jef - Europe, tear down this wall

Europe, tear down this wall

Press Conference & pan-European action

"EUROPE, tear down this wall"

20 years after the fall of the Berlin wall, JEF-Europe calls for the unification of the European continent

Time & Location:

1) Press conference on Thursday 5 November 2009 between 13.00 and 14.00 in the Information Office of the European Parliament in Belgium (former Leopold station building, access via Place du Luxembourg);

2) Pan-European action on Monday 9 November 2009 across Europe; in Brussels, the action will take place at 19.00 on Place du Luxembourg.

In detail:

On 5 November 2009 between 13.00 and 14.00 a press conference will be held in the Information Office of the European Parliament in Belgium where the Young European Federalists (JEF-Europe) will publicly announce their symbolic street action "EUROPE, tear down this wall!" in commemoration of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Newly elected President of JEF-Europe, Philippe Adriaenssens, explains: “MEPs from both "Western" and "Eastern" Europe will revive memories of the past and underline the importance of the disappearance of the iron curtain for the European integration. Subsequently, existing visa and border barriers will be briefly assessed by panel members who will also be invited to discuss enlargement possibilities after the probable entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.”

On 9 November 2009, JEF organises a pan-Europen action seizing this landmark in European history to claim true freedom of movement in a united Europe without the still existing "walls" of borders and visas.

By building fake Checkpoints Charlie and mock walls on central squares in over a 50 European cities and tearing them down, JEF members want to stress that only one wall has gone down so far while many more are still to go. They will be using slogans such as “EUROPE, tear down this wall!” and “Ich bin ein Europäer” to demand the unification of the European continent.

Elisabeth Velle, newly elected Member of the Executive Board of JEF-Europe and Action Co-ordinator, says: "After twenty-eight years of separating Berlin and Germany, the historic fall of the Berlin wall made the reunification of Western and Eastern Europe possible. It started with the 2004 and 2007 Enlargements, but is still not completed, as many more Europeans from European countries face restrictions travelling to the EU."

"JEF urges EU countries to abolish the visas for all European countries or at least make the visa application process cheaper and fairer. In some European countries, the visa administrative fees are as high as 120 Euro, which is outrageously expensive. Moreover, the high price offers no guarantee of the application being approved by the embassy, as the process is both arbitrary and non-transparent."

"The visas are, therefore, an invisible "wall" still preventing Europeans from moving freely within Europe. The way to break it is by abolishing them and allowing for further EU Enlargement."

JEF Europe President, Philippe Adriaenssens, adds: "JEF does not want Enlargement to depend on religious, cultural or ethnic arguments, but instead asks for Enlargement as soon as the European countries willing to join are ready to join. As soon as European states have fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria and given proof of political commitment and shared principles, they should be accepted and recognised as members of the European Union."

"With this highly symbolic and historical action, JEF Europe calls for demolition of the walls of visas and borders still dividing Europeans in Europe. Just as the fall of the Berlin wall united Germany 20 years ago, let the fall of these remaining walls finally unite Europe!" [ENDS]

More information:

Attendance on the 5 November Press conference is already confirmed by the following MEPs: Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck (President of the ELDR), Andrew Duff (ALDE, President of the Union of European Federalists) and Jan Philipp Albrecht (German Greens).

Press Contacts:

Philippe Adriaenssens, JEF-Europe President, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , +32 472 33 41 27
Elisabeth Velle, JEF-Europe Action Co-ordinator, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , + 32 474 67 28 69

JEF international seminar in Tarxien, Malta | 17-23 October 2010

“The ultimate solution for a better life: (im)migration?” is an international seminar organised by JEF-Europe and JEF-Malta in Tarxien, a small village in the south east of Malta from 17 until 23 October 2010.

When speaking about immigration it is important to make the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants. Despite the obvious difference in their legal status, immigrants in both categories often feel unwelcome and excluded from their host societies, which is closely linked to xenophobic attitudes widespread across Europe and openly manifested especially in recent years, but also the lack of adequate policies and assistance of governmental institutions in host countries.