Federal Charter
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| Type | Constitutional treaty |
|---|---|
| Drafted | 1961–1964, Conference of The Hague |
| Signed | 19 September 1964 |
| Location | Royal Palace, Amsterdam |
| Effective | 1 January 1966 |
| Signatories | The 22 member states of the European Federation |
The Federal Charter is the constitutional treaty of the European Federation, signed by its 22 member states in Amsterdam on 19 September 1964, Founding Day, and in force since 1 January 1966. It replaced the wartime terms of the Treaty of Prague, under which the Federation had been constituted until the conclusion of a peace with the United States, and established the Federation without a time limit. It set the composition of the federal institutions, created federal citizenship, and included the Oder settlement, by which Germany transferred its territories east of the Oder to Poland.
Background
Article 1 of the Treaty of Prague constituted the Federation "for the duration of hostilities with the United States of America and until the conclusion of a peace". After the Cessation of 1947, parties in France and Britain argued that hostilities had ended and that the treaty had lapsed. In the Cessation Opinion of 14 March 1950 the Federal Court of Justice held that a cessation of hostilities is not a peace and that the treaty remained in force. The parties that had brought the case formed the Sovereigntist Restoration Front in 1951.
The Opinion left the Federation's existence dependent on the state of war with the United States. In 1960 the Federal Council proposed a permanent constitutional treaty, and the member states' governments negotiated it at the Conference of The Hague from 1961 to 1964.
Negotiation
The smaller member states would not accept a federation in which Germany, with about 80 million people, held a proportional share of the European Parliament. The Conference agreed a cap on any member state's share of seats at 15%, with one member per state in the Federal Council as under the Treaty of Prague. Germany's agreement to the cap was given together with the Oder settlement, negotiated alongside the Conference between the German and Polish governments.
Provisions
The Charter:
- constituted the Federation without a time limit, and repealed Article 1 of the Treaty of Prague;
- kept the Federal Council, with one member per state and a President as head of state, the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the Federal Court of Justice and the European Defence Force;
- fixed the seats of the European Parliament by population, with no state holding more than 15%;
- created federal citizenship, held by every citizen of a member state, with the right to live and work anywhere in the Federation;
- guaranteed the use of minority languages in administration and schooling where a minority makes up a fifth of a district's population;
- confirmed the member states' capitals, governments and national institutions under the Member-State Accords;
- set out the procedure for its own amendment, by the Federal Council unanimously and the European Parliament by two-thirds.
Oder settlement
Under the Oder settlement, an annex to the Charter, Germany transferred to Poland Silesia, Pomerania east of the Oder and southern East Prussia, with effect from 1 January 1966. Northern East Prussia, with Königsberg, remained German. No population was moved. Residents kept federal citizenship and chose German or Polish nationality; about 70% of those in the transferred territories chose German. The transferred districts are administered in both languages, and their cities have Polish and German official names: Wrocław and Breslau, Szczecin and Stettin. The Free City of Danzig, which had been under the Federation's protection since 1949, remained outside the settlement and outside the Federation.
Ratification
Twenty of the 22 member states ratified the Charter by parliamentary vote in 1965. Britain and Denmark held referendums: Britain ratified it with 52% of the vote on 24 June 1965, and Denmark with 61%. The Charter came into force on 1 January 1966.
Reception
The Sovereigntist Restoration Front opposed the Charter. In Germany its campaign against the Oder settlement used the slogan "Berlin sold Silesia for votes", and the Front won its largest vote in Germany in the German elections of 1965. After 1966 the question of the Federation's legal existence no longer arose. When the Mattawa Declaration of 1975 ended the state of war with the United States, it had no effect on the Federation's constitution.