Speech by Henrik H. Kroner, EMI Federal Assembly, Prague 20 June 2009

Dear friends,

I was elected Secretary General in December 2001. (At the end of this month I will have been in office for 7,5 years).

In the same month the Laeken Declaration called for the Convention to draft a constitution for Europe.

Our first initiative was: “To involve as many citizens as possible in the reflection on the constitution.” Consequently in Spring 2002, thanks to the support of the European Commission and several donors, we launched the transnational project “Our Future – Our Europe”, a campaign of debates involving 23 countries. (Ugo Ferruta was the first successful EMI project leader.) This campaign reached some 10.000 people directly, and millions more indirectly, through the organisation of over 200 events and actions (websites, TV and radio programs, newspaper articles). It was based on a questionnaire outlining the key aspects of the EU integration process and testing citizens’ awareness about it.

The outcome of these debates was presented at our first international conference in Athens in February 2003, during the Greek Presidency of the EU. Results were further debated in 5 workshops at the conference, thus “Contributing to the Convention on the Future of Europe.”
Many important speakers, among whom  many members of the Convention and its President, Mr Valéry Giscard d’Estaing himself, addressed the audience and replied listened to citizens’ reflections and demands.

It was the beginning of a new formula or strategy: to make use of our wide  transnational European network in a pro-active way to inform citizens and debate on European issues.

Over these 7 years we have been following 2 main principles which have considerably strengthened the European Movement:
•    The use of pan-European, transnational projects;
often with support of think tanks or academics delivering scientific background.
•    Wide publicity using professional media tools

Each year, we work on the priority pan-European policy issues given by the Commission.  These subjects are unanimously decided on by the European Council and Parliament in the framework of the EU budget.
We receive the EC operational grant every year under these conditions only.

Recent pan-European projects of this kind are:
•    The candidate countries’ congress which took place in Slovenia this year
•    The South-North Mediterranean dialogue in Valencia planned in Autumn of this year
•    The trans-border Conference in the Caucasus planned for the end of this year in the framework of the “Eastern Partnership” policy
•    The annual 9th of  May festivities

The European Movement generally responds to calls for proposals or tenders which are published by the Commission, the European Parliament or other EU institutions, by foundations (King Boudewijn foundation) or even private companies.

We then ask our members if they are interested in participating. We discuss it together, we decide together.

The EMI Secretariat and the members who join get considerable financing or co-financing for their part of the project.

Nevertheless, even in our own ranks we sometimes hear: “Brussels is imposing on us”. Some members seem less willing to work together on a pan-European level.

On the Brussels level we are today the most efficient pro-European NGO network.

We lobby for a federal Europe
It’s a movement of peoples not a movement of parties (as Churchill said in The Hague), intertwined with the political system and with the Social Partners, but also standing above it. We are unique.

We all fight for an ideal
It would put our movement in danger if internal groups tried to play power politics.
We have a political mission to fulfil.

Our Movement has a federal structure. Our members are not our clients or our shareholders.
We are not a PR agency either. Members have joined us to work on a common project. The membership fee is not something for which they have to receive a service. That is why we are different from an ordinary lobby. Members in general contribute to achieve our common goals. They don’t want their money back.

We at the EMI Secretariat serve our members in so far as we are the catalyst for common actions, a turntable for the exchange of experiences etc.
From the start, 7 years ago already, we have trained the Secretaries General or the project leaders of our National Councils and have been able to finance these training courses in the framework of our common projects. In this way we also improved the professionalism of our Network.

In the 50ies, the European Movement also functioned as a think tank. Drafts for the Roman Treaty were produced in the European Movement. Today we use experts when and where needed; we make use of external think tanks and academics for the preparation of certain important subjects and debates like the South-Nord Mediterranean Dialogue or the Ljubljana Congress.

We have been successful not only because we have been good, but because the Brussels scene has trusted us, as an organisation with a true European mission. Our trademark is still an important asset.

It goes without saying that our image depends on our active members; I am thinking especially of our Vice Presidents, Presidents of the former working groups and the members of the former Steering Committee.

Our Presidents have of course always played an eminent and crucial role for our success. My personal thanks therefore goes to José-Maria Gil-Robles and Pat Cox to whom I had the privilege and the pleasure to offer my services.

I am proud to be able to hand over to my successor the finances of the 61-year old EMI in a healthy shape. Many NGOs of that age are unfortunately in financial difficulties.

That Diogo Pinto had over 70 competitors to succeed me is maybe a measurement of the image of the post of the Secretary General and of the reputation of the European Movement.

I am sure that with the support of all of us, the new Secretary General will be able to bring the EMI even further.

But the success of the Secretariat is primarily due to the staff as a whole. I tried to have a most flexible team, adaptable in size and quality to the level of the workload and budget. This was possible by taking on, in addition to the permanent staff, many volunteers from all countries. The labour market in Brussels is, luckily enough, attractive to well-trained multilingual young graduates.
The staff has been very motivated in achieving our common goal.

I want to thank all those I had the pleasure to work with and who supported me in my work.

I’m thinking especially of:
Bénédicte de Jamblinne who is not only the longest serving staff member, but in the first place a most steady colleague. She was my right hand and friend in many difficult situations. How many hours did we not spend, Bénédicte, filling in the requests for subsidies between Christmas and New Years’ Eve!

Lorenzo Bellincampi worked with us since the beginning in 2002. He improved the project department with his extraordinary entrepreneurial spirit. Today he works for the Commission, possibly controlling our accounts.

I am glad that Charles Kleinermann was nominated Deputy Secretary General. He has developed remarkable organisational skills. He is the man you can trust, successfully dealing with all levels of the hierarchy in Brussels, with fantasy and intelligence.

After Alec Elliot left us (he found an excellent job as Communications Manager for a European industry association), Laetitia Veriter and Nicolas Jammes became the backbone of the project department. They started last year as volunteers and quickly adapted to the versatile environment of the Brussels office. Today they are doing an excellent job. We should all thank them for this.

Recently Jörg Janssen joined us. He works part-time for the UEF and part-time for us. He is in charge of communications and the technical equipment. He has quickly become a very valuable colleague whose work is already indispensable to us.

Last but certainly not least I am very grateful to Marie-Laurence Jacquemin, my personal assistant. She is, as a trained translator, not only fluent in English and French, but also has the very valuable gift of finding the right wording or the most suitable expressions in our many letters, speeches or protocols.

I would of course also like to thank all those of you, as delegates of the European Movement International, who have supported me in my task.

I must say, that fulfilling my tasks and duties has never been a burden. It was in the first place a pleasure because I believe in our mission and because of the variety and the challenges of the job, and the merits and satisfaction gained from it.

And this only thanks to the trust and the friendship I overwhelmingly got from you.