More federalism, more autonomy, more connections

The author contends that the current European crisis cannot be solved with less federalism, but rather through a renewed federalist pact that balances autonomy, cooperation, and solidarity. Using Belgium as a model, the text proposes the creation of federal districts for elections to foster a common vision and the implementation of a common industrial policy and the IRENE project to strengthen EU climate policy.

• The author argues that federalism is essential to address current crises, specifically citing the need for a common industrial policy to handle industrial closures in Flanders, Wallonia, and Lorraine, and the necessity of the Infrastructure Roadmap for Energy Networks in Europe (IRENE) project to bolster the legitimacy of EU climate policy.
• The document proposes three principles for rebuilding federalism in Belgium and Europe: balancing autonomy with horizontal and vertical cooperation and solidarity; creating federal districts for elections to move beyond sub-localism and separatist impulses; and basing federal loyalty on trust, consensus, and proportional representation to protect minorities.
• At the European level, the author advocates for a portion of the Members of the European Parliament to be elected from a common district spanning from Ireland to Poland and Sweden to Italy, as well as the use of primaries to select the President of the European Commission.

APA

Nollet, J.-M. (2013). More federalism, more autonomy, more connections. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/more-federalism-more-autonomy-more-connections/

Chicago

Nollet, Jean-Marc. More federalism, more autonomy, more connections. Green European Journal, 2013. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/more-federalism-more-autonomy-more-connections/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Nollet |first1=Jean-Marc |title=More federalism, more autonomy, more connections |publisher=Green European Journal |date=1 July 2013 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/more-federalism-more-autonomy-more-connections/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{nollet2013more, author = {Nollet, Jean-Marc}, title = {{More federalism, more autonomy, more connections}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2013}, month = jul, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/more-federalism-more-autonomy-more-connections/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }