1. FEDERALISM

2. Key Characteristics of federalism Rule of Law Democracy Subsidiarity Freedom Equality

3. SUBSIDIARITY all decisions in society shall not be made on a higher level than necessary. each individual has the right to exercise maximum influence over all matters which concern him/her, limited necessarily by the rights of other individuals. the authority to deal with a problem lies where the problem arises or naturally belongs. democracy must be introduced at all levels: at the place of work; in residential communities; in educational institutions.

4. Institutions institutions must exist at every level with sufficient powers to permit the implementation of the necessary policies. “The present political structure of the EU does not permit true European interests to be pursued. The EU should not be governed by the representatives of the members states' governments. The Heads of State and governments, their ministers and their unelected civil servants currently hold the power to block or to modify every decision. They represent their national interests and therefore usually ignore a true European standpoint. The development of European politics should be the result of a democratic process where real European needs are taken into account. “

5. How would a federal EU look like European Commission = European Government (President elected by the Parliament and would choose his own Commissioners) bicameral European Parliament composed of the current EP and the Council of Ministers (Council of EU) abolishment of the European Council

6. Aims of federalism Peace Democracy at all levels Efficiency

7. To sum up… DEMOCRACY and EFFICIENCY...a model of governance ensuring efficiency in a democratic framework....a division of political power between levels of government to achieve the best combination of democracy and effectiveness.... a system of multi-level governance so that decisions are taken at the most appropriate level, with as much decentralisation as possible and as much centralisation as necessary....a theory of political legitimacy since each level of government should have a direct link to the citizens and their interests should be represented at central level....a bottom-up political approach to the society based on the principle of subsidiarity, where decisions should be taken as openly and as closely to citizens as possible....a means of protecting pluralism and the rights of the individual against an over powerful government....an idea that democracy and the rule of law should apply between states as well as within them.

8. UNITY and DIVERSITY...a way of managing diversity safeguarding and promoting cultural identities within political entities as vital for their viability and dynamism....a model of multi-layered identity reflecting the complexity of human life by taking into account and reconciling multiple identifications and allegiances of citizens. Feelings of belonging to a local community, region and/or country are not incompatible with the identification with and support of supranational and international political entities (such as the EU and UN), but supplement and mutually influence each other.

9. PEACE and UNIVERSAL VALUES...a guarantor of all human beings' fundamental and inalienable rights....a means of preventing war by establishing a means for the peaceful resolution of disputes between states....a rejection of the idea that the development of political institutions in human history has come to a full stop with the creation of nation states....a political theory promoting solidarity as a precondition for the peaceful coexistence and cooperation within and between states and other political bodies.

10. CONFRONTING MODERN CHALLENGES GLOBALLY... an alternative to the hegemony of one state or group of states in an ordered international system....a means of starting to tackle seemingly impossible political problems by understanding the way that the design of institutional systems both causes and can help to solve them....an answer to the erosion of the sovereignity of the nation state caused by globalisation. Modern states can no longer tackle many (both global and national) problems on their own or solely by means of traditional intergovernmental cooperation. Nowadays challenges facing states need to be addressed with common policies.

11. UNIVERSAL APPLICABILITY...a dynamic concept that in spite of the challenges raised by the evolution of society succeeded in adapting to new forms of societal organization resulting in diverse forms of federal arrangements that encompass a large number of countries, regions and populations all around the world....a political ideology and means of addressing politics that is not tied to traditional left-right party divisions....a realisation that progress both can and must come in stages - think of federalism as a direction rather than a destination!

12. That’s it!