Rome, 17/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - At the end of the Italian Youth Convention on the future of Europe organised last week in Rome on the initiative of the Observatory on the Convention set up by the Italian Minister for Community policy Rocco Buttiglione and overseen by Francesco Tufarelli (see EUROPE 8 January, p.6), 210 young people adopted a document calling for a European Federal Constitution, a European government represented by the European Commission and a common taxation policy. The paper also rejected war as a "way of resolving conflicts between people" and stressed that the European Union "recognises the value of resistance and the liberation struggles against totalitarian regimes". Only the youth of the Northern League voted against.
The President of the Convention, Giacomo Filibeck, pointed out that this is "born of the European Youth Convention in Brussels and must return there " and Francesco Tufarelli welcomed the importance of bringing together youngsters aged 16-18 at the conference. Giovanni Roma and Cristiano Zagari, spoke for the EPP and PES respectively at the Convention, highlighting the continuity of the document presented at Rome (with that of Campidoglio where the Treaty of Rome was signed) and that of the Youth Convention of July 2002 in Brussels, as well as the need to fully involve young people in the concretisation of European citizenship.
In his contribution, the representative of the Italian government at the Convention Gianfranco Fini, Italian Vice-Prime Minister stated that he was in favour of the idea of ratifying the future European Constitution by holding a referendum and was ready to combine such a referendum with European elections in June 2004. Valdo Spini, an alternate at the Convention representing the Chamber of Deputies, declared that he was "personally" in favour of this "courageous" young people's document, to whom he had asked for an indication on what name to use for the Europe of the future: United States of Europe, United Europe or European Union, the choice proposed by the President f the Convention, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.