European Federation

European Federation

Wednesday 29 August 2018

Esperanto as an official language of the European Union


In varietate concordia (in English: United in diversity) is the official motto of the European Union. In European Federation the official version of the motto  shall be Unuiĝintaj en diverseco”.
In accordance with Article 8 of the Constitution of the European Union as a federal state, the Esperanto is the official language of the European Union. A major problem facing European Union is lack of co-operation and sense of common identity. We have a Citizenship of the European Union but not union of Europeans and few people identify as Europeans in serous or meaningful way.  Esperanto would strengthen the bonds between Europeans.


Article 8
(1) Esperanto is, without prejudice to the linguistic and cultural diversity of the Member States, the official language of the Union.
(2)  Member States shall determine their official languages​​.To ensure harmonious coexistence between linguistic communities, they point out the traditional linguistic structure of the region and take into account the indigenous linguistic minorities.
(3) It shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Esperanto language, to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of European Union.

 What is Esperanto?



Esperanto is a language invented by a Polish-Jewish named Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof. He created Esperanto in the late 19th century and published the first book detailing it, Unua Libro, in 1887 under the pseudonym Dr. Esperanto, Esperanto translating as "one who hopes". Zamenhof's goal was to create an easy and flexible language that would serve as a universal second language to foster peace and international understanding. In essence, Zamenhof combined the main European languages into one language that everyone could easily learn. This makes it especially suitables as an European Union language as it merges our different heritages to form a new unifying symbol.

Today the Esperanto is still alive and as strong as ever. With about 249,000 articles, Esperanto Wikipedia is the 32nd-largest Wikipedia, as measured by the number of articles, and is the largest Wikipedia in a constructed language. About 151,000 users consult the Esperanto Wikipedia regularly. On 22 February 2012, Google Translate added Esperanto as its 64th language. There are more that 25 000 Esperanto books, both originals and translations, as well as several regularly distributed Esperanto magazines.

Why Esperanto?

1. Esperanto is really easy to learn.
Esperanto was designed to be as simple and painless as possible to learn. Because the spelling is completely phonetic and each word sounds exactly as it is spelt. All present tense verbs end in “-as”, all pas tens verbs end in “-is”, and all future tense verbs end in “-os”, infinitive mood “-i”, conditional mood “-us” and jussive mood “-u”. Verbs are not marked for person or number.

Verbal tense
Suffix
Verbal mood
Suffix
Present
-as (kantas)
Infinitive
-i (kanti)
Past
-is (kantis)
Jussive
-u (kantu)
Future
-os (kantos)
Conditional
-us (kantus)

No long list of verbs groups or conjugations that must be learned off with a frustratingly list of exceptions. The vocabulary, orthography, phonology, and semantics, are all thoroughly European. The vocabulary, for example, draws about two-thirds from Romance and one-third from Germanic languages; the syntax is Romance; and the phonology and semantics are Slavic.


2. Esperanto is neutral language.
The European Union as a federal state will only work if it is voluntary union of equal Member States, not if one dominates the rest. It is not fair or acceptable for the language of the one Member State to be imposed on everyone else. Historically we have examples where one Member State dominated over the other members of the federation and consequently led to the breakup of such a federation (USSR or Yugoslavia). The Soviet Union and Yugoslavia were unaware of the role of language in identity, and they tried to develop a Soviet Union and Yugoslavia language using the language of the largest population (Russian and Serbian). It did work as a language of communication but could not be accepted as a language of communal identity, because it wasn’t neutral. In a time of crisis this was decisive and fundamentally influenced the collapse of these multi-ethic federal states. Therefore, the ideas of making one of the languages of the Member States a working language of the European Union is a very bad solution.
An important fact is that the capital and headquarters of the European Union authorities are in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, and Belgium is the tenth largest Member State in the European Federation. This is why Brussels is the capital of the European Union, instead of Berlin, Paris, London, Rome, Warsaw etc. Those cities are all larger and more prestigious, but as national capitals they would leave European Federation open to criticism that it is dominated by that nation. Choosing a neutral, artificial and international language like Esperanto will help European Federation and Member States maintain a separate identity and lessen the claim that it only serves one culture or national interest. The Esperanto doesn’t have homeland or its own state actually makes it more, not less suitable for the role official language of the European Federation. Because it belongs to no one ethic group or nation, it belongs everyone equally. Similar solution was chosen in ex-colonial countries, like English in India or Nigeria, French in Democratic Republic of the Congo or Central African Republic.
Esperanto would even help fix the language problem the European Union as a federal state faces. It is will difficult to run an institutions and bodies of the European Federation with 37 official languages and this leads to large expenses and inefficiencies as everything must be translated into all the languages. It is not feasible to have 37 working languages and it is difficult to require all employees to multilingual. No ethic group or nation gains from the promotion of Esperanto, neither does anyone lose from its advance.

Co-existence not replacement?
I am not proposing replacing all other languages of the Member States with Esperanto, merely that it be international auxiliary language in European Federation. I want it to be the 38the language, not the only one. Esperanto isn’t supposed to crash or replace other languages, it was invented to be universal second language. Let me remind you that Article 8 of the Constitution European Federation says:


(1) Esperanto is, without prejudice to the linguistic and cultural diversity of the Member States, the official language of the Union.
(2)  Member States shall determine their official languages​​.To ensure harmonious coexistence between linguistic communities, they point out the traditional linguistic structure of the region and take into account the indigenous linguistic minorities.
(3) It shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Esperanto language, to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of European Union.


According to Article 8 of the Constitution European Federation the Poles will still speak Polish, the Germans will speak German, the Serbs Serbian etc., but when they meet they could speak Esperanto. Esperanto would of the main working language European Union, not Member States. According to Article 8 paragraph 3 of the Constitution European Union as a federal state would promote teaching it in the schools of Member States, TV and radio. Actually in most Member States teach students three languages, the national language, English and a major European language (like German, Spanish, French etc.), and I am propose to replace one of these with Esperanto.
All of this would significantly boost the sense of European-ness and build a common identity. Speaking Esperanto expresses the idea that we are all European, that we are equals and are willing to cross national borders to co-operate.

In connection with the above teaching European Federations 605 million Citizens Esperanto would, so runs the logic, be more cost-effective and better investment of time and money. There are two false myths however which need to be exploded. Firstly that “everyone speaks English” and secondly “no-one speaks Esperanto”. Neither of these are true. The dominant position of English is result of the dominant position of the USA in every area of life (political, technology etc.). Esperanto is neutral language and this is his primary and main asset.

Saturday 10 March 2018

European Executive Council as a european government

The European Executive Council is the collective executive decision-making body of the European government. The cabinet consists of the Prime Minister, also known as the President of the European Executive Council, the Deputy Prime Minister, who acts as a Vice-President of the European Executive Council, and other ministers. The current competences and procedures of the cabinet are described between Articles 123 to 138 of the Constitution of the European Federation. The European Executive Council shall be composed a total of 15 members at most and in one Member State can not be selected more than two members of the European Executive Council,  according to Article 124 of the Constitution of the European Federation.

 

In relation to the Constitution of the European Executive Council shall be deemed to consist of Five Divisions:

1. Western Europe - Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France and Ireland,

2. Central Europe - Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Germany and Switzerland,

3. Northern Europe - Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Norway and Iceland,

4. Southern Europe - Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus and Malta,

5. Eastern Europe - Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia,

which Five Divisions shall be equally represented in the  European Executive Council. In one Member State can not be selected more than one member of the European Executive Council.

 

Nomination

 

The process of forming the European Executive Council begins with the nomination of the President of the European Executive Council (prime minister) by the President of European Union. The prime minister will then propose the composition of the cabinet, which must then be approved by the President of European Union. Despite the president's nominating role in choosing a prime minister and approving the composition of the cabinet, however, the presidency's role is strictly limited, as the President of European Union must respect the majority wishes of the Chamber of Deputies. Furthermore, the President of European Union is forbidden to select a different cabinet composition than the one already selected by the President of the European Executive Council. Following their nomination, all members of the cabinet take the oath of office within the Presidential Palace, in a ceremony officiated by the President of European Union.

 

Within fourteen days of its appointment, the European Executive Council, headed by the President of the European Executive Council, is obligated to submit an agenda to the Chamber of Deputies together with a vote of confidence. Should the vote of confidence fail, the process of government formation passes to the Chamber of Deputies, which will then nominate a President of the European Executive Council within fourteen days, who will then again propose the composition of the cabinet. An absolute majority of votes in the presence of at least half of all Chamber of Deputies deputies is required to approve of the cabinet, which the President of European Union will then accept and administer their oaths of office. Should a vote of confidence fail again, the process of nomination is handed back to the presidency, who must again appoint a prime minister, who will then nominate other members of the cabinet. If the vote of confidence fails a third time, the President of European Union is obliged to shorten the Chamber of Deputies term of office and order new elections.


Composition

 

The European Executive Council is headed by the the President of the European Executive Council, known also as prime minister. The prime minister directs the cabinet's activities and acts as its representative. Furthermore, the President of the European Executive Council, ensures the implementation of the cabinet's policies, coordinates and controls the work of his or her ministers, and issues regulations. The prime minister may also be assisted by a deputy prime minister, who acts as a vice-president to the cabinet (Vice-President of the European Executive Council). Both the prime minister and deputy prime minister can discharge the functions of a minister. The constitution does not further describe the deputy prime minister's functions in the government, though the office's tasks are instead dictated by the prime minister, and it is not considered an autonomous state organ. The deputy prime minister's position is normally offered to representatives of the government's junior coalition partner. Deputy prime ministers also take on other ministerial positions.

The rest of the cabinet is composed of ministers, whose tasks and governmental administrative portfolios are selected and organized by the prime minister. Ministers may originate from the Chamber of Deputies Ministers may also be selected from outside of the legislature. Regulations by any member of the European Executive Council can be overruled by the European Executive Council upon a motion by the President of the European Executive Council. The President of the European Executive Council is also empowered to reshuffle or remove members from the cabinet.

 

The style of the government and the roles of its ministers are not constitutionally mandated, depending instead on the prime minister's personality.

 

Administration

The European Executive Council is divided into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs) that can be likened to departments or ministries. Each covers a specific policy area such as agriculture or justice and citizens' rights or internal services such as human resources and translation and is headed by a director-general who is responsible to a minister. A minister's portfolio can be supported by numerous DGs; they prepare proposals for them and if approved by a majority of ministers proposals go forward to the Chamber of Deputies and Senat for consideration. The European Executive Council civil service is headed by a Secretary General. The rules of procedure of the European Executive Council set out the European Executive Council operation and organisation.

 

I propose a fixed number of ministers:

 

1) President of the European Executive Council,

2) Minister for Foreign Affairs,

3) Minister for Finance and State Treasury,

4) Minister for Defence,

5) Minister for Justice,

6) Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources,

7) Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs,

8) Minister for Labour and Social Policy,

9) Minister for Health,

10) Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development,

11) Minister for Energy,

12) Minister for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport,

13) Minister for Environment and Nature Conservation,

14) Minister for Interior and Administration,

15) Minister for Economy, Industry, Science and Technology,

 

The make up and distribution of portfolios are determined by the European Executive Council President and do not always correspond with the European Executive Council's departments (Directorates-General).

 

 

Parliamentary and legal responsibilities

 

Due to the republic's parliamentary system,  the European Executive Council are collectively and individually responsible to the Chamber of Deputies for the operations of the government. The cabinet must respond to questions from Chamber of Deputies deputies during each sitting session of the chamber. The european government must also respond to interpellations within 21 days of their submission. Despite being responsible to the Chamber of Deputies the cabinet is not responsible to the Senat, and does not rely on the upper house's confidence to continue its term of office. During sessions of the Chamber of Deputies, members of the  European Executive Council, including the President of the European Executive Council and Vice-President of the European Executive Council, are seated in the government box within the chamber's plenary hall.

The Chamber of Deputies can pass a vote of no confidence on an individual minister if the motion receives the support of at least 97 deputies. If the motion is successful, passed by a majority vote, the President of European Union will recall the minister from office. Similarly, if the European Executive Council loses its majority support within the Chamber of Deputies, the government can be forced to resign in a constructive vote of no confidence. The motion must be approved by at least 65 deputies, and then passed by a majority vote. In such an event, a new President of the European Executive Council must be simultaneously appointed. The President of the European Executive Council is also empowered to call a vote of confidence in the cabinet, requiring a majority vote from at least half of all present deputies. In the event of the prime minister's resignation or death, the President of European Union can either accept or refuse the cabinet's resignation of office. Following a parliamentary election, the President of the European Executive Council must submit the cabinet's resignation in the first sitting of the newly elected Chamber of Deputies. After its resignation, the cabinet is entrusted to continue administering state functions until the appointment and oaths of office of the new European Executive Council.

Legally, the European Executive Council is also held accountable to the Court of Justice of the European Union for infringements upon the Constitution of the European Federation or other legal statues. Upon a motion by either the President of European Union or by 162 deputies, a member of the cabinet can be charged to be brought forth to the Court of Justice of the European Union, and then require the approval of at least three-fifths of all Chamber of Deputies deputies to begin the proceedings.