a State, quasi-Nations,
and regional groupings recognize this historical opportunity.
The uniformity dogma of the nation-State is of absolutist origin and it still
reigns today. It is aimed against all territorial cultural realities existing
prior to the formation of the nation-State entity. Today the priests of the
nation-State flippantly juxtapose onto it the dogma of the so-called "diversity"
State. How is this possible? Because what they exalt as diversity is an import
imposed exclusively by the arrival of non-European populations, leaving less
room than ever for our own deeply-rooted diversities. The multi-cultural society
pushed today by the political-economic-intellectual power nexus is the
imposition of steadily vaster communities of new arrivals onto the "welcoming"
society, made progressively more uniform and stripped of self-awareness.
II. INSTITUTIONAL ARCHITECTURE OF THE EUROPE OF THE PEOPLES AND OF THE REGIONS
Originality of construction
The future Europe may well be called the Confederation of the European Peoples,
but we believe that the new construction will go beyond more or less outdated
classical labels such as the distinction between federation and confederation.
European Executive
The European Commission should develop into a lean federal executive presided by
a premier directly elected by European citizens. The term of office will depend
on the confidence of the European Parliament and in any case will be for a
maximum of four years. The European Executive will be responsible for monetary
policy, strategic foreign policy, and defense policy.
It is therefore essential that, in its originality, the construction of Europe
should develop according to a model which allows for the implementation of
different policies in the several Communities as long as they do not conflict
with the preservation of acquis communautaire and with the objectives of a
single currency, a unified strategic foreign policy, and a common defense.
The European basic law should not prescribe implicit powers to the Executive and
other European institutions. Encroachment of the general European institutions
into the jurisdiction of the Communities and the Regions must be avoided.
Parliament
The European Parliament will consist of two Houses. One of these (the House of
the Citizens, or the European Assembly) will have legislative powers and the
responsibility of control over areas assigned to the European Executive.
The other House will consist of a Diet or Senate of the Regions and will
guarantee territorial rights. A Region will be defined as an area which
constitutes a geographic entity unto itself, or else an ensemble of like
territories whose populations desire to protect and develop shared common
characteristics to promote cultural, social, and economic progress. Each Region
will send two representatives to the Diet or Senate regardless of the
constitutional arrangements of its specific Community. The two Houses will each
be located in a different city, for example, one in Edinburgh or Copenhagen and
the other in Venice or Graz.
Network of capitals
To highlight to originality of the Confederation, and to overcome the
center-periphery dichotomy typical of traditional nation-State structures, the
traditional European capital of Brussels will be one among a sort of network of
capitals including the seats of all European institutions, in addition to the
Parliament, which will be distributed among all the Communities, preferably in
cities which have not already enjoyed the status of capital.
Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice has made an indispensable contribution to the
European integration process and the development of Community law. However, an
expanded role for this institution for the further stages of integration does
not appear necessary. Since the upcoming main issues have been and will continue
to be of an eminently political nature, such as Common Foreign and Security
Policy, the Court of Justice cannot extend to those areas the role it has had in
others, such as the Single Market, with its praetorian and teleological
interpretations of law. Such an extension may indeed contradict the spirit of
the principles of subsidiarity and may lead to a democratic deficit.
In any case, to guarantee the impartiality of the very important role played by
the Court of Justice, it is necessary to introduce the principle of
incompatibility between the functions of a member of the Court and membership in
secret organizations.
A similar incompatibility should be attributed to the future European Central
Bank. Likewise, the debate on the nature of the Bank's independence should be
developed with the utmost caution.
III. GUIDELINES FOR THE NEW EUROPE
The following guidelines are also part of the LEGA NORD's conceptual
framework for the construction of Europe as illustrated so far:
Enlargement
Much of the success of the integration process is due to an affinity of
traditions. This affinity is a principle criterion for deciding what direction
the enlargement of the European Confederation will follow. On the one hand, it
is not in our interest to restrict Europe only to those Peoples who have mostly
intensely experienced the modernization process. On the other hand, the entry
decision must be based on geographic, historical, and cultural considerations.
We have a primary interest in communicating to the other half of the Continent a
sense of certainty concerning our steadfast will to inclusion and our refusal to
perpetuate the fractures existing until 1989. Europe must no longer be divided
by barriers, therefore the European institutions must expand towards the East.
We are also aware that the European integration process will not be complete if
ultimately it does not involve Ukraine and Russia.
At the same time, it is necessary to make an objective assessment of the impact
of enlargement on the Europe's fiscal standing and all the foreseeable economic
consequences.
Right of rescission
So that the European integration process is not, and does not appear to be, the
construction of a super-State which merely tends to replace the present-day
nation-States, it is important that the basic law of the future Confederation of
the European Peoples explicitly recognize individual Communities' right of
withdrawal, in addition to the general right of people to manage their own
affairs, upon satisfaction of outstanding obligations assumed. In 1994, the
peoples of Austria, Finland, Sweden, and, with a different outcome, Norway
expressed their will concerning EU membership. There is no reason why the free
choice of the Peoples should be a one way proposition.
Today the reluctance of certain States to take further steps toward ceding
sovereignty is understandable and perhaps unavoidable from many points of view.
Among all the possible instruments for overcoming these reasonable apprehensions,
the right of rescission appears the most suitable. Other possibilities include
the constitutional right of annulment (the right of a Community to render a
European law null and void on its own territory), or the right of veto.
A new management of funds
The role of local development in structural intervention will be strengthened to
reflect the degree of regional representation within the Federation. Fund
management will be a key indicator for determining whether we are really
constructing a Europe of the Regions.
In Free Padania, European funds will be directly managed by the Regions which
will be responsible for planning and autonomous supplemental financing.
Independent in Europe
The "milk quota" debacle is an emblematic affair confirming Padania's
awareness that the ruinous intermediation of the Italian State extends to the
European level.
Another example is that still today, in 1997, Padania is not part of the
Schengen area because of the inefficiency and unreliability of the Italian
State. This exclusion has serious consequences for Padania's economy and for all
its citizens. Because of the failings of the Italian State, billions of ECU in
structural funds allocated to the Regions of Padania by the EU have been lost.
But there is worse. Padania risks being excluded from European Monetary Union
and, as a consequence, from the inner circle of European integration. In this
way, it will be kept away from an area to which it belongs historically,
economically, and culturally.
How can the Italian State, which does not have the power and the will to protect
Padania, demand its obedience? We must free our selves from this ruinous
intermediation!
IV. ARCHITECTURE OF SECURITY
Toward a multi-polar world?
Beneath the present-day superficial technological and industrial uniformity, a
new global pluralism is emerging in the wake of the fading dominance of the
East-West conflict which had given rise to a bipolar world. Over wide spaces,
the new pluralism has its foundations in groups of Peoples honed together by
historical and cultural, as well as geographical, ties. And it is on these
foundations that the tendency toward the regional supra-State system is
developing - of which the EU is the most advanced example - and the
revitalization of what we may call "civilizational patriotism".
European security and defense policy
The development of a distinct European identity within the international system
appears as an inevitable dimension to the European integration process. The
European Confederation must learn to act as a unit within all intergovernmental
organizations beginning with the UN. In prospective, a seat for Europe itself
appears desirable in the Security Council, in which it may become necessary to
more accurately reflect a changing geopolitical environment. However, at present,
we have no intention of backing initiatives which can express a de facto hostile
attitude toward our main European partners.
It is by now evident that it is financially and technologically impossible for
individual EU member States to maintain an effective, autarkic defense apparatus.
Over time, a process of military integration must accompany the attainment of a
Common Foreign and Security Policy for Europe.
Atlantic Alliance
The debate on expansion of NATO, whose preservation is taken for granted, will
be conducted with prudence, taking into account the security of the entire
European continent. Overcoming the present division of Europe into security
zones and insecurity zones is what appears fundamental. The potential for the
OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) as a pan-European
security structure should not be overlooked in this framework.
V. PADANIAN GEOPOLITICS
Central Europe
In addition to its fundamental relationships with fellow Western neighbors,
Padania harbors deep historical ties with Central Europe. We feel particularly
close to these Peoples who, in several cases have recently gained independence.
Padania must deepen its economic, regional, and cultural relations with them
also through the re-launch of the Central European Initiative. In this context,
the re-emergence of Trieste and other border areas will become possible.
Italy
Someone could fear that the separation of Padania and Italy proper may give rise
to forms of instability in the latter, which could in some way compromise
security in that strategically important region. We point out that the
well-ordered civil and economic development of the Italic peninsula is of vital
interest to its immediate neighbors, us Padanians.
The Mediterranean
Padania's policy toward non-European Mediterranean countries must be guided by
"attention and distinction". Our good relations with this area and its
peaceful development with tangible help from Europe are fundamental for vital
interests such as security and energy supply. At the same time, we shall strive
to enhance our European identity.
Padanians in the world
Individuals and communities in all parts of the world who come from or who have
ancestors born in a Region of Padania must be helped to rediscover their ties
with their place of origin. Contacts between regions and the development of
Sister Cities can be among the various ways of recovering a source of historical
wealth and natural enrichment deriving from different experiences. To achieve
this objective, support should be given to the formation of associations of
"Padanians in the World" which can act as points of contact for these
individuals and these communities. Padania must stand ready to welcome its sons
and daughters who wish to return home.
VI. PADANIA IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK
Padania as an added value for Europe
Padania wishes to consider its productive system and its entrepreneurial spirit
as a source of wealth for a Europe which gladly accepts them as an endowment. If
Padania is forced to remain trapped inside the Italian State, our productive
system will decay leading to a considerable weakening of the entire European
economy.
When Padania obtains its independence, and is therefore freed from the
oppressive tax burden and inefficiency of the Italian State, enormous resources
will be released. Some of these resources will become available to consumers
leading to an increase in the flow of goods from abroad. The Padanians'
propensity to save will be transformed into new areas of productive investment
in Padania and elsewhere.
Padania as an added value for the Mediterranean and the Balkans
In the field of Cooperation and Development, the Italian State has squandered
enormous capital resources without providing any real assistance to needy
countries. Padania can sustain a clear and well-directed cooperation policy.
Significant resources can be directed to Mediterranean and Balkanic countries.
The Padanians will demonstrate the real meaning of solidarity.
In particular, special attention must be given to agriculture. A greater
contribution will derive from self-sufficient agriculture rather than from an
exclusively export-oriented one. We are fully aware of the damage that a
single-commodity agriculture has done to many societies - abandonment of fields
and the subsequent salvage urbanization, excessive dependence on foreign markets.
A self-sufficient agricultural sector not only provides rural populations with a
dignified alternative to emigration, it is also a fundamental element of
balanced development.
Europe and world trade
The LEGA NORD believes that the development of free trade between nations and
regional aggregations is fundamental. At the same time, the wide economic
structural and social differences around the world do not appear to advise
immediate and indiscriminate removal by the European Union of all tariff and
non-tariff trade barriers. Different policies must be applied across sectors and
in different regional areas. While several non-European economic areas are
experiencing rapid and continuing growth, other areas, such as North Africa,
struggle with the difficulties of underdevelopment exacerbated by demographic
pressures. Therefore, a careful policy of trade liberalization must be directed
toward this area.
While challenges of unemployment and competitiveness in Europe are being met
with structural changes to the labor market and social system, the expedient of
"community preferences" for production, consumption, and especially
jobs cannot yet be discarded. This can also be linked to the question of
so-called "social dumping" or the indiscriminate exploitation of
manual labor practiced in several emerging economies. These fundamental problems
of economic and social structural changes and human rights must be faced with
lucidity and without hypocrisy.
TOGETHER LET'S BUILD THE EUROPE OF THE HUNDRED FLAGS