Manifesto for Rebuilding Europe from the Bottom Up

The manifesto argues that the European project is facing a political crisis driven by a 'top-down' approach of elites and technocrats, exacerbated by high youth unemployment and the debt crisis. To counter this, the authors propose a 'European Year of Volunteering for Everyone' to empower civil society and democratize national democracies. This initiative aims to engage citizens in transnational challenges such as climate change and environmental degradation, moving beyond periodic voting toward a proactive, bottom-up constitution for Europe.

• The authors argue that the current European political system is dominated by 'elites and technocrats' and a 'top-down' approach that threatens the legitimacy of the European project.
• The proposal calls for a 'European Year of Volunteering for Everyone' to foster active citizenship and provide a platform for European civil society to reestablish political creativity.
• The document highlights a crisis among European youth, noting that one in four people under 25 is unemployed and many feel powerless against the bankruptcy of nation-states.
• The proposed bottom-up culture would encourage citizens to address transnational issues that nation-states cannot solve alone, specifically mentioning climate change, environmental degradation, far-right radicalism, and the movement of refugees and migrants.

APA

Bech, U., & Cohn-Bendit, D. (2012). Manifesto for Rebuilding Europe from the Bottom Up. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/manifesto-for-rebuilding-europe-from-the-bottom-up/

Chicago

Bech, Ulrick, and Daniel Cohn-Bendit. Manifesto for Rebuilding Europe from the Bottom Up. Green European Journal, 2012. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/manifesto-for-rebuilding-europe-from-the-bottom-up/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Bech |first1=Ulrick |last2=Cohn-Bendit |first2=Daniel |title=Manifesto for Rebuilding Europe from the Bottom Up |publisher=Green European Journal |date=25 June 2012 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/manifesto-for-rebuilding-europe-from-the-bottom-up/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{bech2012manifesto, author = {Bech, Ulrick and Cohn-Bendit, Daniel}, title = {{Manifesto for Rebuilding Europe from the Bottom Up}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2012}, month = jun, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/manifesto-for-rebuilding-europe-from-the-bottom-up/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }