1 – A SOCIAL EUROPE THAT TAKES CARE OF ITS CITIZENS AND PROTECTS THEM

1 - Creation of a European Health Insurance 


This health insurance fund will be established alongside the national funds. All European citizens will be allowed to join it on a voluntary basis (it will be compulsory only for European civil servants). This fund will be financed by its members’ contributions and secured by the federal budget. 


2 - Creation of a European Unemployment Insurance

This employment insurance fund will be established alongside the national funds. All European citizens will be allowed to join it on a voluntary basis. This fund will be financed by its members’ contributions and secured by the federal budget.

3 - Creation of a European Pension Insurance 


This retirement insurance fund will be established alongside the national funds. All European citizens will be allowed to join it on a voluntary basis. This fund will be financed by its members’ contributions and secured by the federal budget. 


4 - Make access to retirement more flexible

Not everyone is willing to work full time until the age of 65 or 70. This choice very much depends on one’s health and on the interest of the job. In the European system of work organisation and pension scheme that PACE advocates, every citizen will have the possibility to choose a degressive working time that will allow him/her to organise progressively, in an optimal way, the transition from full professional life to retirement. A basic pension shall be guaranteed to all, in order to avoid ending one’s life in poverty.

5 - Creation of a European employment contract


An optional 30 hours per week employment contract shall be developed with the business associations, workers unions and representatives of civil society at European level.

A common Labour Law shall also be implemented for truck drivers: to ensure a sound and fair competition for this profession which is European by nature, we have to harmonise working conditions, in particular driving and rest periods, minimum remuneration and social charges.

6 - Extend the competences of the future European Labour Authority


This Authority will be empowered to conduct independent administrative investigations and report to a judge the identified infringements in the field of Labour protection.


7 - Set up a European on-line job platform


This platform will be developed and managed by a European start-up.

2 – COMMITMENT TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING, TO SAFEGUARD BIODIVERSITY AND TO IMPLEMENT A GREEN AND INCLUSIVE ENERGY POLICY 


8  - To condition access of foreign products to European markets to the respect of the European environmental norms, thus contributing to the improvement of industrial and agricultural practices in the world. 


9 - To increase the means of the European Environment Agency so that it can better fulfil its mission. 
 


10 - To create a European Environment Police specialised in environmental crimes. The first mission of this federal police will be to fight against environmental crimes within the European Republic. Its second mission will be, in the frame of the Peace- oriented European diplomacy, to bring support to third states confronted with environmental criminals such as poachers of endangered species.

11 - To develop pan-European energy networks aimed at conveying green power from production sites to consumption places. 


12 - To end energy poverty by granting every citizen a certain quantity of free or very cheap power corresponding to his/her basic needs. Beyond this threshold, consumers would pay a surcharge in order to encourage them to use power in a reasonable way. 


13 -  The European Republic shall prohibit shale oil and gas exploration and production. 


14 – The member States of the European Republic will progressively withdraw from nuclear energy production.  

15 - Creation of a European colour code for waste sorting. 


16 - Move towards a gradual prohibition of non recycled and non recyclable plastic packaging. 


17 -  End export of European waste to third countries unless they are bought to be turned into a raw material. 


18  - To counterbalance the lobbying of businesses which do not respect environment. This will be done by supporting, through the European Environment Agency, NGOs which defend environment and are willing to get such a support.

19  - To equip all the European ships with a device that will automatically collect garbage at sea. 


20 – To advocate the transformation of UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) into a World Environment Organisation, with more powers, which would be settled in one of the more environment-friendly cities of the world.

3 – TOWARDS AN ’EQUI-ECONOMY », I.E. A REGULATED, INCLUSIVE AND ‘GREEN’ MARKET ECONOMY 


21 - To develop a balanced and resilient economy (equilibrium economy) based on 4 pillars: enterprises, public and quasi-public sector, local economy and non-profit private sector.

• The Pillar ‘Enterprises’ includes: large businesses, whether private or public, including big farms; middle-size companies; small and very small firms, some of which are starts-up.
• The ‘Public and quasi-public sector’ pillar manages Common goods (air, water, air and waste, health, education, justice, safety, external relations, general administration etc..). Hospitals, schools, courts, police, inspectorates etc… belong to this category. 

• The ‘Local economy’ pillar is made of the social and cooperative economy plus small and middle-size farms, individual shops and the craft sector.
• The ‘Non-profit private sector’ includes all the voluntary organisations others than those assimilated to the quasi-public sector or to the social and cooperative economy. 


22 - To support the European economy by investing 3% of the GDP in Research and Innovation (R&D1) 


To reach this objective in each of its Member States, the European Republic shall complement, up to 30 to 50%, their R&D spending. 


23 - To establish a European sovereign fund 


This fund, financed by the Member States of the European Republic and their local governments, will take significant shares in enterprises with a strategic importance for the European economy, either starts-up or mature companies, in order to anchor them in the territories and to avoid their relocation outside Europe. This policy’s objective is to prevent the capture of strategic assets, be they actual or potential, by foreign interests, often followed by their transfer. This fund will also work on the repatriation in the European Republic of activities located in third countries. 


24 - To approximate the governance of large enterprises as regards the presence of women and union representatives, and employee share participation.

The objective is that 50% of the members of Executive Boards be women and a significant percentage employee representatives.

25 - To create a European internet, aimed at becoming a digital champion 


26 -  To extend the exceptions to the interdiction of State aids


State aids are direct or indirect subsidies granted by a Member State or a local government to an enterprise. They are closely monitored by the European Commission to prevent excessive subsidies that would distort competition between companies. In order to better support regional development, it is necessary to examine closely how this rule could be made more flexible.

27 - Create an ‘ Erasmus’ for enterprises 


The European Republic will encourage the cooperation between European companies, in particular by supporting the participation of SMEs to European trade shows and the joint participation of complementary European firms in global trade shows.

28 - Reaffirm the importance of the Public sector and the Civil servants


The mission of the public and quasi-public sector is to manage common goods (see item 21). Even in a digital society, the presence of civil servants in the field is necessary since they are a physical link between an abstract entity, the State, and the citizens. Therefore, the civil service plays a fundamental role in the life of local communities.

For the record, the public service regulates, controls and sanctions. It may either fulfil its missions directly or delegate them.

29 -  To adopt a European definition of the « Common goods »


A ‘common good’ is a good or service which should not be privatised because it must be supplied to every citizen whatever his/her fortune; its disappearance or suppression would harm the human kind, the human community, and would even put their survival at risk. As a complement to item 21 above, the common goods are: air (in unlimited quantities), water (up to a given quantity), electrical power (up to a given quantity), management and recycling of waste, sanitation, health, education, well-being of dependant persons, mobility of disabled persons, public transportation, roads, security, justice, defence, diplomacy, biodiversity, seas and oceans, forests, tax collection (and therefore fight against tax evasion) etc.. Net neutrality (Net neutrality is the principle according to which Internet service providers treat all data on the Internet equally, and do not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, website, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or method of communication. Source: Wikipedia).

30 - To support local economy 


A label ‘European cultural heritage’ will be created to support artistic craftsmanship and high quality agricultural products. Whenever the survival of such an activity will be at risk, a specific financial aid for selecting, training and establishing a successor will be granted by the European Republic.

Most measures aimed at supporting local economy are to be implemented at regional level.

31 - To support NGOs by establishing a statute of European association

32 – To encourage the development of employment in the non-profit sector through the reduction of social security contributions for the NGOs which do not intervene on a solvent market.

33 - To support the development of the pan-European railways network (i.e.: the project Via Atlantica) 


The aim of this project is to link by rail all the European States, thus enabling to move quickly everywhere on the continent while minimizing the impact on environment.

34 - To adopt new and more relevant indicators than GDP to measure performance: the Social and Environmental Well-Being Indicators (SEWIs).


These new indicators will complement the classic ones (GDP growth rate, public deficit, public debt, percentage of investment in Research and Development). These SEWIs are: the GINI coefficient, which measures wealth gaps; rates of suicide, antidepressants consumption, burnouts, waste recycling; quality of air and water; wage gaps between women and men; cost of university studies, success rate at school and university; ratio between longevity and medication use; rates of poorly housed people, of organic food consumption, of people who regard themselves as happy; Human Development Index (HDI); global warming evolution. It is therefore the ‘performance’ of society as a whole that will be measured, and not longer the sole growth rate of the economy, as is the case today with the GDP.

35 – To implement a strict and precise labelling for all products


The European Consumption Agency (ECA), to be set up, will be responsible for the implementation of the following labelling: key information (i.e. allergies) shall be printed in a font size proportional to the size of the packaging, so as to facilitate reading; a QR code will give a series of information on origin, environmental and nutritional data, labour force used, origin of components, presence of animal-derived materials, possible allergies, production conditions, carbon footprint, product miles (distance traversed). The information on the QR code shall be given in at least three European languages. The European Consumption Agency, the national agencies in charge of consumers’ protection and the approved NGOs which intervene in this field shall be entitled to prosecute or sue producers and distributors in case of fraudulent or misleading labelling.

36 - To give all Europeans access to high-speed Internet services


37 - To accompany the development of artificial intelligence (A.I.) with the principle of responsibility of the user organisation in case of damage caused to a person.

The use of A.I. by an organisation must entail the obligation for it to be answerable for the criteria and decision-making processes likely to cause damages to a person: decision-making based on A.I. must be clearly and fully explained. 
3 – TOWARDS AN ’EQUI-ECONOMY », I.E. A REGULATED, INCLUSIVE AND ‘GREEN’ MARKET ECONOMY 


21 - To develop a balanced and resilient economy (equilibrium economy) based on 4 pillars: enterprises, public and quasi-public sector, local economy and non-profit private sector.

• The Pillar ‘Enterprises’ includes: large businesses, whether private or public, including big farms; middle-size companies; small and very small firms, some of which are starts-up.
• The ‘Public and quasi-public sector’ pillar manages Common goods (air, water, air and waste, health, education, justice, safety, external relations, general administration etc..). Hospitals, schools, courts, police, inspectorates etc… belong to this category. 

• The ‘Local economy’ pillar is made of the social and cooperative economy plus small and middle-size farms, individual shops and the craft sector.
• The ‘Non-profit private sector’ includes all the voluntary organisations others than those assimilated to the quasi-public sector or to the social and cooperative economy. 


22 - To support the European economy by investing 3% of the GDP in Research and Innovation (R&D1) 


To reach this objective in each of its Member States, the European Republic shall complement, up to 30 to 50%, their R&D spending. 


23 - To establish a European sovereign fund 


This fund, financed by the Member States of the European Republic and their local governments, will take significant shares in enterprises with a strategic importance for the European economy, either starts-up or mature companies, in order to anchor them in the territories and to avoid their relocation outside Europe. This policy’s objective is to prevent the capture of strategic assets, be they actual or potential, by foreign interests, often followed by their transfer. This fund will also work on the repatriation in the European Republic of activities located in third countries. 


24 - To approximate the governance of large enterprises as regards the presence of women and union representatives, and employee share participation.

The objective is that 50% of the members of Executive Boards be women and a significant percentage employee representatives.

25 - To create a European internet, aimed at becoming a digital champion 


26 -  To extend the exceptions to the interdiction of State aids


State aids are direct or indirect subsidies granted by a Member State or a local government to an enterprise. They are closely monitored by the European Commission to prevent excessive subsidies that would distort competition between companies. In order to better support regional development, it is necessary to examine closely how this rule could be made more flexible.

27 - Create an ‘ Erasmus’ for enterprises 


The European Republic will encourage the cooperation between European companies, in particular by supporting the participation of SMEs to European trade shows and the joint participation of complementary European firms in global trade shows.

28 - Reaffirm the importance of the Public sector and the Civil servants


The mission of the public and quasi-public sector is to manage common goods (see item 21). Even in a digital society, the presence of civil servants in the field is necessary since they are a physical link between an abstract entity, the State, and the citizens. Therefore, the civil service plays a fundamental role in the life of local communities.

For the record, the public service regulates, controls and sanctions. It may either fulfil its missions directly or delegate them.

29 -  To adopt a European definition of the « Common goods »


A ‘common good’ is a good or service which should not be privatised because it must be supplied to every citizen whatever his/her fortune; its disappearance or suppression would harm the human kind, the human community, and would even put their survival at risk. As a complement to item 21 above, the common goods are: air (in unlimited quantities), water (up to a given quantity), electrical power (up to a given quantity), management and recycling of waste, sanitation, health, education, well-being of dependant persons, mobility of disabled persons, public transportation, roads, security, justice, defence, diplomacy, biodiversity, seas and oceans, forests, tax collection (and therefore fight against tax evasion) etc.. Net neutrality (Net neutrality is the principle according to which Internet service providers treat all data on the Internet equally, and do not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, website, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or method of communication. Source: Wikipedia).

30 - To support local economy 


A label ‘European cultural heritage’ will be created to support artistic craftsmanship and high quality agricultural products. Whenever the survival of such an activity will be at risk, a specific financial aid for selecting, training and establishing a successor will be granted by the European Republic.

Most measures aimed at supporting local economy are to be implemented at regional level.

31 - To support NGOs by establishing a statute of European association

32 – To encourage the development of employment in the non-profit sector through the reduction of social security contributions for the NGOs which do not intervene on a solvent market.

33 - To support the development of the pan-European railways network (i.e.: the project Via Atlantica) 


The aim of this project is to link by rail all the European States, thus enabling to move quickly everywhere on the continent while minimizing the impact on environment.

34 - To adopt new and more relevant indicators than GDP to measure performance: the Social and Environmental Well-Being Indicators (SEWIs).


These new indicators will complement the classic ones (GDP growth rate, public deficit, public debt, percentage of investment in Research and Development). These SEWIs are: the GINI coefficient, which measures wealth gaps; rates of suicide, antidepressants consumption, burnouts, waste recycling; quality of air and water; wage gaps between women and men; cost of university studies, success rate at school and university; ratio between longevity and medication use; rates of poorly housed people, of organic food consumption, of people who regard themselves as happy; Human Development Index (HDI); global warming evolution. It is therefore the ‘performance’ of society as a whole that will be measured, and not longer the sole growth rate of the economy, as is the case today with the GDP.

35 – To implement a strict and precise labelling for all products


The European Consumption Agency (ECA), to be set up, will be responsible for the implementation of the following labelling: key information (i.e. allergies) shall be printed in a font size proportional to the size of the packaging, so as to facilitate reading; a QR code will give a series of information on origin, environmental and nutritional data, labour force used, origin of components, presence of animal-derived materials, possible allergies, production conditions, carbon footprint, product miles (distance traversed). The information on the QR code shall be given in at least three European languages. The European Consumption Agency, the national agencies in charge of consumers’ protection and the approved NGOs which intervene in this field shall be entitled to prosecute or sue producers and distributors in case of fraudulent or misleading labelling.

36 - To give all Europeans access to high-speed Internet services


37 - To accompany the development of artificial intelligence (A.I.) with the principle of responsibility of the user organisation in case of damage caused to a person.

The use of A.I. by an organisation must entail the obligation for it to be answerable for the criteria and decision-making processes likely to cause damages to a person: decision-making based on A.I. must be clearly and fully explained.