European Movement UK

Britain's future is with Europe! Join the debate and put your opinion forward!

Time to expose UKIP MEPs for what they really are – lazy & unprincipled

July 26, 2013

by Rebecca Taylor, Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament and Petros Fassoulas, Chairman of the European Movement UK /// UKIP MEPs are infamous for being not just Britain’s laziest members of the European Parliament, but among the laziest in Europe, as figures from VoteWatch and EP Committee minutes have shown (and the Mirror graphically… » read more

Posted by European Movement UK

EU Treaty & Institutions, UKIP

Eurosceptic attempts to go soft on cross-border crime must be stopped

July 16, 2013

by Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, member of the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee. /// Last week to astonishing cries of “shame” from the Conservative backbenches, Home Secretary Theresa May announced that the UK will seek to remain a part of 35 European policing and criminal justice measures, including the European Arrest… » read more

Posted by European Movement UK

Britain and the EU, EU Priorities and Opinion

The EU’s Erasmus programme makes a difference for students around Europe

July 11, 2013

Alessandro Fusco, International Officer, Young European Movement UK/// As my plane was descending on the sundried Castilian countryside, I remember the excitement and the expectation I was feeling. I was looking forward to my Erasmus year in Salamanca, a beautiful city 200km west of Madrid, famous for its university – the fourth oldest in Europe… » read more

Posted by European Movement UK

Education, EU Priorities and Opinion, Languages & Culture

European Movement UK

Britain's future is with Europe! Join the debate and put your opinion forward!

The origins of the European Movement

The origins of the European Movement lie in the aftermath of the Second World War. More than eight hundred delegates from across Europe gathered in The Hague in May 1948, under the chairmanship of Sir Winston Churchill, to create a new international movement to unite Europe and prevent further wars between its members. The British section of the European Movement was founded a year later.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the European Movement put forward the arguments for joining the European Economic Community, and it ran a major campaign in the early 1970s, both among the general public and in parliament, to win the battle for entry. In 1975, during the referendum on membership, the European Movement played a central role in the YES campaign. Other campaigns since then have included pressing for direct elections to the European Parliament in the 1970s and promoting the benefits of the single market in the run-up to 1992.

During the 1990s, the organisation became revitalised around the need to create a new national pro-European coalition. The rise in anti-European feeling threatens to undermine Britain's place in the European Union; our exclusion from the first wave of countries joining the euro is an example of how we lose out when the pro-European case is not put strongly enough in public.

Aims and activities

The European Movement is

- A rallying point: The European Movement rallies all those who believe that European unity is vital where the peoples of Europe have interests in common such as increased trade to improve economic prosperity, an improved environment to tackle climate change, and action to combat global poverty. A politically united Europe is needed to sweep aside the petty tribalism that has historically, at the very least, been an obstacle to progress or, at its worst, has led to bitter conflict and a catastrophic loss of human life. Europe must be united as a region of law, justice and democracy, equipped with the institutions capable of achieving these ends. Members receive a regular newsletter, euromove, with information and news about Pro-European developments. In addition, the office publishes updates on campaign ideas and issues an e-mail newsletter, e-News. Members take part in lively discussions in person and online, and the European Movement maintains an informative website.

- A campaign: The Movement has since its creation in 1948 sought to build and maintain public support for the unity of Europe. In the face of a backward-looking nationalist resurgence in some quarters, this role is as vital as ever. The campaigns include public information points, working with the media, and lobbying MPs and other decision-makers. In addition to the work of the London office, the branches and national councils organise campaign activities in their own areas, as well as political discussions and social events for members.

- A pressure group: The creation of the European Union has been an extraordinary achievement - democratic, sovereign states have created a common institutional framework in order to forge a future together based on the rule of law. But the European Movement is not the Union's information service or an apologist for its weaknesses. It must work to win support for the reforms necessary to improve its ability to meet the hopes and aspirations of its peoples.

Contact

Southbank House, Black Prince Road, London W3 7NS

www.euromove.org.uk

emoffice@euromove.org.uk

Tel: 0203 176 0543


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