JEF Autumn Federal Committee Budapest 2024
The 2024 Autumn Federal Committee (Autumn FC) was hosted by JEF Hungary in the beautiful city of Budapest. The FC gathered a number of JEF sections from across Europe in order to discuss the policy direction JEF Europe ought to take on a number of areas whilst maintaining contact between likeminded youth.
JEF Malta’s delegation consisted of the Vice-President and International Officer, Isaac Rizzo, acting as the National Delegate, therefore, carrying the organisation’s vote on policy resolutions and substantive matters. He was also accompanied by the President, Michael Gatt, and Policy Officer, Miguel Teles respectively. The first day included introductory speeches by JEF Hungary and JEF Europe and a networking lunch. On the second day, discussions took place in the Political Commission (PC) meetings. Topics discussed included moving towards a Federal Parliament on a European level, a unified banking union, a framework for Artificial Intelligence, labour and youth mobility, EU-US relations, a common European space policy, and the establishment of a unified defence and security policy. JEF Malta contributed to the discussion through the proposal of a number of amendments in which some passed to become part of the final resolutions.
The second day started off with a presentation by JEF Europe’s Executive Board on their activities in the past year and their financial situation, discussing the way forward. In addition, there were also updates on JEF sections’ membership updates where JEF Malta was once again confirmed as the largest JEF section per capita. Furthermore, there was also a presentation by JEF Strasbourg to host the 2025 European Congress, which takes place every two years, followed by the symbolic acceptance of JEF Moldova as a candidate section of JEF Europe.
Votes on the respective resolutions and amendments took place on the final day as well as the confirmation of JEF Europe’s 4-year strategy and the confirmation of the next hosts of the European Congress, confirmed to be JEF Strasbourg. The JEF local and national sections gave short speeches on their respective activities to those present, concluding the 2024 Autumn FC. The conference provided JEF Malta with the opportunity of enhancing its contacts and connections with other sections, exploring ways to collaborate with others in the future.
