Brussels, 11/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - The EU's civil society which, through its representatives, is trying to present in an increasingly clear and structured manner its demands to the EU Heads of State and Government meeting in Summit, have planned a series of demonstrations and events in Brussels around the European Council of Laeken, with the participation of 120 organisations that have signed the appeal "Europe is our future" (You may recall that at the Nice Summit in December 2000 demonstrations and events had especially brought together the International European Movement, the Permanent Forum of European Civil society, the European Trade Union Confederation - ETUC - and the Platform of NGOs in the civil sector). Thus: - on 11 and 12 December, the European Movement is organising a seminar at the European Parliament on the future of Europe and governance, with Eastern candidate countries; - on 13 December, , the Permanent Forum of Civil Society will launch a reflection in the morning on a Charter of Participatory Democracy; - ETUC will organise a demonstration on 13 December between 13 and 16.0 hrs.
The strong point of these events will be an Assembly of European Citizens from 13 to 15 December (at the Residence Palace and the Europa Hotel), with the participation of many Euro-MPs, Laurette Onkelinx, for the Belgian Presidency, ETUC General Secretary, Emilio Gabaglio: work, which will take the form of ten working groups (Constitution, Justice, Culture, Charter of Fundamental Rights, Education, Enlargement, Women…) will be co-ordinated by the Secretary of the International European Movement, Pier Virgilio Dastoli and by Ciampiero Alhdeff, President of the Social Platform. European Parliament President Nicole Fontine will address the assembly in the afternoon of 14 December. The Assembly will be opened by the Mayor of Brussels and closed by the Mayor of Seville (the two successive presidencies of the Council). A delegation of the Citizens' Assembly should be received, after work, by Guy Verhofstadt and Jose Maria Aznar, as well as European Commission President Romano Prodi.
In addition, on the initiative of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) in collaboration with the European Constitution of the Intergroup of the European Parliament and in co-ordination with the Citizens' Assembly, in the afternoon of 14 December, there will be a human chain from a European Federal Constitution, between the buildings of the EU Council and the European Parliament, passing by the European Commission (For further information, in Brussels: European Movement. Tel.: 02 508 3088. NGO Platform: 02 511 3714. UEF: 02 508 3030).