« Antidemocratic and xenophobic forces of Europe have always been attracted by the European unity dream, the mystic of the imperial Rome»
(FB - 1998)
" Being a citizen is a voluntary act "
(FB - 2009)
"Thinking about the future only makes sense if it is aimed at improving one’s thinking about the present and about the trends at work"
(FB - 1998)
"The European project is not a dream, but a hope. It is rooted in rationality, which is not the case with dreams. We Europeans have seen our dreams end in nightmares too often not to be suspicious."
(FB - 2005)
"The strength of a network is judged at the information level of the weakest link, or more precisely the link furthest from the centre of the network."
(FB - 2004)
"Europe's destiny is escaping the two "Greats" and it will come knocking on the door of the Europeans."
(FB - 1989)
"The history of Europe is a bit like a multifaceted diamond. Everyone sees the same diamond... but no one sees exactly the same facets."
(FB - E-storia project, 2004)
"Let us dare the future as the founding fathers of Europe did"
(FB - "From EU to Euroland", 2001)
"The European citizenship can not be decreed. The European citizen can only be born..."
(FB - 1992)
"Every state is a minority in the EU. In any case, let’s not forget that if all our states went into building the EU it is because they all felt too small to face alone both their future and the rest of the world."
(FB - 2003)
"From a single (EU) Currency to a single (EU) Citizenship. The euro is only an instrument."
(FB - 1997)
"An empire is always providing platforms where conflicts and wars prolife­rate... an empire needs enemies, whilst a Community requires partners."
(FB - 1992)
"Europe’s history has taught us that dreams and nightmares are the two faces of the same coin"
(FB - “Europe is Peace” 2006)
"Everybody wants to have a successful enlargement whereas it is a successful enlarged EU which is important."
(FB - 2002)
"It is clear that the existing national political parties can not serve two masters: national and European."
(FB - IDE, 1989)
"It takes teamwork to make Europe move forward."
(FB - 2005)
"There is nothing like one European. The European is a team of Europeans... the only way we can imagine a European, it is a team of people from different countries, not a single man or woman."
(FB - Enschede (NL) 2012)
"On the horizon with a heaven of freedom and a land of responsibility, this is perhaps the soul of Europe."
(FB - 1992)
"The future challenge for the European project is not about Europe anymore, it is about the Europeans."
(FB - 2005)
"The more Brussels speaks English, the less Brussels understands the Europeans"
(FB - 2004)
"Occupy the Future of Europe!"
("What do YOU want as a future for AEGEE?" Franck Biancheri at the 2012 Agora in Enschede)
"To combine new technologies and democratic principles to succeed in the entry of European integration in the 21st century or e-democracy at the service of Euro-democracy"
(FB - EUSV, 2001)
"In the years 00 of the 21st century, democratization can only take place in the perspective of the democratic election of a European executive that remains to be invented."
(FB - EUSV, 2001)
"We must build the European Community, otherwise Europe will soon be culturally Americanised, politically Finlandised and technologically Japanised"
EGEE I, 1984

Special Franck Biancheri Birthday: Coronavirus, a focus on networking

(11/03/2020) We see it, teleworking, teleconferencing, networking are taking off. Coronavirus is forcing us to invent new ways of working, of debating and exchanging information, as it brings transport to a halt and forces us to remain confined to our homes behind our computers so as not to contaminate others. Even our institutions are doing this, and even more remarkable is the fact that the European institutions, the Commission, Parliament and also the Council, are now sitting via Internet platforms. A revolution! We can see that even in terms of governance we can work in networks, remotely! This is a paradigm shift that will open up many prospects, particularly in terms of bringing citizens closer to Europe, which sounds the death knell for the European pyramid model. Will we finally speak of trans-European’?

 

Networking! This is something that Franck Biancheri has been working on throughout his life as a European activist, as a precursor, as usual, making new technologies and the Internet available to human and civic relations.

 

All the structures he founded are based on this notion of network, not only from a geographical but also from a technological point of view: For him it was essential that in our ‘modern’ societies we should be able to meet the challenges posed for many citizens in Europe by the inability to travel, to meet, for reasons of cost, time, physical constraints (the last years of one’s life, due to illness, Franck Biancheri travelled very little), and he endeavoured to develop, use and promote, even sometimes, or often, against the opinion of the majority of people, throughout his activities the technological tools that would help the members of these structures, and more generally Europeans, to meet and debate “virtually”.

 

There are many examples: the minitel for the European FDI campaign, the very first trans-European political party -1988/1989; the transatlantic “people-to-people” internet exchange network, TIESWEB -1997!; the organisation of the very first trans-European online elections, EUSV -2001; the internet forums for Newropeans members, e-agora -2004/2009; the online political anticipation seminars organised by LEAP -FEFAP, 2006/2012; his interventions in the framework of different congresses/conferences on the theme of new technologies; but above all the work of the Franck Biancheri networks themselves, virtually gathering members from all over the world…

 

Today it seems so obvious to us that we even wonder why the institutions, although moved by questions of budgetary restrictions and respect for the environment (which push them to centralize all their core powers in Brussels), have not prepared themselves for it well in advance.  At a time when all citizens in Europe, and throughout the world, live at the pace of social networks, our leaders were still following the practices of the last century.

 

By reading Franck Biancheri again, it seemed so simple! We recommend the following reading list:

 

 

The editorial team, 11/03/2020