Federalists stage human chain protest
The Union of European Federalists, in collaboration with the parliamentary Intergroup European Constitution, is organising a human chain around the European institutions. The 125 MEPs that organised the demonstration are demanding that the Laeken Summit this weekend propose an open mandate for a Convention, which should be able to deal with all questions necessary for the drafting of a European Constitution.
About a thousand European citizens, representatives of the organisations of civil society and political parties will participate in the chain. The human chain symbolises the necessity of having democratic and efficient institutions within the EU.
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A series of short speeches will follow the human chain demonstration. Speakers include Giampiero Alhadeff, spokesman for the Citizens' Assembly 2004 and secretary-general of the platform of social NGOs, Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Monica Frassoni, co-presidents of the party of Greens/ALE in the European Parliament, Fernard Herman, president of UEF Belgium, and Jo Leinen, a German federalist and member of the PSE party in the European Parliament.